International Conference on Syntactic and Composite Foams, Summer 2007, Davos, Switzerland

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TECHNICAL: Engineering Conferences International (ECI), is sponsoring an international conference on "Syntactic and Composite Foams," to be held during the period of August 5-10, 2007 in Davos, Switzerland. An earlier, very successful, conference on this topic was held in August 2004. The objective of this conference is to provide a forum for discourse among scientists and engineers from varied backgrounds on syntactic and composite foams. This conference will provide a forum for discussions on the growing field of composite foams. Syntactic foams and rigid polymer, metal, and ceramic foams containing a reinforcing and/or functional phase are the intended focus of this conference. These foams are typically used in applications that take advantage of their very high specific properties, pore structure, energy absorption characteristics, and flame retardant properties. The scope of the conference will include the production and characterization of reinforcing and functional materials specifically used for these foams (i.e. hollow spheres, micro/nanoparticles, particles with specific electric, magnetic, dielectric properties, biological, etc.) as well as fabrication, characterization, modeling, and applications of the foams. Through the expanding variety of hollow and solid particles, nanoparticles, coated hollow micro-balloons, the incorporation of fibers, and processing innovations, foams with unique properties have evolved. NON-TECHNICAL: Work in syntactic foams has expanded over the past three decades, beginning as simple two-phase polymer matrix foams based upon hollow glass or polymer spheres for applications in the marine and submarine industry. Today, the field has expanded to include polymers, metals, and ceramic hollow spheres and matrices. In addition, with fibers and interstitial voids engineered into the material, three and four-phase materials are now possible. Composite foams have grown out of conventional blown polymer foams to now include the addition of particles, fibers and/or functional elements, resulting in complex microstructures that can be engineered to meet specific applications. Also, blown polymer foams are now used as precursor structures for metal and ceramic composite foams. By incorporating hollow and solid particles, nanoparticles, coated micro-balloons, fibers, and specialized foaming agents, coupled with novel processing techniques, unique and tailored foam properties can be attained. Because of these innovations, the role of syntactic and composite foams has expanded into the aerospace, automotive, communications, biomedical, electronics, sporting, and transportation industries. The requested support from the NSF is mainly to enable scientists, especially graduate students and young scientists from the United States, to attend. Special consideration will be given to female participants and participants from underrepresented groups. This conference will bring together scientists, engineers, and researchers from the academia, industry, and government laboratories to discuss the important issues in this field. The conference will cross fertilize ideas by bringing together experts from a variety of disciplines (including mechanics, materials science and engineering, physics, chemistry and biomedical fields) to address questions concerning syntactic and composite foams. An international organizing committee with representatives from universities, industries, and government laboratories has been assembled. The objective is to bring together leading researchers and manufacturers of these materials for interaction, problem solving, and future collaborations.