2nd Meeting at MSE 2008 (Nuremberg, Germany) on September 3rd 2008

A core meeting was held on September 3rd 2008 at MSE 2008 (Nuremberg, Germany, 1-4 September 2008), where a symposium "Towards Ultrastrong Glasses" was organized jointly by TC03 and TC06. The symposium animated by Lothar Wondraczek was very stimulating and it was followed by a joint meeting of TC03, TC06 and TC09 concerning a Round Table on the Strength of Glass issue. Three TC09 members were present (M. Ciccotti, A. Cormack and R. Hand) and contributed with oral presentations and active discussion.

Preliminary discussion were made on the opportunity of organizing a joint TC09 and TC19 workshop on "Glass surfaces and stress corrosion mechanisms at the nanoscale" to be held in Februay 2009 in Montpellier. This should be an excellent opportunity to make a point of the state of the art in this research topic and settle better plans for future activities of TC09 which are likely to involve extensive cooperation with both TC19 and TC06.

The advancements on the project on the joint TC09/TC19 RRT test on the investigation of the the nature of the first tens nanometers below the glass surface after different kinds of advanced polishing were discussed, especially concerning the choice of the standard sample and the protocols for its conditioning during the tests and transfers between different laboratories.