World Materials Summit (3rd). Held in Washington, DC on 9-12 October, 2011.

摘要

The 2011 World Materials Summit brought together global scientific experts and policymakers to continue the dialogue in the U.S. Capitol on the role of materials science in energy and the environment. It focused on the critical links among materials research, energy, and sustainable development on a global scale. Abundant clean energy supplies and reliable energy storage systems are needed to address many critical societal issues in development and developed countries. On a broader scale, access to energy is a key factor in determining society's quality of life and economic prosperity. Energy technologies can impact day-to-day life in developing countries. Clean, renewable energy, in particular solar technologies, holds much promise for rural communities. Much work is being conducted to develop de-centralized, self- contained energy generation (or conversion), storage and use for rural regions of the world. Innovations reducing the cost of production, increasing device efficiency and improving device sustainability should enhance the spread of their impact in developing countries. Materials research continues to be at the forefront of new energy technologies. This Summit helped to stimulate the materials science and broader community to understand the many facets of the energy challenges facing the world in the next decades, to see the opportunities for materials science to help meet those challenges, to see the interconnected nature of the problems, and to provide a forum for scientifically sound input to public policy.