2001 UIA 31st Symposium -
Click here to view the Symposium 2001 slide show.
The 31st UIA Symposium was held at the Omni Hotel in Atlanta from October 12th through October 14th. It was held in technical collaboration with the IEEE UFFC Conference, which immediately preceded our symposium at the Omni. The goal in the collaboration was to encourage IEEE members, who normally do not attend our symposium, to give the UIA a try. A total of 11 individuals attended both, and 8 of those were IEEE members who were at the UIA Symposium for the first time
The technical program had scheduled a total of 20 technical papers. But with the attack on September 11, we had some papers cancel. A total of 17 papers were presented including the two from the P&G and UIA Graduate Research Award recipients, David Grewell and Michael Grossner. Fortunately, two presenters gave presentations for their coworkers, who were not able to attend.
The program started with our keynote speaker, Dr. Bajram Zeqiri from the National Physical Laboratory in the UK. His talk on the quantification of cavitation was particularly well received. He gave a broad overview of past work in the area and the continuing need for accurate quantification of cavitation. He then discussed his work using a cylindrical transducer to monitor only the center of the transducer and thereby avoid the spatial summation of all the cavitation events in the region.
A timely presentation was made Michael Taylor of Cepheid on the use ultrasonics to lyze spores. Once the spores are lyzed, the quantity of DNA can be amplified and analyzed with PCR. This technology is to be used in field monitoring for biological agents such as anthrax.
Dr. Gerry Blessing, our dinner speaker, presented an overview of the NIST facility and campus. He highlighted some of the work of the Ultrasound Laboratory to develop precise accurate means to measure and quantify characteristics of ultrasonic transducers and the use of ultrasonics in materials characterization.
Of the 25 who responded to our survey, 23 wanted the annual Symposium to continue, and 20 are planning to attend the 2002 Symposium. But even in light of the September 11 attack, the attendance of 73 was far below the estimated 100 plus attendees. As UIA members, I urge you all to promote the UIA with your coworkers and colleagues, to encourage them to both join the UIA, and to attend next year's Symposium. Also please request that your company or your vendors in ultrasound products and services support the UIA by advertising in the "Vibrations" newsletter and by exhibiting at the Symposium. The UIA Board welcomes your suggestions and recommendations for growing the UIA, and making the Symposium relevant and exciting.
Foster B. Stulen, Ph.D., P.E.
Co-Chair 31st UIA Symposium
Sample Papers from the 2001 Symposium:
Plastic Joining - Fundamental Formulas (PDF)
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