Visiting Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces in Golm with Professor Markus Antonietti

1. Student and Young Faculty Travel to the 10th International Conference and Exhibition of the European Ceramic Society; Berlin, Germany; June 17-26, 2007Gary L. Messing, Pennsylvania State Univ University Park, DMR 0649742 Visiting Fraunhofer IKTS (Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems) in Dresden with Director Dr. Alexander Michaelis Meissen Porcelain Factory Visiting Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces in Golm with Professor Markus Antonietti

2. Student and Young Faculty Travel to the 10th International Conference and Exhibition of the European Ceramic Society; Berlin, Germany; June 17-26, 2007Gary L. Messing, Pennsylvania State Univ University Park, DMR 0649742 • Nine graduate students and two junior faculty were selected to participate in the international meeting. • After the meeting they joined nine German students for tours of national labs ((IKTS (Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems) in Dresden and the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces in Golm) and Meissen Porcelain Inc. At the national labs they learned about cutting edge research in advanced ceramics. • Students learned about German culture and science via extended discussions during both technical and social activities. • This gathering was successful in exposing American scientists from across the U.S. (Missouri, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio) to the international science scene early in their career. The group meetings helped to raise their awareness about global perspectives (e.g. Germans are very interested in sustainability) and how diverse materials science is in Germany. Also, they saw that there is a high proportion of women in materials research.