[Usa] Advances In Ceramics Through Government-Supported Research

Since the 1970s, US federal program managers involved in structural ceramics R&D have met annually as an inter agency committee. In 2007, the name of this committee was changed to the Inter agency Co-ordinating Committee on Ceramics Research & Development to reflect the much broader nature of the R&D effort on ceramics throughout the government. Members of this committee represent numerous federal agencies & departments, including the Dept of Defence; Dept Energy; National Aeronautics & Space Admin; Nat Sci Foundation & NIST. The primary function of this committee is to create a forum for communication & co-ordination among managers of federally-funded R&D programs in ceramics. Current research is outlined in this article.