The Rise of a Star

Although he discovered quasicrystals in 1982, their existence was so unbelievable at that time that Dr. Shechtman was ostracised by the scientific community, losing his job and the respect of those around him. His most outspoken critic was a two time Nobel laureate who is famously quoted as saying of Shechtman, “there is no such thing as quasicrystals, only quasi-scientists.”

In the face of great pressure, Dr. Shechtman chose to stand up for what he knew to be true and spent nearly a decade working to convince the world of the existence of quasicrystals. He was finally vindicated when his findings were replicated by several other laboratories and, in 1992 the International Union of Crystallography changed the definition of crystals to include quasicrystals. Since then, over 100 types of quasicrystals have been discovered and in 2011 Dr. Shechtman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery he had made nearly 30 years earlier.

This year Dr. Shechtman is being recognised with a symposium honouring his work. The Shechtman International Symposium was organised by Flogen Technologies, a research and development firm that spans a variety of fields, including metallurgy, chemistry, environmental protection, information technology and business management. Driven by the company’s dynamic CEO, Dr Florian Kongoli, Flogen Technologies are working hard to bring attention to scientists around the world through their Star Outreach Program, an international non-profit organisation that hosts conferences and symposiums honouring scientists whose work promotes sustainable development.

The goal of the Star Outreach Program is not purely to bring attention to scientists, but rather to promote the need for sustainable development in society by honouring the scientists, technologists and engineers whose work supports a sustainable future.

Dr. Florian Kongoli explains the organisation’s mission on their website:

“Without scientists, technologists and engineers there is no short and long term sustainable future. Without them the world cannot function. Yet they are not properly acknowledged society-wide. They are the silent STARs of the society. For the sake of our sustainable future let’s bring proper acknowledgement to our scientists, technologists and engineers at a normal STAR level of our society.”

This year’s conference was held at the beautiful Fiesta Americana Condesa Cancun All Inclusive Resort in Cancun, Mexico from 29 June – 04 July 2014, and focused on sustainable materials development and extraction. Thermo-Calc Software attended the conference and had a booth at the exhibition. We attend dozens of conferences and workshops every year as a way to stay in touch with our customers and continue to meet your needs. To find out if we’re going to be in your area, see the list of upcoming events on our website and stop by our booth when we’re near you.

Previous honourees include Dr. Derek J. Fray in 2011, Professor H.Y. Sohn in 2006 and Prof. Akira Yazawa in 2003.