Water-splitting electrolysis using an electrocatalyst and a renewable power source is a promising energy conversion technology, especially when combined with energy stored in the form of hydrogen that has the benefit of also being environmentally friendly. The electrocatalyst can be rationally designed using nanomaterials spanning from transition-metal-based oxides and their derivatives, organic polymer nanomaterials, to inorganic-organic nanocomposites. The July 2020 issue of MRS Bulletin discusses materials innovations for realizing highly efficient and durable electrocatalysts for large-scale, cost-effective water splitting

This webinar expanded upon and complemented the articles in this MRS Bulletin issue with talks from leading experts in the field. An interactive Q&A session follows each of the talks.

Talk Presentations:

• Recent advances in rational design of efficient electrocatalyst for full water splitting across all pH conditions
  Gnanaprakasam Janani, Chonnam National University
  Talk begins at 7:40
     
• Functionally graded nanocomposite materials for catalysis: From hard coatings to energy applications
  Emerson Coy, NanoBioMedical Centre, Adam Mickiewicz University
  Talk begins at 36:18
     
• Interfacing metals and compounds for enhanced H₂ evolution from water splitting
  Yujie Sun, University of Cincinnati
  Talk begins at 1:10:51
     

Sponsored by American Elements and Gamry Instruments

This webinar specifically addressed the faculty application process and what makes for an outstanding package for the academic market in Europe. The webinar begins with a 20-25 minute talk from Eva Unger and included audience Q&A with the main speaker and panelists. This webinar was moderated by Katherine A. Mazzio of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin.

This webinar is part 1 of a three-part series.  The other two webinars in this series are:

• How to Land a Faculty Position—From Application to Interview (Part 2): Research-Intensive Academic Positions in the U.S.
  
• How to Land a Faculty Position—From Application to Interview (Part 3): Thinking About Applying to a Primarily Undergraduate Institution?

This webinar is part 2 of a three-part series. The other two webinars in this series are:

• How to Land a Faculty Position—From Application to Interview (Part 1): The Academic Market in Europe
  
• How to Land a Faculty Position—From Application to Interview (Part 3): Thinking About Applying to a Primarily Undergraduate Institution?

• How to Land a Faculty Position—From Application to Interview (Part 1): The Academic Market in Europe
  
• How to Land a Faculty Position—From Application to Interview (Part 2): Research-Intensive Academic Positions in the U.S.

Co-Presented by MRS, the Materials Research Society and ACerS, the American Ceramic Society

Optical fibers, a major contributor to the multi-trillion dollar annual global economic impact of light, enable all modern means of communication and e-commerce, from streaming videos to online shopping. They are also used in medical endoscopes to peer into the body, and to bring high-power laser light to machining instruments central to the manufacturing of practically all modern electronics, automobiles, and planes.

However, some fibers are approaching limits in their ability to enable quickly developing technologies. The ever-present demand for enhanced performance has brought about a renaissance in fiber optics materials, their methods of fabrication, and the range of properties one can achieve.

This webinar will feature four talks from noted experts covering the past, present, and future of optical fibers and the materials from which they are made. Topics include material advances in fibers for telecommunications, specialty fibers for high energy laser systems, crystalline semiconductor fibers for novel in-fiber optoelectronics, and soft glass fibers for medical and sensing applications.

A Q&A session will be held with each speaker at the conclusion of their talks.

Talk Presentations:

• Past, Present and Future of Telecommunications Fibers
  Peter Schultz, Peter Schultz Consulting
  Talk begins at 6:17
     
• Frontiers of Optical Fibers
  John Ballato, Clemson University
  Talk begins at 36:50
    
• Advances in semiconductor-core optical fibers - a materials processing adventure
  Ursula Gibson, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  Talk begins at 1:06:30
     
• Soft glass fibers for sensing and laser applications
  Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem, The University of Adelaide
  Talk begins at 1:30:23
     

Co-presented by MRS, the Materials Research Society and SFB, the Society for Biomaterials

Synthetic biology has already revolutionized numerous fields through the creation of synthetic structures that mimic almost every aspect of nature. In particular, at the intersection of synthetic biology and biomaterials, researchers have been developing innovative approaches to improve sustainable manufacturing, detection, disease prevention, and therapy. This webinar highlights such advances by four distinguished scientists developing synthetic platelets for hemorrhage control, transfusion medicine and wound healing applications as well as harnessing the synthetic potential of microbes to orchestrate the assembly of complex materials for textiles, bioremediation, therapeutic probiotics, and so much more! We invite you to view this unique webinar at the intersection of synthetic biology and biomaterials science and see what the future of synthetic biology holds for improving medicine and manufacturing.

The webinar features four talks from leaders in the field, and an interactive Q&A session was held with each speaker.

Talk Presentations:

• Synthetic Biology and Materials
  Paul Freemont, Imperial College London (Q&A with James MacDonald, Imperial College London)
  Talk begins at 11:17
     
• Commercializing Consumer Biomaterials
  David Breslauer, Bolt Threads
  Talk begins at 33:32
    
• Biologically fabricated materials from engineered microbes
  Neel Joshi, Northeastern University
  Talk begins at 55:40
      
• Synthetic Platelets: Bioinspired Design to Treat Bleeding... and Beyond
  Anirban Sen Gupta, Case Western Reserve University
  Talk begins at 1:21:50

A growing realization that the next generation of neuromorphic computing must more effectively emulate, not just stimulate, neural functions has led to a surge in research activity to discover and revisit materials systems that efficiently implement various neural functions. The August, 2020 issue of MRS Bulletin considers multiple avenues by which neural processes have been pursued in the past decades, and future opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the field of organic neuromorphic devices.

This webinar expands upon and complement the articles in this MRS Bulletin issue with talks from leading experts in the field. An interactive Q&A session follows each of the talks.

Talk Presentations:

• Electrolyte-gated transistors for neuromorphic electronics
  Yoeri van de Burgt, Eindhoven University of Technology and Paschalis Gkoupidenis, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
  Talk begins at 6:42
    
• Organic Semiconductors for Brain-Inspired Computing Towards Biohybrid Synapses
  Francesca Santoro, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)
  Talk begins at 38:46
    
• Neuromorphic-based Boolean and reversible logic circuits from organic electrochemical transistors
  Sean E. Shaheen, University of Colorado, Boulder
  Talk begins at 1:05:41
     

Sponsored by American Elements

Anyone writing or editing abstracts knows that there is an art to conveying complex ideas and data in an approachable way. Whether it's for a scientific paper, an oral presentation, or the front page of your lab's website, the process of writing and rewriting an abstract and developing concise title takes experience and practice. Join MRS and a panel of editors from symposium organizers and scientific journals for a webinar on the abstract writing process.

After the webinar, attendees were encouraged to sign up for a one-on-one session with editors and authors to receive specific feedback on your abstract and title. Here they learned more ways to make their work approachable to broad audiences and methods for making their research stand out.

Whether you're new to abstract writing, or already mentoring students on their own, this webinar and workshop series provide examples and tips you can use in your own writing or editing responsibilities.

Sponsored by Taiyo Nippon Sanso.  We invite you to view these videos about our sponsor.