May 15 2026 I thank ASM sustainable manufacturing committee for organising a highly informative talk by Dr Sweta Baruah on the topic of Materials Upcycling in Additive manufacturing. As it stands AM is far more material efficient than traditional manufacturing processes— producing less waste than subtractive manufacturing techniques (milling/turning/drilling/grinding). Yet feedstock cost in AM remains high due to energy intensive processes used in its manufacturing. Typical powderisation techniques using gas or water atomisation consume much energy as do wire extrusion processes. The desire to cut down the input energy serves as a powerful motivator to develop processes that can lower the cost and make AM more sustainable. Traditional melt processing technologies for making powder or wire help with the reusability of waste streams and reduce energy input because compared to fresh feedstock there is no need for crushing ,chemical treatment,reduction etc. Yet...
13th May 2026 I thank the American Institute of Physics (AIP) for organising an exceptional talk by Dr Merav Opher on the SHIELD (Solar wind with Hydrogen Ion charge Exchange and Large-Scale Dynamics) project, which she is heading at Boston University in collaboration with NASA and several other institutions. It was a great privilege for me to learn from one of the leading plasma astrophysicists about this highly complex interdisciplinary initiative. The SHIELD project aims to implement a ‘digital twin’ of the heliosphere, the bubble surrounding our solar system created by solar wind from the sun travelling supersonically with velocities in the range of 400Km/s. This protective bubble,which is much larger than our solar system, is responsible for shielding nearly 70% of harmful cosmic rays. The motive behind creating a digital twin emerges from the fact that the plasma characteristics of the heliosphere are quite different from lab plasmas and interstellar plasma...