Ceramics engineering today and tomorrow: Impact on energy

Ceramic engineering has had a profound impact on the development and use of energy. Perhaps nothing has influenced the growth of human society as much as the presence of energy technology. Today, ceramics are incorporated at all levels of the energy discipline, including dams, electric insulators, capacitors, refractories and fiberglass for home insulation. Tomorrow, leaders are going to expect new ways of harnessing, using and conserving clean and abundant energy. Superconductors and nuclear containment vessels are two developing areas of new ceramic applications. With new environmental regulations, the time of passing-on accepted methods of fabrication will come to an end. Ceramic engineers of the future will need to better understand the mechanisms of how materials behave. Through continuous research and joint efforts between different ceramic fields, the future of energy and power, and the technology that it will bring, looks most promising.