Ceramics Expo 2016 is being held April 25-27 in Cleveland, Ohio. With two scheduling tracks to choose from, and events ranging from sessions to networking receptions, there's plenty for everyone at this year's expo.

9:30 a.m. - Plenary Session: Forecasting Key Ceramic Markets to Understand Industry Trends

Moderator: Mark Zupan, President, Alfred University

Speakers: Ted Day, CEO, MO-SCI Corp.; Richard Clark, Senior Technical Specialist, Morgan Advanced Materials; Doug Freitag, Technical Director, U.S. Advanced Ceramics Association; and Chuck Miller, President, Harper International

11:00 a.m. - Lunch

Track 1:
Ceramic Material Properties and Application

12:00 p.m. - Developing Industry Standards for CMCs: 2,700F Gas Turbines, Accident-Tolerant Fuels, and Solar Applications

Speakers: Rick Lowden, Senior Research Engineer, Materials Science & Technology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Suraj P. Rawal, Technical Fellow, Research and Technologies, Lockheed Martin; Rajiv A. Naik, Ph.D., Fellow, Computational Materials Modeling, Materials & Processes Engineering, Pratt & Whitney; and W. Howard Poisl, Ph.D., Engineering Fellow, Ceramic, Optical and High Temperature Materials, Materials and Process Engineering, Raytheon Missile Systems

1:15 p.m. - Afternoon break

1:45 p.m. - Evaluating Design Approach for Reliable Ceramic Coatings

Moderator: J. Douglas Jeter, PE, ASP, Principal, Verity Technical Consultants LLC

Speakers: Melanie Kuhn, Ph.D., R&D Group Leader, Saint-Gobain Innovative Materials; James Vartuli, Platform Leader of Ceramic Matrix Composites, GE Global Research; and Erik Mikalsen, Manager, MPE Advanced High Temperature Materials, Pratt & Whitney

3:00 p.m. - Close of Conference Day 1, followed by Networking Reception in the Exhibition Hall

Track 2:
Ceramic Coating and CMC Manufacturing Processes

12:00 p.m. - Optimizing Ceramic Coating Quality to Improve Reliability

Speakers: Samuel D. Harkness IV, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, HIA Inc.; Mitch Dorfman, FASM, Metco Fellow, Product Portfolio Manager-High Temperature Materials, Oerlikon Metco (U.S.) Inc.; and Timothy S. Dyer, Vice President Operations, Elcon Precision LLC

1:15 p.m. - Afternoon break

1:45 p.m. - Evaluating Advances in CMC Processing and Manufacturing Technologies

Moderator: Shay Harrison, Ph.D., Senior Materials Scientist, Free Form Fibers LLC

Speakers: Eric Norton, Engineering Manager, Bullen Ultrasonics; Matt Webb, General Manager, Element Materials Technology; and Barrett Jackson, Senior Materials and Processing Engineer, Composites Horizons LLC

3:00 p.m. - Close of Conference Day 1, followed by Networking Reception in the Exhibition Hall

Track 1:
Ceramic Material Properties and Application

9:30 a.m. - Developing Additive Manufacturing

Moderator: Johannes Homa, Ph.D., CEO, Lithoz GmbH

Speakers: Joseph Cesarano III, Ph.D., President and Founder, Robocasting Enterprises LLC; Christophe Chaput, CEO, 3D Ceram; and Thomas Henriksen, President, CeramCo Inc.

11:00 a.m. - Lunch

12:00 p.m. - Reviewing Material Requirements, Design, and Challenges in Inorganic Solid State Batteries

Speaker: Venkat Anandan, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Ford Motor Co.

12:30 p.m. - Understanding Ceramic Material Behavior in High Radiation Flux Environments for Improved Insulation and Thermal Barriers

Speaker: James M. Lustig, Senior Engineer, GE Reuter Stokes

1:00 p.m. - Afternoon break

1:30 p.m. - Optical Ceramic in Aerospace Applications

Speaker: Jonathan A. Salem, Ph.D., Materials Research Engineer, NASA

2:00 p.m. - Corning® Gorilla® Glass for Automotive: Bringing Thin, Lightweight Glass to the Automotive Industry

Speaker: Thomas Cleary, Reliability Manager, Auto Glass Solutions, Corning Automotive Glass, Corning Inc.

2:30 p.m. - Evaluating the Application of Advanced Refractories

Speaker: Rakesh K. Dhaka, Senior Research Engineer (Refractories), United States Steel Corp.

3:00 p.m. - Close of Conference Day 2, followed by Networking Reception in the Exhibition Hall

Track 2:
Forming Technologies and Automation

9:30 a.m. - Integrating Automation and Robotics to Optimize Production Lines and High Volume Manufacturing

Speakers: Chad White, OEM Business Developer for Building Material Industries, Siemens Industry Inc.; and Leon Grossman, PE, Principal Engineer, DMC Inc.

10:30 a.m. - Lunch

11:45 a.m. - Reviewing Ceramic Additive Manufacturing Challenges to Promote Industry Adoption

Moderator: Tracy Albers, Ph.D., President and Chief Technology Officer, Rapid Prototype and Manufacturing LLC

Speakers: Dror Danai, Chief Business Officer, XJET Ltd.; Holly Shulman, Ph.D., President, Materials Scientist, Ceralink Inc.; Rick Lucas, Chief Technology Officer, The ExOne Co.

1:15 p.m. - Afternoon break

1:45 p.m. - Designing Complex Small Parts for High-Volume Ceramic Injection Molding (CIM) and Dry Pressing

Speakers: Karin Hajek, Ph.D., Sales Director, INMATEC Technologies GmbH; Clifford O. Orcutt, Vice President, American Isostatic Presses Inc.; C. Scott Nelson, Staff Research Engineer, Powertrain Systems, Delphi Automotive Systems; and Harrie Sneijers, Sales Manager, Formatec Ceramics

3:00 p.m. - Close of Conference Day 2, followed by Networking Reception in the Exhibition Hall

Track 1:
Medical Applications

9:30 a.m. - Navigating Regulatory Pathways to Develop FDA-Approved Devices and Materials

Moderator: David C. Greenspan, Ph.D., President, Spinode Consulting

Speaker: Gary Fischman, Ph.D., Owner, Future Strategy Solutions LLC

10:30 a.m. - Morning break

10:45 a.m. - Examining End-User Requirements of Ceramics for Medical Applications

Speakers: Gordon Hunter, Ph.D., Principle Manager, Material Science; Quality Assurance, Smith & Nephew Inc.; Charanpreet Bagga, President and CEO, Prosidyan Inc.; Jason Langhorn, Ph.D., U.S. Team Leader-Tribology Research and Development, DePuy Synthes Joint Reconstruction

11:45 a.m. - Lunch

12:15 p.m. - Evaluating Clinical Data Performance of Bioceramics and Bio-glasses for Orthopedic Applications

Moderator: B. Sonny Bal, Ph.D., MD, JD, MBA, Chairman of the Board, CEO, President and Principal Financial Officer, Amedica Corp.

Speakers: Giuseppe Pezzotti, Ph.D., Professor, Ceramic Physics Laboratory, Kyoto Institute of Technology; Ricardo J. Heros Ing, Senior Scientific and Sales Consultant, North and South America, CeramTec Medical Products; and Bryan J. McEntire, Ph.D., MBA, Chief Technology Officer, Amedica Corp.

1:30 p.m. - End of Conference @ Ceramics Expo 2017

Track 2:
Slurry, Sintering and Post-Processing Technologies

9:30 a.m. - Utilizing Better Dispersion and Control of Rheology to Achieve High-Performing Ceramics

Speaker: Kapil V. Deshpande, Ph.D., Applications Scientist-Industrial Chemicals, Croda Inc.

10:00 a.m. - Evaluating Best Practices for Grinding, Dressing, and Truing to Optimize Finishing and Cycle Time

Speakers: to be announced

10:30 a.m. - Reviewing Advances in Sintering and Firing Technologies

Speakers: Hanzheng Guo, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Researcher, Materials Research Institute, Penn State University; Bob Aauland, Director, SPS/DCS Business Development, Thermal Technology LLC; and Rishi Raj, Ph.D., Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

11:45 a.m. - Lunch

12:15 p.m. - Introducing Finishing Methods for Precision Ceramics

Speakers: to be announced

1:30 p.m. - End of Conference @ Ceramics Expo 2017

*as of February 28, 2017