The 35th Annual RGSAM will be held on November 3, 2025
Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town, 800 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
Symposium Registration – CLICK HERE!
Abstract Submission – click Here!
The Rio Grande Symposium on Advanced Materials (RGSAM) is a general technical meeting of materials researchers in the Rio Grande geographic region. It is an outgrowth of the Joint Technical Meetings of the New Mexico Section of the American Ceramic Society and the New Mexico Section of the Materials Research Society initiated in 1989. These meetings, sub-titled “Ceramics and Advanced Materials: Symposia and Poster Session,” proved to be quite popular among materials researchers in the Rio Grande geographic region. Attendance typically ranged between 75 and 150 people presenting 30 to 50 presentations, which were frequently used as a local warm-up for national meetings. An important aspect of this symposium is that it has been, and continues to be a venue for presentations by students from regional universities. In 1997, the Albuquerque Chapter of ASM International joined with the NM Section of the American Ceramics Society to host the meeting which began its new name, “The Rio Grande Regional Symposium on Advanced Materials.” Reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of materials research presented at RGSAM, other societies soon joined to host the symposium. The New Mexico Chapter of the American Vacuum Society organized the RGSAM in 2013, followed by the Central New Mexico Local Section of the American Chemical Society in 2015. In 2018, the Albuquerque Chapter of ASM organized. This meeting hopes to reach out to a broad base of support among local materials societies and will be a focal point for the exchange of technical information in the Rio Grande geographic region well into the 21st century.
Kreidl Lecture
At the core of this meeting is the Kreidl Memorial Lecture, honoring the career achievements of Norbert Kreidl, a remarkable and indefatigable glass scientist who spent his final years as a consultant based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Kreidl Lecture has featured several prominent ceramists and glass scientists.
Kreidl Lecturer: Thomas N. Ackerson, PE, MBA
Materials Challenges for Reusable Hardware and Sustainable Processes for Heavy Space Launch Systems in the 21st Century
Abstract: The Apollo and Space Shuttle programs are two examples where technical barriers were broken and significant materials and processing advances were made in a relatively short period of time. Today we undergo another boost in materials science with the private sector becoming a key player in launch vehicles, space transport, space stations, and lunar landers. In order to drive the cost of space travel down significantly, the launch systems must be both reusable and efficient. They must also be as lightweight as practical, and withstand the mechanical rigors of multiple launches, the thermal stresses of re-entry, and corrosion issues related to oceanic recovery. This talk will focus on these challenges, and some of the steps being taken to overcome them. In keeping with the spirit of the Kreidl Lecture series, there will also be a discussion of advanced fiberglass materials, such as those fabricated from S-glass (magnesium aluminosilicate) fibers. Woven fiberglass fabrics play a key role in modern-day space programs, as they can be combined with resins and other materials to fabricate heat shields and other lightweight thermal barriers.
Speaker Biography:
Thomas (Tom) Ackerson is a materials testing executive with over 30 years of experience in metallurgical and non-metallic testing and characterization, failure analysis, forensic investigation, litigation support/expert witness, optical and electron microscopy, and corrosion testing/prevention. His education includes a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from North Carolina State University, an MBA from Averett University, and various continuing education short courses. Tom is a licensed professional engineer with registration in AL, GA, NC and SC. Currently employed as a Technical Fellow with Blue Origin (Merritt Island Rocket Park), Tom’s duties include failure analysis, material characterization, and materials/coatings characterization primarily for the New Glenn rocket, Blue Origin’s heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle that stands nearly 98 meters tall. Tom recently completed a 3-year term as a board member of the Failure Analysis Society (FAS) within ASM International, and each year he plans/chairs sessions for the Failure Analysis symposium at IMAT. He is a member of ASM International’s IDEA Committee (Inclusion, Diversity, Equality, and Awareness). Other activities include being a participating member of ASTM International, serving on the G01 Committee for corrosion testing, and volunteering with NCEES for the Metallurgy/Materials Professional Engineer Exam.
Prior Kreidl Lecturers:
1992 William D. Kingery, University of Arizona
- 1993
- Delbert E. Day, University of Missouri – Rolla
- 1994
- Arthur H. Heuer, Case Western Reserve University
- 1995
- Don L. Kendall, University of New Mexico
- 1996
- David A. Payne, University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign
- 1997
- Joseph H. Simmons, University of Florida
- 1998
- Robert E. Newnham, Penn State University
- 1999
- Anthony F. Giamei, United Technologies Research Center
- 2000
- Gary Messing, Penn State University
- 2001
- Anthony G. Evans, Princeton University
- 2002
- Zhigang Suo, Princeton University
- 2003
- Nathan S. Lewis, California Institute of Technology
- 2004
- Subra Suresh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 2005
- Robert O. Ritchie, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- 2006
- David R. Clarke, University of California at Santa Barbara
- 2007
- Steve Brueck, University of New Mexico
- 2008
- John Parise, SUNY Stony Brook
- 2009
- Kurt Sickafus, Los Alamos National Laboratory
- 2010
- Richard LeSar, Iowa State University
- 2011
- Uzi Landman, Georgia Institute of Technology
- 2012
- Carlo Pantano, Penn State University
- 2013
- Harry Atwater, California Institute of Technology
- 2014
- Diana Farkas, Virginia Tech
- 2015
- Michael J. Cima, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 2016
- Ray Baughman, University of Texas at Dallas
- 2017
- Carol Handwerker, Purdue University
- 2018
- Paul S. Weiss, University of California, Los Angeles
- 2019
- Mark C. Hersam, Northwestern University
- 2020, 2021 Cancelled due to Covid-19 2022 Rajendra K. Bordia, Clemson University
- 2023
- Ramana G. Reddy, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
- 2024
- Daniel B Miracle, Air Force Research Laboratory