New Science Prize Launched: The Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize

BRUSSELS, February 13, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Tantalum (Ta) is a metal element that is often called critical, strategic and rare, but the long-term future of the tantalum market will depend on technology-driven innovations. A new prize dedicated to this rare and special element has been created to encourage and recognize research and development around tantalum: The Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize.

The Prize is a new annual award established by the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre (T.I.C.) to recognise excellence in published tantalum research. The Prize will increase awareness of the many unique properties of tantalum products and the applications in which they excel.

The Prize has been named after the discoverer of tantalum and will be awarded to the lead author(s) of the published paper or patent that is judged by an independent panel of experts to have made the greatest contribution to understanding the processing, properties or applications of tantalum. The prize is sponsored by the T.I.C. and is central to its efforts to publicise the many exceptional benefits afforded by this element. 

Director of the T.I.C., Roland Chavasse, said: “Winners of the Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize will be acknowledged as true leaders in this field.” The lead author(s) will be invited to give a presentation on their work at a General Assembly (conference), where they will also receive a medal made of tantalum and a certificate of the award presented by the T.I.C. President. They will also be interviewed in the Associations quarterly magazine, the Bulletin.

The Prize is open to any published paper or patent that is judged to advance knowledge and understanding of tantalum. To be eligible for consideration the publication must be in English and be made between 24 and 6 months before the award ceremony at the T.I.C.’s annual General Assembly. Therefore, to be eligible for the October 2018 Prize a publication must be dated between October 2016 and April 2018. To submit a publication for consideration for the 2018 Award, email info@tanb.org by April 31, 2018.

Suitable subjects may include, but are not limited to:  

• Tantalum used in capacitors or other electronic applications - Tantalum metallurgy and mill products, including alloys
• The use of tantalum powder in additive manufacturing (3D printing) 
• Innovative new applications for tantalum
• Processing of tantalum minerals, synthetic concentrates or other raw materials
• Recycling of tantalum-bearing scrap.

The T.I.C. staff and Executive Committee, acting as secretariat to the Prize, will create a shortlist of approximately a dozen eligible publications for consideration by the independent panel of experts (the ‘Panel’) that will vote on the winner.

The Panel: A Panel is a group of international experts selected because of their outstanding leadership in their field. They will be asked to provide an impartial assessment of the technical merit of the shortlisted papers. Members of the T.I.C. Executive Committee and staff cannot sit on the Panel.

Schedule for the first Prize: The initial Prize is planned to be awarded at the 59th General Assembly in October 2018. Full details of the Prize are available from www.TaNb.org.

Who was Anders Gustaf Ekeberg? Born in 1767, Anders Gustaf Ekeberg was a Swedish scientist, mathematician, and poet. He became a professor at Uppsala University in 1794 and initially made his name by developing advanced analytical techniques and by proposing Swedish names for the common chemical elements according to the principles set out by the "father of modern chemistry" Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier. Ekeberg discovered the oxide of tantalum in 1802, isolating it from samples of two different minerals, specifically, tantalite from Kimito, Finland, and yttrotantalite from Ytterby, Sweden.

According to Ekeberg’s friend, the chemist Jacob Berzelius, Ekeberg chose the name ’tantalum’ partly to reflect the difficulties that he had experienced in reacting the new element with common acids and partly out of his passion for ancient Greek literature. Tantalus was a demi-god who killed and cooked his son, Pelops, and as punishment was condemned to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink. Ekeberg suffered from poor health in later years and in February 1813 he died, unmarried, at the age of 46. [END]  

About the Tantalum and Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.):  Since its inception, the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C. or the Association) has grown and developed to encompass the changing nature of the tantalum and niobium industries and will continue in the same spirit in facing future challenges. After initially focusing on just tantalum, in 1986 niobium joined the association and today our membership represents every aspect of the global tantalum and niobium industries.

The Association is an international, non-profit association founded in 1974 under Belgian law. In 2018 it had around 90 member companies from 25 countries involved with all aspects of the tantalum and niobium industry supply chain (including mining, trading, processing, recycling, metal fabrication, capacitor manufacturing, medical and more).  The Association is run by its Executive Committee. This Committee reflects the range of activities of the members and covers the geographic spread of the membership, too. 

Objectives: Increase awareness and promote the remarkable properties of tantalum and niobium in all their forms. To disseminate information on any matter affecting that industry, excluding price and related information and any other proprietary information. Address major issues and challenges facing its industry such as conflict minerals legislation, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), and the transport of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). Organize a General Assembly (conference) each year for business and technical presentations. Typically, this includes a field trip to a member company or associated industrial facility. The T.I.C. also publishes a quarterly Bulletin newsletter containing interesting and informative articles about the T.I.C. and the global tantalum and niobium industries. 

Contact: Roland Chavasse, Director, Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.) Office Tel.: +32 2 649 51 58; director@tanb.org; https://tanb.org/

Source: Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.)