The twelfth general assembly of our society with the preceding workshop “Ceramics in Austria” was opened on April 4, 2024 at Graz University of Technology by Vice Rector Mag. Andrea Höglinger and the chairman Dr. Klaus Reichmann. Nine presentations by representatives of member companies and universities provided interesting insights into the research and development of ceramic materials and provided plenty of material for discussion among the participants. In addition, the Austrian representative Abdullah Jabr reported on the activities of the Young Ceramists Network of the European Ceramic Society. The submitted theses and dissertations were then presented by the nominating supervisors.

The chairman Dr. Klaus Reichmann and the cashier Dr. Raul Bermejo reported on the activities of our members and the financial situation of the society. The numerous conference visits and honors, as well as the awarding of financial support to student members, were highlighted. After the auditors' report and the discharge of the board, a new board was elected. The Austrian Ceramic Society is now represented by:

Priv.Doz. Dr. Marco Deluca is leaving the board at his own request after thirteen years in various functions. Dr. Deluca was a founding member of the company and chairman of the board from 2020 to 2022. The application to appoint Dr. Marco Deluca as an Honorary Member because of his dedicated commitment to our society was accepted without any dissenting votes.

Honorary Member Dr. Marco Deluca (left)

Following the general meeting, the winners of the best master’s theses and dissertations as well as the “Best Paper Award” were announced. The speakers of the selection committees, Prof. Robert Danzer and Prof. Werner Sitte, briefly explained the criteria for ranking the submitted works. The following theses received awards:

Best Master Thesis: Anna-Maria Fuchsberger (Technische Universität Wien)
Polymer-derived ceramics with hierarchical porosity by phase separation

Best PhD-Thesis: Florian Mayer (Montanuniversität Leoben)
Property Relationships in Substituted BaTiO₃: A Theoretical Study

The “Best Paper Award” was selected by three external reviewers from foreign research institutions. The highest rating achieved
“Scaling up the cold sintering process of ceramics”
by Abdullah Jabr, Haley N. Jones, Andrea P. Argüelles, Susan Trolier-McKinstry, Clive Randall, Raul Bermejo published in Journal of the European Ceramic Society 43 (2023), 5319-5329.

    
Laureate "Best PhD-Thesis" Florian Mayer (middle)                                          Laureate "Best Paper Award" Abdullah Jabr (middle)

For his outstanding achievements in the field of lead-free ceramic ferroelectrics, Assoc.Prof. Dr. Jurij Koruza was honored as Young Scientist of the Year 2024. The chairman read out excerpts from the report prepared by an external expert, who confirmed the scientific excellence of Dr. Koruza highlights and expressed the unreserved recommendation for the award of this prize.