Welcome to the January Edition of USACA's Advanced Ceramics Insights! | |
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It’s shaping up to be a very active 2025. USACA is launching new tools for industry collaboration, our working groups are advancing new initiatives, and we are sharpening our advocacy efforts in Washington. We’re optimistic the shifting political winds, along with national security and economic demands, bode well for our industry.
We will be launching a new website later this week that offers more opportunities for members to engage, join forces to land new funding opportunities, and shape the association’s agenda and activities. We are also gearing up for the CMS Conference in St. Augustine, Florida, from January 26 to 30, where we will hold our business meeting and sponsor a student luncheon for future industry leaders.
We are eager to seize the momentum as we work together to educate policymakers about what is needed to take our industry to the next level and why the time is now. But we can’t do it without your expertise and input, so please get involved!
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‘LEAD THE INDUSTRY’: The development of new missiles and other air and space vehicles that can travel at hypersonic speeds is a top priority for the aerospace and defense communities. As a result, Physical Sciences, Inc., a member of USACA, has gained attention for its research and development of advanced composites.
We caught up with George Rodgers, PSI’s Vice President for Advanced Composites, and John Steinbeck, a Principal Research Scientist, to learn more about the plans of the Andover, Massachusetts-based advanced technology company, which has been developing advanced composites since 2004.
Rodgers spent his career managing aircraft and weapons programs for Northrop Grumman, spanning from the B-2 to the B-21 stealth bombers “and all sorts of fighters and missiles and reconnaissance aircraft in between.”
Steinbeck, who has been at PSI since 2005, jokes he is “a three-time loser from MIT,” earning his undergraduate and graduate degree in physics before completing a tour in the Air Force and working at MIT Lincoln Labs.
PSI makes no bones about having big plans for its composites, materials, and structures business.
“I’m going to be very blunt and maybe even a little bit arrogant,” said Rodgers. “We want to be not only the lowest cost provider of silicon carbide composites. We also want to lead the industry in cycle time. We want to be the low-cost, rapid supplier of very high- performing CMCs.”
USACA: What do you think has changed the most in advanced ceramics?
JS: For a very long time, ceramic composites went in and out of favor. For example, high-temperature ceramics would be hot in the DoD, and then it would go away for other priorities.
A couple of things have changed that. The long-term investment made by General Electric to get the CMCs in their engine products has driven the private sector to push more because all the other large turbine manufacturers are afraid of being left behind. The second is the relatively sustained effort of the DoD to build hypersonic systems. These developments coincide with the ability to make materials that can withstand much higher temperatures and meet some of these unique defense applications.
USACA: Do you see growth areas beyond DoD?
JS: We've also had a lot of interest from the rocket motor companies lately, including building nozzle extensions and a few other parts. The private rocket motor companies are coming to us, asking about CMCs because of the lighter weight and greater durability to accommodate the high-temperature fuels they are all trying to use to put more stuff in orbit for less money.
USACA: PSI has an ambitious vision for scaling up this work in the next few years.
GR: We want to supply flying machines. Right now, we are living on contracted research. We're doing well with contracts. We're in the game on almost all the major hypersonic programs. We have unique capabilities to help with the affordability and the cycle time.
JS: And we think our ultra-high temperature material gives us a leg up for future systems that are well beyond Mach 5.
USACA: What are you aiming for in terms of cycle time?
GR: Right now, we are not fully vertically integrated. We outsource a couple of key processes. When we're fully vertically integrated, our cycle time's going to be about a month.
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COLLABORATION 2.0: In line with our strategy to up USACA’s game on engagement, we are launching our new website this week.
In addition to having a more user-friendly storefront for policymakers, the public, and prospective partners, the website offers a members-only portal where we will post internal documents, technical meeting briefings, USACA working group activities, and more.
The new feature is also intended to lead to more partnerships to solve common problems, from overcoming technical hurdles to nurturing our future workforce.
Look out: All USACA members will be invited separately to register for the new portal. We have also scheduled a webinar for January 22 to answer any questions about the new tool and how we can maximize it.
Help desk: In the meantime, if you have any questions or need help logging in to the new USACA website, contact Laura Love at laura@strategicmi.com.
And a shout-out to both Laura and LB Fullerton on the USACA team for their hard work getting the new website and our revamped working groups up and running.
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‘A UNIQUE SUBSPECIALTY’: USACA’s Workforce Development Working Group has issued a new white paper proposing a new federally funded Advanced Ceramics for Defense Consortium (ACDC) that would help train a new generation of engineers to meet growing national defense demands.
The paper exhibits the kind of innovative thinking that USACA leadership seeks to promote this year as we enhance our efforts to secure additional government support for this critical industrial sector. This support is essential if we are to effectively compete with potential adversaries.
Falling behind: “Despite the vast usage of advanced ceramics in a multitude of military applications,” the paper attests, “the United States is producing fewer ceramic engineers today than at any point in the last 70 years while our adversaries are doing just the opposite.”
“Advanced ceramics engineering is a unique subspecialty within the engineering field,” it adds, “and as such, the defense industry requires both technicians and engineers trained in advanced ceramics.”
‘Without interruption’: The proposed Advanced Ceramics for Defense Consortium would partner with universities to create new training hubs that address ceramic workforce shortages, with a focus on supporting “Regional Nodes with Specialized Training”; “State-of-the-Art Equipment for Fabrication, Integration, and Testing;” and “Fellowships and Cohort Building.”
