The driving force has been the consumer electronics market. There has been a relentless drive for higher speed, smaller size and lower costs. And that has put the squeeze on all components, including ceramic ones.
Background
Relva Buchanan is a professor of ceramics and materials science in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Buchanan holds a BS in glass technology (1960) from Alfred University and a PhD in ceramic science from MIT.
Interests
Buchanan’s research interests include the development of ceramic-based sensor materials to serve a variety of microelectronic sensing applications (ceramic engineering, ceramic-polymer composites, dielectrics, piezoelectrics, thick films and sensors, energy storage, supercapacitors). Buchanan first worked as a senior research engineer in microelectronics components and packaging with IBM Corporation before becoming a professor of ceramic science and engineering. His service to the profession includes roles as a trustee of the American Ceramic Society, a fellow of both the American Ceramic Society and the American Society of Metals, and a member of an International Materials Review Panel for the Ministry and Foundation for Science and Technology in Lisbon, Portugal.
News Items
Sample Work
- Publication- Materials crystal chemistry- Buchanan, Relva C., and Taeun Park. Materials crystal chemistry. CRC Press, 1997. 
- Publication- Ceramic Materials for Electronics- Buchanan, Relva C., ed. Ceramic materials for electronics. Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1991. - Chapters: - Chapter 1 Ceramic Insulators
- Chapter 4 (Co-authored) Ferrites
- Chapter 2 and 5 (Revised) Ferroelectrics. Sensors.
 
- Publication- Ceramics As Electrical Materials- Buchanan, Relva C., and Rodney D. Roseman. “Ceramics As Electrical Materials.” Kirk‐Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Vol. 5, 4/e,Series, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 698-728 (1993). 
- Publication- Electrical/Electronic Applications for Advanced Ceramics: Introduction- “Electrical/Electronic Applications for Advanced Ceramics: Introduction”, R. C. Buchanan, Engineered Materials Handbook, Vol. 4, Ceramics and Glasses, 1105-06 (1991). 

