The theme of this year’s Ecological Society of America (ESA) Annual Meeting is Life on Earth: Preserving, Utilizing and Sustaining our Ecosystems. To preserve biological diversity (which includes ecosystems, species, and genes) there must be a focus on informed, sustainable utilization at the landscape scale. Species population declines and mass extinctions have always been part of the natural process; however, observations made over the last few decades have made it clear that these dynamics are quite out of the ordinary. This conference will explore the three aspects that define biodiversity, and focus on how humans are at the center of these changes and massive alterations to natural ecosystems.

This upcoming workshop will be the fourth to date on sustainable surface engineering technologies. Since the most recent workshop in February 2011 there has been significant tightening of regulations affecting chromates and other coating materials. DoD has issued the hexavalent chromium DFARS rule, new EPA and OSHA regulations are impacting depot costs and work requirements, and the European REACH and RoHS regulations are resulting in coating and finishing chemicals being withdrawn from the market, even in the U.S., as well as affecting sustainment at U.S. bases in Europe. As a result, the need for alternatives that do not have environmental, safety, or occupational health (ESOH) issues, yet are able to match or exceed the performance of currently used materials, is becoming increasingly acute. The goal of this upcoming workshop will be to foster the exchange of information between research organizations, chemical and coating formulators and manufacturers, aerospace/defense repair facilities, and weapons systems and aircraft manufacturers concerning options, performance, and implementation of all types of alternatives.