A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 3 6 iTSSe TSS iTSSe TSS TSS OPEN MIC: SENDING FORTH A TINY RIPPLE OF HOPE Online working, presentations, and conferences have become part of our daily lives over the past two years, as many of us have been working remotely. Although the pandemic took a toll on all of us, specifically in our thermal spray R&D community, graduate students and post-docs all around the world quickly adapted to the situation and made the best of it. While research lab access has been limited, these early career researchers have been models of resilience and found creative ways to make up for the lack of lab time. Cancellation of the vast majority of international conferences in 2020 was the most detrimental aspect of the pandemic for the development of these young professionals, preventing them from opportunities to get a better feel for the field, meet potential employers, and receive guidance on career options from world experts. However, in the wake of this pandemic disaster, communication platforms became household names within a few months, and some amazing ideas have flourished. One initiative was started with Prof. Bertrand Jodoin, FASM, (University of Ottawa, Canada) who in May 2020 organized the uOttawa Cold Spray Lab Carte Blanche series, in which members of the thermal spray community were invited to interact informally with his graduate students/ post-docs via webinars. This format aimed to “break the ice” between experienced professionals and the next generation of thermal sprayers. One of the early invited guests was Charles Kay, FASM and past TSS president (Hannecard Roller Coatings – USA). Inspired by this great initiative, Kay realized the amazing opportunity and suggested incorporating it as a TSS program. Jeanelle Harden (ASM Global Conference Manager) promptly went through all the approvals needed, secured sponsors, organized the publicity, and sorted out the technical logistics. And voila, the Thermal Spray Open Mic series of talks was created in October of 2020. The one-hour virtual TSS Open Mic sessions are geared toward early career researchers. They are free and open to the thermal spray community from all over the world and follow a light and informal format, with Dr. Rogerio Lima, TSS vice president (National Research Council of Canada) as the host. The main objective has been to ensure that young professionals have direct access to thermal spray world leaders, not only to receive science and engineering updates, but more importantly, to learn about their views of our industry and how to better prepare to enter the workforce. The goal is to promote a relaxed discussion and exchange of information at both the technical and non-technical level. Over the months, our speakers shared a great deal of wisdom and professional advice. TSS Open Mic has had a great impact on our community and been a major success. In each talk, we have attendees (live!) from more than 30 countries. Many people who were unable to travel had an opportunity to associate a name with a face, seeing amazing thermal spray professionals sharing their knowledge and wisdom. Inspired by this achievement, Prof. Jodoin had the idea to contact companies to provide funds to sponsor ASM-TSS memberships for young professionals, to get them engaged with our thermal spray community. Thus, the ASM-TSS Student Membership Initiative was created. In 2022, thanks to the sponsors, a total of 45 students and post-docs from 13 different countries were awarded membership. These are their first steps in this professional networking world, and the sky’s the limit. So who is next in line to speak to share ideas and offer mentorship? It is up to us when opportunities arise and how we initiate these ideas to grow the membership. Our common interests drive us together and a long history of remarkable TSS volunteers continue to find new ways to communicate so that all have the opportunity. The TSS Open Mic Series is here for young research professionals and all members of our thermal spray community, with new talks coming for the 2022-23 season. We invite everyone to register for free at www.asminternational.org/ web/tss-open-mic-series where you can watch record- ings of past sessions. We hope to “see” you at the next TSS Open Mic. Rogerio S. Lima (along with Charles M. Kay, FASM and Prof. Bertrand Jodoin, FASM) ASM Thermal Spray Vice President Lima EDITORIAL 2
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