contents n°104 Edito ..................................... 3 " Point of view: Thailand smiles at composites... 4 Thailand is the gateway to Asia and its good air, sea and road transportation networks make it a major hub for the ASEAN region " Danu ChotikapaniCh President Thai Composite Association Companies & Business 8 DARPA selects Aurora to build VTOL X-plane technology demonstrator Albany International to acquire advanced composites business Messier-Bugatti-Dowty to expand carbon brake production plant in US 8 Applications 12 Cycle Innovative CFRP seat dome for new generation of eBikes Agenda of Events ............... 10 14 Multisectorial Index .................................. 65 In the world ........................ 66 From Olympic catamarans to hightech composite components for industry - Composites challenge gravity law 16 Music - The elegance of carbon Collapsible carbon fibre travel guitar - A safety bag for your hoverboard 12 SPECIAL JEC AMERICAS 2016 26 Conferences 17th lnternational JEC Conferences: Knowledge and networking 29 36 Oil & Gas Is the oil and gas market a bust? 6 jec composites magazine / No104 April - May 2016 Redevelopment "There are many unique opportunities here for composites companies" Awards JEC Innovation Awards Program 2016 34 36 38 Laboratory "We tend to focus on materials behaviour vs large-scale mechanical engineering"