On August 13–14, the Alabama Materials Institute welcomed 224 guests to an open house celebrating the arrival of several critical instruments and the completion of major facility renovations. Attendees included individuals from academia, industry, and federal laboratories across the Southeast, representing Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida.
Keynote Speakers
The event kicked off with four keynote speakers: Mr. Michael Johns from Kratos SRE, Professor Ariel Leonard from The Ohio State University and UA alumnus, Professor Aaron Stebner from Georgia Tech, and Professor Colin Ophus from Stanford. The speakers addressed a range of topics, including materials in national security, links of mechanical properties to structure, advances in additive manufacturing and autonomous labs, and developments in electron microscopy.
Posters, Tours, and Hands-On Demos
A total of 42 contributed posters were presented, engaging attendees with a range of materials science discoveries. The event also included guided tours, demos, and workshop tutorials about the instrumentation within the institute and means for collaborative engagement.
The institute houses a state-of-the-art microscopy lab, the Core Analytical Facility, which includes multiple focus ion beam platforms, electron microscopes, and a local electrode atom probe. In addition, it provides for material fabrication through its Powder Processing Facility, where several ball milling machines are available, a direct current consolidation unit, and additive manufacturing platforms.
Sweet Finale
The open house concluded with a celebration of the institute’s launch, featuring a cake designed to resemble the Spectra 300 transmission electron microscope housed within the facility. The open house key sponsorship was from its partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific as well as support from Cameca and Bruker.
About the Institute
Approved by The University of Alabama Board of Trustees in 2023, the Alabama Materials Institute becomes the fourth strategic institute at UA, joining water, transportation and life. These institutes, which operate under the Office for Research & Economic Development, cross departmental boundaries to unite faculty, staff and student researchers around a central theme.