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Plenary Session

• 2011 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit

• November 28 - December 2, 2011
• Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA
• Meeting Chairs: Cammy R. Abernathy, Paul V. Braun, Masashi Kawasaki, Kathryn J. Wahl

2011 MRS Fall Meeting Plenary Session

Monday, November 28
6:30 pm
Sheraton Hotel, 2nd Floor, Grand Ballroom 

Eric J. Amis (view biography)
United Technologies Research Center

Talk Presentation (view abstract)
Three Materials, Three Challenges

Eric J. Amis Biography

Eric J. Amis is the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) Director of Physical Sciences, a position he has held since 2009. Prior to joining UTRC, he spent 15 years in leadership roles at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory, including 10 years in the Polymers Division. Before joining NIST, he was a member of the chemistry faculty at the University of Southern California for 11 years. His PhD in chemistry is from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

At UTRC, Amis leads a team of 140 scientists and engineers responsible for research and development in materials science, chemistry, chemical engineering, structural integrity, applied physics, and measurement science. He is responsible for developing the external partnerships and internal technical capabilities of UTRC that are aligned with the strategic direction of United Technologies. The interests of UTC advance building systems through Carrier, Otis and UTC Fire & Security, aerospace systems through Hamilton Sundstrand, Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky, and energy systems through UTC Power and nearly all of its business units.

Amis is a Fellow of the Materials Research Society, the American Physical Society (APS), and the Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS). He has served as chair of the Division of Polymer Physics of the APS and the Polymer Chemistry Division of the ACS, and he was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Polymer Science: Physics for 11 years. He also is past chair of the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards, and was vice president of the World Materials Research Institutes Forum. His research specialties are combinatorial and high-throughput methods for advanced materials, nanomaterial characterization, and soft matter physics. He has 150 peer-reviewed publications.

Founded in 1929, United Technologies Research Center provides advanced technologies, innovative thinking and disciplined research for industry leading customers in aerospace propulsion, building infrastructure, heating and air conditioning, fire and security systems, and power generation. The research center serves all United Technologies Corporation business units, as well as government agencies and independent organizations. Among key research goals are sustainable technologies that positively impact the marketplace while conserving resources.

Talk Presentation: Three Materials, Three Challenges

The ultimate goal of materials research is to provide tangible benefits to society. Regardless of whether materials researchers work in academic, government, or industrial laboratories, this goal provides key underlying motivation. Materials scientists and engineers enable technologies that address global needs, though our talents, scope, and success measures vary. An integrated approach is inherent to interdisciplinary materials research. This talk considered examples of representative materials (with tangible benefits) and challenges (to enable technologies) with applications in areas of transportation, energy, and infrastructure, and within the DNA of corporate research.