4 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | SEPTEMBER 2023 ASM International 9639 Kinsman Road, Materials Park, OH 44073 Tel: 440.338.5151 • Fax: 440.338.4634 Joanne Miller, Editor joanne.miller@asminternational.org Victoria Burt, Managing Editor vicki.burt@asminternational.org Frances Richards and Corinne Richards Contributing Editors Anne Vidmar, Layout and Design Allison Freeman, Production Manager allie.freeman@asminternational.org Press Release Editor magazines@asminternational.org EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Adam Farrow, Chair, Los Alamos National Lab John Shingledecker, Vice Chair, EPRI Somuri Prasad, Past Chair, Sandia National Lab Beth Armstrong, Oak Ridge National Lab Margaret Flury, Medtronic Surojit Gupta, University of North Dakota Nia Harrison, Ford Motor Company Michael Hoerner, KnightHawk Engineering Hideyuki Kanematsu, Suzuka National College of Technology Ibrahim Karaman, Texas A&M University Ricardo Komai, Tesla Bhargavi Mummareddy, Dimensional Energy Scott Olig, U.S. Naval Research Lab Christian Paglia, SUPSI Institute of Materials and Construction Amit Pandey, Lockheed Martin Space Satyam Sahay, John Deere Technology Center India Kumar Sridharan, University of Wisconsin Jean-Paul Vega, Siemens Energy Vasisht Venkatesh, Pratt & Whitney ASM BOARD OF TRUSTEES David B. Williams, President and Chair Pradeep Goyal, Senior Vice President Navin Manjooran, Vice President Judith A. Todd, Immediate Past President John C. Kuli, Treasurer Burak Akyuz Amber Black Ann Bolcavage Pierpaolo Carlone Elizabeth Ho man Toni Marechaux André McDonald U. Kamachi Mudali James E. Saal Sandra W. Robert, Executive Director STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS Kingsley Amatanweze, Karthikeyan Hariharan, Denise Torres Individual readers of Advanced Materials & Processes may, without charge, make single copies of pages therefrom for personal or archival use, or may freely make such copies in such numbers as are deemed useful for educational or research purposes and are not for sale or resale. Permission is granted to cite or quote from articles herein, provided customary acknowledgment of the authors and source is made. The acceptance and publication of manuscripts in Advanced Materials & Processes does not imply that the reviewers, editors, or publisher accept, approve, or endorse the data, opinions, and conclusions of the authors. ENERGY GAINS In a recent survey, manufacturing executives were asked about the energy-related challenges they face. The results, compiled by ABI Research, showed that energy costs (42%) and interaction with utilities (41%) were the two biggest pain points for today’s manufacturers. We offer some relief and hope to those executives. First, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the selection of its new director for the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office. Christopher Saldaña, who comes from Georgia Tech and Penn State, takes the post and is charged with driving innovation to transform materials and manufacturing related to America’s energy future. Pursuing sustainable supply chains and net-zero emissions are on his docket. Second, in this issue of AM&P, we provide glimpses into a bright future through articles on advanced manufacturing techniques as well as groundbreaking developments in a promising, sustainable energy source—fusion power. Our lead article focuses on what the DOE calls “a major scientific breakthrough decades in the making that will pave the way for advancements in national defense and the future of clean power.” Last December and again this past July, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) successfully achieved fusion ignition—with a net energy gain—thus giving hope for a viable, carbon-free power source to come. We are honored to have the participation of LLNL staff in this issue through their contributions to the lead article including the compelling image on this issue’s cover. As the article developed, I witnessed an amazing collaboration between Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and LLNL. Many brilliant minds contributed individual particles. Brenda Garcia-Diaz, the lead author from SRNL, found a way to fuse all those elements from both teams and—just like her subject matter—what the group released is more powerful and more significant because of the collaboration. A similar type of fusion will take place this October in Detroit. Attendees will come together to participate in two co-located conferences IMAT and Heat Treat— in addition to the Motion + Power Technology Expo. The synergy that comes from the attendees co-mingling will undoubtedly generate enormous amounts of creative energy when these participants unite under one convention roof. At IMAT, you can continue learning more about energy advances including and beyond nuclear, by attending Dr. Evelyn Wang’s keynote talk on Monday, October 16. Wang, as the director of Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, will likely have to field funding requests for many clean energy proposals in the coming years, as both government and private enterprise are inspired and encouraged by LLNL’s successful shots. It’s anyone’s guess if we’ll achieve commercialized fusion power in 10 years, or 20, or 30. But with laser focus, talented engineers and physicists will continue to work toward that goal. In the meantime, Lawrence Livermore has given us a monumental burst of energy. joanne.miller@asminternational.org NIF laser beams illuminate a target as illustrated by Jake Long/LLNL.
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