Imagine, Fall 2019 MatSE newsletter
This is the time of year when the fall weather hits central Pennsylvania, the leaves change color, everyone is mad for college football, and most MatSE students spend time studying for, or recovering from, mid-term exams.
As you will see in the MatSE Fall 2019 Imagine newsletter, we also found time to host a workshop at the University Park campus in September that focused on undergraduate education in materials science and engineering. The workshop was supported by the National Science Foundation and brought together department heads, faculty, students, and representatives from industry, national laboratories, government agencies, and technical societies. The content of the presentations, panels, and discussion will be summarized in a forthcoming paper with the aim of establishing best practices for the education of undergraduate MatSE students as enrollments increase at Penn State and in many programs nationwide.
I am pleased to share news regarding the promotion and tenure of three outstanding MatSE faculty members, Nasim Alem, Allison Beese, and Ismaila Dabo, as well as information about exciting research projects being undertaken by MatSE faculty and students.
It is also extremely rewarding to share with you that the Penn State Alumni Association honored a prominent MatSE alumnus, John A. Coppola, a member and past president of the MatSE External Advisory Board, with the Alumni Fellow Award, their highest honor.
Our students (and future alumni!) continue impress as well, as indicated elsewhere in the newsletter. Lastly, our alumni spotlight takes a bit of a different spin this time, with a “he said, she said” format from two MatSE alumni, Larry and Beth Hancock. It is interesting to note the topics on which they agree and those on which they do not!
Please let me know when you will next be in State College — I always look forward to hearing from alumni and friends of MatSE at sinnott@mse.psu.edu and 814-863-3117.
Happy fall everyone!
Susan B. Sinnott
Professor and Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering