Several from Alfred University honored at ACerS MS&T Conference
Alfred University was well represented at the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) Materials Science & Technology (MS&T) Conference, held this week in Pittsburgh. Several AU students and faculty from Alfred University were recognized as award recipients while others gave talks and presentations throughout the four-day conference, which opened Sunday, Oct. 6 and concluded Wednesday, Oct. 9.
William Carty, emeritus professor of ceramic engineering, received the Education and Professional Development Council (EPDC) Outstanding Educator Award at the ACerS Awards Banquet Monday evening. Carty was also author or co-author of six presentations given during conference, some in collaboration with Alfred University students and faculty. His presentations included an invited talk, titled “A Critique of Additive Manufacturing in Ceramics.”
Rebecca Welch, visiting assistant professor of materials science and engineering and outreach coordinator in the Inamori School of Engineering at Alfred University, and alumnus Elizabeth Tsekrekas ’19 (B.S. glass science), PhD ’24 (glass science), were recognized as winners of the David W. Richardson Educational Outreach Award. The award, presented by ACerS at its Awards Banquet Monday, recognizes recipients for their outreach work.
Welch organized a two-day outreach event at Alfred-Almond Central School, where she and a group of undergraduate students talked to fifth and sixth graders about engineering. The event, which reached more than 100 Alfred-Almond students, was organized with the University’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. Welch also created, organized, and executed the “Night of Science and Art,” which was held the last two Octobers, attracting more than 500 children and family members from local elementary and middle schools. The event brings together multiple university departments—including physics, materials science, ceramics, glass science, and chemistry—and featured over 50 science demonstrations, all led by Alfred University faculty and undergraduate students.
While a student at Alfred University, Tsekrekas participated regularly in a number of outreach activities. They included events aimed at educating primary and secondary students about science and engineering, such as Women in Engineering Days; open houses and presentations to accepted students; on-campus summer engineering institutes; and Glass Learning Opportunities Workshops sponsored by the Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation. Tsekrekas is a post-doctoral researcher at the Savannah River National Laboratory in Georgia.
Patrick Lynch, a senior glass science major from Long Island, was honored as winner of the 2024 Alfred R. Cooper Young Scholars Award, given by the Glass and Optical Materials Division of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS). The undergraduate award is named in honor of the late Professor Alfred R. Cooper, Jr., member of the faculty at Case Western Reserve University and a prominent contributor to the understanding of many glass phenomena and glass problems.
Lynch was recognized for his undergraduate glass research entitled “Accelerated Structural Relaxation of Chalcogenide Glasses via Thermo-Ultrasonication.” As winner of the Cooper Award, he presented a talk on his research at the conference. Lynch works in Assistant Professor of Ceramic Engineering Myungkoo Kang’s Advanced Optical Ceramics group, conducting research in chalcogenide glasses, which are a key component of many different infrared acquisition, guidance, and sensing systems.
Annika Blake-Howland, a doctoral student in glass science and a coordinator of Paul Vickers Gardner Glass Center at Alfred University, gave a talk in the Scientific Methods in Art, Archeology, and Art Conservation Science section. The title of her talk was “Copper Red Glass from Unterhalb Dornsweg near Glashütten, Germany: History and Preliminary Findings.” She also presented a poster as part of the Graduate Student Poster Contest. Her poster title was “A Physical-Chemical Description of Frederick Carder’s Aurene Glass.” Doris Möncke, associate professor of glass science, was the final author/author/principal investigator for both the talk and the poster.
Scott Misture, Inamori Professor of Materials Science and Engineering gave a contributed talk and served on the judges panel for the Basic Science Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) Award. He attended several student talks in serving as judge for the student speaking contest.
Mario Caccia, assistant professor of ceramic engineering, advised the following Alfred University students participating in the mug dropping contest: Matthew Bittel, Ally Bruno, Sam Gross, Patrick House, and Aidan Prendergast. The contest tests students on their prowess in designing and manufacturing a ceramic mug possessing high strength, mechanical reliability, and/or aesthetics. Mugs fabricated by students from ceramic raw materials are judged (separately) on aesthetics and then by dropping them from ever-increasing heights. The mug that is dropped from the greatest height without breaking wins.
A team of five Alfred University students participated in the mug dropping contest during the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) Materials Science & Technology (MS&T) Conference, held this week in Pittsburgh. Shown here on campus making the mugs they used in the competition are, from left: Patrick House, Matthew Bittel, Aidan Prendergast, Ally Bruno, and Sam Gross.
Hyojin Lee, research associate, ceramic engineering, and David Gottfried, director of the Center for Advanced Ceramic Technology (CACT), oversaw an exhibit booth at the Advanced Materials Show Expo, representing Alfred University, the Inamori School of Engineering, and the CACT. Caccia, Kun Wang, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, along with graduate student Nate Marrero, and undergraduates Bittel, Bruno, Gross, House, and Prendergast assisted at the booth.
Several of Möncke’s graduate students presented talks at the conference, including Lenorah Stott, Blake-Howland, and Amir Ashjari. Möncke was also co-author on presentations given by two students: Grace Dunham and C Hancock.
Kun Wang, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, served as session chair in the symposium titled “Tackling Metallic Structural Materials Challenges for Advanced Nuclear Reactors”.
Dean of Engineering Dr. Gabrielle Gaustad ’04 was organizer and session co-chair for “Enabling Recycling and Reuse of Secondary Materials to support a Circular Economy” with former Alfred University Center for Energy and Environmental Research Director Dr. Chris Sinton.
Several alumni received prestigious awards. Dr. Victoria Blair ’08 (B.S., ceramic engineering) PhD ’14 (ceramic engineering) currently Materials Engineering and Portfolio Manager for Super Materials at the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, was inducted into the 2024 ACerS Class of Fellows. Dr. Katherine T. Faber ’75 (B.S., ceramic engineering), currently with the California Institute of Technology, received the W. David Kingery Award for her distinguished lifelong achievements involving multidisciplinary and global contributions to ceramic technology, science, and art.
At the Alfred University alumni meeting on the Roof Terrace of the David A. Lawrence Convention Center, Dr. Faber had an invigorating discussion with current graduate students Grace Dunham, C Hancock, Lenorah Stott, and Annika Blake-Howland about their research projects and the interdisciplinary nature of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.