CGIF sponsors four at ECerS summer school in Madrid

The European Ceramic Society hosted a summer school June 17–19 in Madrid, Spain, that focused on ceramic and glass science and technology—specifically, applications to bioceramics and bioglasses.

The Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation sponsored four U.S. students to attend both the summer school and the ECerS XIV conference, which followed in Toledo, Spain. Kathleen Richardson, ACerS president, and Charlie Spahr, ACerS executive director, attended the opening of the summer school program in Madrid. Mrityunjay Singh, AcerS president-elect, met with ECerS officers and members in Toledo at the conference.

“We are excited about the increased collaboration between ACerS and ECerS,” remarked Richardson. “The value to our respective societies, especially the networking opportunities it provides to our younger members, is very significant.” Francis Cambier, ECerS secretary general, said ECerS first organized a summer school program in June 2013 as a lead up to the organization’s main conference and exhibition, and it was very successful. “And that success continued this year, thanks to the collaboration with ACerS,” Cambier added.

This year, 67 students and 13 trainers participated in the three-day event. “The ECERS conference and summer school is a life-changing experience for researchers at any stage of their career, it truly expands your horizons in ideas, collaborations, aspirations, and professional networks,” says YuHao Liu, a student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, who attended this year’s event.

Kathleen Richardson, ACerS president (pictured third from right) poses with ECerS summer school students and Carmen Baudin (fourth from right) and Charlie Spahr, ACerS executive director (third from left). Credit: ACerS