United States of America: Market giant with great expectations

U.S. companies, universities, and institutions assess the next-generation talent, technologies, and climate-friendly practices needed to sustain global leadership.

The United States has always favored people and entities who like to run on the fast track. These days, however, businesses are facing challenges that do not always support moving at full speed.

From resolving supply chain and labor constraints to adopting new sustainability standards and computer technologies, U.S. organizations are contending with a complicated environment for achieving their R&D and growth goals.

Rajendra Bordia, the George J. Bishop III Endowed Chair and professor of ceramics and materials engineering at Clemson University, has witnessed firsthand the effect of and response to these challenges in the ceramics and glass industry during his time as ACerS president (2023–2024).

For example, though artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning methods have captured people’s imaginations with their potential for transformation, many businesses have yet to clarify how they would use these techniques and how they would get a return on their investment in it. But “I’m confident that we will start to see its implementation in terms of both product development and process optimization,” says Bordia.

Sustainable manufacturing practices, on the other hand, are already becoming embedded in product development, operations, and pursuit of emerging market opportunities.

“Ceramics and glasses have been very important in sustainability for a long time. Even if you think about a simple thing like a refractory brick used in furnaces or production facilities, its purpose is to reduce thermal losses and improve the efficiency of that particular process,” Bordia notes. “From my point of view, ceramics will be absolutely critical for sustainable and low-environmental-impact energy conversion and storage, including carbon capture and utilization.”

Making these strides will require a reliable talent pool. To ensure an adequate supply of trained professionals, Bordia advocates including every generation that wants to be part of the workforce. He encourages employers to consider nontraditional approaches to late-career staff members, such as offering them the opportunity to transition to part-time work for several years before they move into full retirement.

“I think the best ideas, innovations, and advances will come from a combination of the young talent trained in these novel approaches and platforms and the older workforce’s experience in terms of what is useful and needed in the market,” he says. “They can guide and work with these younger colleagues to use the new tools to satisfy those needs.”

That is especially important from his perspective as a university professor because “we are seeing a decreased interest in what we call hardcore or traditional engineering disciplines.”

“There’s a lot of interest in computer science and a fair amount of interest in bioscience and biomedical technologies, but there is less interest in things like mechanical, materials science, chemical, and electrical engineering,” he says. He encourages companies that want to recruit from that smaller talent pool to partner with academic institutions and offer internships or co-op opportunities.

Bordia notes that ceramics will have a significant role to play not only in sustainability but also in national security and defense—and, by extension, sectors such as aerospace.

“Ceramics are critically important in everything from space exploration to hypersonic vehicles. Significant progress is being made in ceramics in electronic systems, including sensors and actuators. Biomaterials is another exciting area, particularly with the increased focus on individualized medicine,” he says.

The following sections demonstrate how these myriad market factors shape policy and decision-making at establishments both large and small through interviews with leaders in industry, academia, and the government. Despite the challenges, these experts still express a strong passion and drive to advance materials research and application in the U.S.

Overall, “It’s a very exciting time for ceramics,” Bordia says.

Sections

Industry perspectives: Startups and niche markets

Industry perspectives: Market influencers

Academic perspectives

Government perspectives

Market snapshot: United States of America