ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | NOVEMBER 2026 40 Each section discusses the status of the technologies in the category and the required next development steps. The intent is that by identifying these next development steps, increased research and development effort will result. Sometimes just knowing where the needs are helps set direction within development groups at national laboratories, universities, and within manufacturers and consortiums targeting the heat treat industry. The HTS Research and Development Committee desires that the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Commerce notice the HTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE The HTS R&D Committee, currently under the direction of chair Steven Ferdon, Director Materials Science and Engineering at Cummins, works with the heat treating community and other research institutions to identify technical needs of the heat treating industry and assist the planning and implementation of R&D programs to meet these needs. The committee is actively seeking volunteers to work on current projects, which include acquiring technical articles for HTPro, building a database of active heat treating research, selecting Prime Industry Contributor award winners, and revising the next edition of the Heat Treating Roadmap. Contact Vicki Burt at vicki.burt@ asminternational.org for more information and to volunteer. technology and development needs and direct funding toward these efforts. The same can be said for government- funded research from other nations. However, the needs exist regardless of government-funded research and individual companies and groups of companies (consortiums) can move even without government funding to advance these technologies to their own profit and to the profit of the heat treating industry. Beyond this, improvements in safety and sustain- ability benefit us all well beyond monetary profit. ~AM&P “THE INTENT IS THAT BY IDENTIFYING NEXT DEVELOPMENT STEPS, INCREASED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORT WILL RESULT.” JTST ROADMAP FOR THERMAL SPRAY AND PVD COATINGS The Journal of Thermal Spray Technology (JTST) is pleased to present “Innovative Coatings for a Greener Sky: The 2026 Strategic Roadmap for Thermal Spray and PVD Coatings.” Dr. Armelle Vardelle, FASM, TSS-HoF, who led the organization of this roadmap that includes contributions from over 70 experts in the field commented, “The transition to more sustainable aviation requires innovation across many disciplines, and advanced coating technologies play an important role. This roadmap not only captures the current state of the art, but also a shared vision of the scientific and technological challenges that thermal spray and physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings for the aerospace industries will face in the future. It has been a privilege to coordinate this roadmap, bringing together 73 experts from academia, research organizations, and industry to develop a shared vision for the future of thermal spray and PVD coatings. The enthusiasm, openness, and commitment of all the contributors made it possible to create a document that reflects the collective knowledge and ambitions of our community. I would like to express my gratitude to ASM International and the Journal of Thermal Spray Technology for providing a platform through which we can openly share this work with the global community. I hope that this roadmap will guide future research and industrial innovation, and inspire new collaborations that will accelerate the development of coating technologies to contribute to more sustainable aviation.” To view the roadmap, see the August 2026 issue of JTST.
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