The overall intent of the initiative would be to “help alleviate labor shortages” in the advanced ceramics manufacturing industry. “Over time,” the proposal concludes, “these efforts will ensure that the defense technologies reliant on advanced ceramics can continue to be produced and that research and development efforts in the field are sustained without disruption.”
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SEE YOU SOON: We look forward to seeing you at the annual Composites, Materials, and Structures Conference later this month in Florida, where USACA will also be holding a business meeting and co-hosting the student luncheon.
Captive audience: On hand at the conference will be reps from the Navy, Air Force, Army, Missile Defense Agency, NASA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the FAA, Department of Energy, engine manufacturers, missile and aircraft makers, commercial space companies, and material and component suppliers.
Special thanks to USACA’s CMS sponsors CoorsTek and Lucideon!
SAVE THE DATE: USACA’s Spring Technical Meeting will be held in Washington on March 25 and 26, 2025, and it’s not too early to RSVP to Karen Coleman-Dillon at karen@strategicmi.com. Stay tuned for more details.
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BREAKTHROUGH MATERIALS: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is out with a new solicitation for “tough and affordable ceramics” as part of a research and development effort called “Intrinsically Tough and Affordable Ceramics Today,” or INTACT.
INTACT “aims to explore innovative approaches for developing intrinsically tough and affordable ceramics, which are critical for various structural applications,” according to the announcement.
The nitty gritty: Key technical objectives include:
- Exploring non-equilibrium processing techniques to engineer defects such as vacancies, dislocations, and grain boundaries in ceramic materials;
- Accommodating fine-scale plastic deformation; and
- Utilizing mechanical work and rapid thermal quenching methods (e.g., laser and electron beam processing) to create new ceramic microstructures.
The goal of the initiative “is to achieve breakthroughs in bulk fracture toughness while maintaining a balance of high strength, stiffness, environmental resistance, and reduced density compared to metal alloy.”
Mark your calendar: Responses are due Feb. 28.
Learn more: INTACT: Intrinsically Tough and Affordable Ceramics Today
‘MATERIALS INNOVATION’: Congrats to USACA member Free Form Fibers for being selected for a nearly $1 million investment from the Department of Energy last month to “accelerate critical materials innovation.”
The manufacturer of high-performance ceramic fibers, headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York, was awarded $926,000 to help “improve unit operations of processing and manufacturing of critical materials,” DOE announced.
These projects are part of a $17 million effort overseen by the Critical Materials Collaborative. This initiative is designed “to catalyze a robust critical materials innovation ecosystem by connecting DOE’s critical minerals and materials portfolio with industry and beyond, supporting real-world innovation through each stage of the research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) pipeline.”
The selected projects, DOE added, “will prioritize community benefits, reduce the environmental impacts of mining, and augment America’s manufacturing workforce.”
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‘BEST INTERESTS OF THE INDUSTRY’: Doug Freitag is transitioning out of his role as USACA Technical Director, and we want to thank him for his decades of service to the association and his leadership in advancing our industry.
“Doug has been a steadfast advocate for advanced ceramics in Washington for over thirty years,” said former USACA Executive Director Glen Mandigo. “Doug’s experience and expertise in ceramic materials were recognized across the government, and federal officials often gave strong consideration to his comments and guidance on programs and policies related to our industry.”
He cited Doug’s support for the USACA Executive Committee “through times of diminished membership by leading technology roadmapping initiatives and agency engagements that created opportunities for members and reinvigorated interest in the Association.”
‘Creating awareness’: We asked Doug for some parting advice on how the industry can take the next leap forward. He said a big focus should be “creating awareness in the government about advanced ceramics and what they have enabled.”
“You have a new generation, and I think a lot of people have lost the understanding of the value of advanced ceramics, why they're so important, and what is needed to continue their development,” Doug explained. “Over the past 40 years, advanced ceramics have been developed that increase soldier survivability from ballistic threats; RF and IR transparent advanced ceramics have been developed that protect sensors used on missiles to provide greater speed and range; and ceramic matrix composites have been developed for use in aero propulsion systems that provide greater fuel efficiency and thrust while reducing emissions.”
The next big thing: Doug urged USACA to consider how advanced ceramics can enable the next generation of power and energy, microelectronics, defense and medical systems, and industrial processes. “You need to always be careful not just to focus on incremental improvements that do little to excite government investment,” he said.
What might be one of those next big things? “Reusable hypersonics are a good example. If successful, a paradigm shift in the transport of people and packages over long distances will occur. More modular, smaller reactors are another. Their broad deployment will require advances in accident-tolerant materials, similar to what has already been shown for accident-tolerant fuels.”
Doug added: “The industry needs help in getting over the hurdles that harsh operating conditions often create and USACA can play a big role in that.”
He also cited the potential for new applications for advanced ceramics in the “next generation of weapon systems such as directed energy weapons. “You have to look at the trends of where the government investment is going at a systems level, and then the industry has to decide where and how it can play a role while creating value for their businesses.”
Here to help: Doug will remain engaged and continue to be a resource for the industry, including through his consulting business, Bayside Materials Technology. “I'm here to help if anybody in the ceramic industry has a question, is looking for a reference, or just needs help better understanding a new market,” he shared.
USACA Executive Director Ken Wetzel thanked Doug for his unsurpassed dedication to the association.
“Doug has unique insights into the industry and understands the dynamics of the market and the domestic landscape better than anybody,” Ken said. “He is very plugged in domestically and internationally. He is irreplaceable, but we are going to try.”
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