Materials science is a dynamic and rapidly expanding field. Recent technological and economic developments have led to the creation of innovative materials with unusual engineering properties and broad applications in a variety of fields – from the energy industries to the medical field. As such, there is a call for encouraging new ideas, research and collaboration in the multidisciplinary arena of materials science.
The University of Houston-Materials Research Society Chapter (UH-MRS) recently hosted its second annual student symposium. This year’s event was open to both graduate and undergraduate students. Participating students presented their work to a crowd of professional members across various engineering and science disciplines at UH.
“It was a great opportunity and experience bringing together graduate and undergraduate researchers from different areas to interact, network, disseminate and showcase their research work,’’ said Devendra Khatiwada, president of the UH-MRS chapter.
The 40 presenters came from departments and colleges across the UH campus, including chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and materials engineering.
The 2018 UH-MRS poster winners are:
First Place: Sogol Lotfi, Chemical Engineering Department, Advisor: Jakoah Brgoch
Second Place: Adheesha Danthanarayana, Chemical Engineering Department, Advisor: Jakoah Brgoch
Third Place: Wenbo Luo, Mechanical Engineering Department, Advisor: Venkat Selvamanickam
Best Undergraduate Poster: Debora Mroczek, Chemistry Department, Advisor: Eric Bittner
The event was organized by the members and volunteers of the UH-MRS chapter under the supervision of Alamgir Karim, director of the materials science and engineering (MSE) program; Pavel Dutta and Venkat Selvamanickam, UH MRS faculty advisors; and Chrisdolyn Dawson, program manager of MSE.
UH-MRS was established in April 2016. The primary goal of the chapter is to broaden participation of students in materials research and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. The chapter also provides a platform for materials disciplines to convene, collaborate, integrate, communicate and advocate materials research activities. To become a member of the chapter please contact the president of UH-MRS chapter at dkhatiwa [at] Central.UH.EDU (subject: UH%20MRS) (dkhatiwa[at]Central[dot]UH[dot]EDU).