38 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | MAY 2026 Bangkok was the tropical site for this year’s International Thermal Spray Conference and Exposition (ITSC), held on March 18-20. The event, with a theme of “Engineered for Excellence— Smart Coatings for a Smart World,” included 250 technical papers, sessions such as ‘Thermal Spray in a Nutshell,’ the Industry Forum, and Young Professionals program. The conference sessions and exhibits presented a comprehensive overview of current and future developments in thermal spraying, laser cladding, and related technologies. Attendees basked in the opportunity to enjoy the unique scenery, history, and cuisine of Thailand. HALL OF FAME AWARDEE ASM’s Thermal Spray Society (TSS) was pleased to welcome the following 2026 honoree to the TSS Hall of Fame at the Bangkok event: Hanlin Liao, Ph.D., professor at the University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard. He was recognized “for building bridges between research and industry, as well as between Europe and Asia, in the field of cold spray and thermal spray coatings.” See Prof. Liao’s biography on page 48 in this issue. ITSC 2026 HIGHLIGHTS ASM’s Executive Director Veronica Becker gives welcoming remarks at the opening session. DVS’s Managing Director Jens Jerzembeck makes opening comments on Wednesday. The reception on the show floor provided an opportunity for over 900 attendees and exhibitors to mingle. The networking social, held at the beautiful Jim Thompson Heritage Quarter, allowed attendees to learn about the local culture and cuisine. Prof. Hanlin Liao (left) receives his TSS Hall of Fame plaque from TSS President, Andrew Ang. Kevin Jasutyn (right) receives his best paper award from Kirsten Bobzin. ITSC 2026 BEST PAPER AWARDS At the ITSC 2026 event, several attendees were recognized for their outstanding scientific contributions to the thermal spray community. This year’s ITSC Best Paper Award recipients include: Thomas Schopphoven (Franhofer ILT, Aachen), “Combining Physical Simulation and Bayesian Optimization for LMD Process Parameter Development;” Leo Devlin (Trinity College Dublin), “Effect of Ceramic Particle Properties on Fragmentation and Embedment in Al/Al2O3 Metal Matrix Composite – A Single Particle Impact Study;” Kevin Jasutyn (Surface Engineering Institute, RWTH Aachen University), “High-speed Imaging and Computer Vision for Thermal Spray Process Monitoring;” Reza Jafari (Tampere University), “Superior Wear Resistance of Al-Si Alloy Composites Fabricated via Cold Spraying;” Pengfei Yu (Trinity College Dublin), “Stored Strain Energy-driven Interatomic Diffusion in Immiscible Multi-metal Composites via Cold Spray;” and Muhammad Tahir Farooq (The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok), “Evaluation of Crystallite Sizes, Residual Stresses, Micro-XRF Spectroscopy, and Tribo- corrosion Characteristics of Cermet Coatings using Synchrotron Radiation Techniques.” SAVE THESE DATES Plan on attending these future ITSC events: May 12-14, 2027, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and May 15-18, 2028, New Orleans, Louisiana.
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