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Special Events WEDNESDAY

contributions in understanding the size effects and deformation mecha- THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19
nisms of semiconductor, metal and ceramic nanowires. Particularly
noteworthy is his work in the field of stretchable electronics using
nanomaterials. He has worked on the interfacial mechanics of nanomateri- CONFERENCE-WIDE PLENARY
als (e.g., nanowires and graphene) and polymer substrate and has Thursday, November 19
creatively used the buckling principle to achieve different types of 11:30am–12:30pm
stretchable nanostructures. His work provides valuable insight and design Grand Ballroom, Hilton of the Americas
guidelines of nanomaterial-enabled stretchable electronics.
John Elbon
Vice President and General Manager
Boeing Space Exploration
Materials Division Nadai Medal Award Presentation
3:30pm–4:00pm
Presentation Title: Overview and Outlook for Human Space
Title: What Causes the Intriniscally Brittle Behaviors in Amorphous Exploration
Materials from Metallic Glasses to Lithiated Si Electrodes?
Abstract: America’s economic growth and competitiveness depend
Huajian Gao on our capacity to innovate, to reach beyond today’s possibilities,
School of Engineering, Brown University and to stretch farther, faster than our competitors around the world.
Our future depends on developing the next generation technolo-
Abstract: Fracture toughness is a critical property of engineering
gies, but more important are the next generation minds.
materials. A common perception is that the ability of materials to deform
plastically is a key to enhance the toughness of the material. While this America needs to reinvigorate that Apollo-era passion that
view is widely studied in crystalline materials, there exist apparent paradox- changed the world, launching new industries and opening new
es in amorphous materials. For example, metallic glasses are capable of doors into the universe. A shared commitment to NASA’s vision for
plastic deformation via shear transformation zones, but their fracture the International Space Station, Commercial Crew, and the heavy
toughness varies in several orders of magnitude, resulting in nearly ideally lift Space Launch System rocket is the strong foundation needed.
brittle to ductile fracture behaviors. Lithiated Si electrodes exhibit plastic
deformation but their measured fracture toughness values are close to Presenter Biography: John Elbon is responsible for the strategic
those of ideally brittle solids. In this talk, I will present some recent direction of Boeing’s civil space programs and the support of
understanding on these issues from ultralarge scale molecular dynamics NASA programs, such as the International Space Station (ISS),
simulations of fracture in a range of amorphous solids including various Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, and the Space
metallic glasses and lithiated Si electrodes. The results indicate that the Launch System.
ability of materials to suppress nanoscale cavitation may play an equally
Elbon served as vice president and program manager for Boeing’s
important role as plastic deformation in enhancing fracture toughness. The
Commercial Programs. In this position, he managed Boeing’s efforts
discussions will be organized around the current understandings based on
on NASA’s Commercial Crew Space Act. He has leveraged
existing experimental, theoretical and simulation efforts, as well as the
innovations and capabilities from across Boeing in the develop-
outstanding questions that require further studies in the future.
ment of crew transportation systems to support NASA and
commercial customers in accessing destinations in Low Earth Orbit.
He has also been Boeing’s vice president of systems integration for
the Army’s Future Combat Systems, and the Boeing program
manager for several NASA programs, including Constellation, ISS,
and the, Checkout, Assembly & Payload Processing Services
(CAPPS) contract at Kennedy Space Center.

As vice president and program manager of ISS, Elbon led Boeing
in its role as prime integrating contractor for NASA’s ISS contract
to design, develop, test, launch, and operate this orbiting facility.
The multibillion-dollar contract required the coordination of
several thousand Boeing employees in five major locations as
well as subcontractors and suppliers located in 23 states across
the United States.

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