Experts in Nondestructive Evaluation to Gather at ISU in July

AMES, Iowa -- Over 400 leaders in nondestructive evaluation will meet here July 16-21 to exchange research results and discuss the steps needed to transfer technology from the lab bench to industry.

The Center for Nondestructive Evaluation at Iowa State University is hosting the 27^th Annual Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation, an event that brings together the best research from universities, industries and government groups.

The field of nondestructive evaluation is motivated by the desire to avoid catastrophic failures in such structures as airplanes, nuclear power plants, bridges and railroads. It is an important tool in assuring the reliable service of engineering materials and components, extending the lives of the structures they comprise and avoiding catastrophic performance failures. Industries conduct nondestructive inspection of materials and components with noninvasive measurements, including X-ray, ultrasonic and electromagnetic techniques. Quantitative nondestructive evaluation advances the field by enabling scientists to measure flaws and to determine how long a part, though not perfect, will still fulfill its function.

Attendees at the review will interact with QNDE researchers to learn about cutting-edge technologies. "This interaction will be beneficial to companies facing new inspection challenges and seeking to develop efficient ways to characterize materials and flaws. Today's competitive marketplace and globalization of business require companies to seek the quickest, least expensive and most uniform means for inspection while still maintaining the highest quality," said Bruce Thompson, director of the ISU center.

The conference schedule includes a series of presentations and poster and technical sessions. On July 17, the week-long conference gets started with four keynote talks on leading advances in nondestructive evaluation, including their applications to biomedical issues. Keynote speakers will be Dr. Matthias Fink, a physics professor at France's Ecole Superieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris, Universite Denis Diderot; Dr. Michael W. Vannier, professor and chair of the department of radiology, University of Iowa School of Medicine; Dr. Gerd-Rudiger Tillack of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in Berlin; and Dr. Joe Gray, a senior scientist and group leader at ISU's Center for Nondestructive Evaluation.

Technical sessions will be mixed with tours of the area and opportunities for fellowship. Conferees are invited to tour Living History Farms in Urbandale, Valley Junction in West Des Moines and Jordan House, a Victorian home in West Des Moines that once served as a station for the underground railroad. In addition, groups can travel on the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad through the Des Moines River Valley and participate in a 5K Fun Run at the ISU cross-country track, site of the fall 2000 NCAA cross-country championships.

"The relationships formed at this conference have played a major role in shaping the field of nondestructive evaluation and providing the strong technical foundation on which our current efforts are based. The conference is a time to promote professional partnerships amongst researchers, engineers, practitioners and students working in the field," said Donald Thompson, founding director of CNDE.

Technical papers presented at the conference will be published in hard-bound conference proceedings. The review is organized by CNDE in cooperation with the American Society for Nondestructive Testing, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration, the NASA-Langley Research Center and the National Science Foundation.

To obtain more information on conference registration, events, transportation and lodging, visit the conference World Wide Web site at http://www.cnde.iastate.edu/qnde/qnde.html or contact Linda Poore, administrative specialist at CNDE, at qnde3@cnde.iastate.edu.

CNDE is a member of the Institute for Physical Research and Technology, a network of research and technology-transfer centers and industrial-outreach programs at Iowa State University.

Last updated September 6, 2006 rbm