National Research Council Town Hall Meeting

The Town Hall meeting last night was rather sparsely attended, with a total of about 14 people showing up, including the presenter and some members of the committee. But the message they were trying to generate interest in was clear: there is a shortage of bulk crystal growth (research and manufacturing) going on in the United States, which some think is reaching a crisis stage. One audience member described having to obtain a small crystal of interest from a friend in a foreign country because not one sample of this crystal existed in the U.S. While Japan and Europe forge ahead in this area, our country has apparently all but given up on this field.  Some suggested that crystal growth is not glamorous enough, that funding is going to nanotech and biomaterials rather than basic, mundane crystal growth studies. Others said that a young faculty member will not pursue this line of research because it is not a good path to tenure.  Some, like me, were not even aware that this problem existed until last night. The study and the Town Halls are sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, both of whom had representatives there last night, so they clearly are interested in helping to do something about this problem if there is enough call for it. Unfortunately, the small attendance at a conference devoted to materials research did not send the message that this is an issue that funding agencies should deal with. Apparently, at the first such Town Hall meeting at the American Physical Society Meeting in March about forty scientists attended. Do the physicists care more about crystals than we do? Is there a crisis, or an approaching one, that should be addressed? You can still get involved by going to their website at www7.nationalacademies.org/bpa/MSAC_Home.html.

Comments

[Brittany]

I had no idea that this was nearing crisis stage in the US and was such a concern! Being a thin films growth person myself, I truthfully thought that single crystal growth was a thing of the past, slowly being phased out. Perhaps this is further testament to the growth culture in the US steering away from crystal growth and more towards nanoparticles, nanotubes and thin films--everything "nano", if you will. However, I can obviously see why single crystal (bulk) studies are still definitely necessary. That's part of what makes nano so interesting--how it differs so much from bulk. But, again, I obviously have a bias.