Our department of 24 faculty, 389 undergraduates, and 187 graduate students welcomes you. Established in 1867, we have a long tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and service.
Student News - May 2013
Congratulations Graduates
The MatSE Department wishes you all the best as you enter this new phase of your life. Once you get settled into your new home, please email Cindy Brya your new home and work address and phone numbers. Alumni of the department (that's what you are now) receive an alumni newsletter twice a year. If you have not already filled out the senior survey, please do so. Graduates and their families are invited to the MatSE Graduation Lunch on Sunday, May 12, from 11:30am-1:00pm in Illini Rooms A & B of the Illini Union. Graduates will receive three free tickets, including their ticket. Additional tickets may be purchased for $10 each. Register online by May 3.
2013-14 Award recipients
Thanks to everyone who attended the MatSE Awards Banquet. The Department would like to recognize the following MatSE students who have received awards and scholarships for the 2013-14 academic year.
Paul A. Beck Scholarship: Timothy Chiu
Harry J. Beckemeyer Jr. Scholarship: Jason Fleischman
Clifton G. Bergeron Scholarships: Sankalp Kota, Taylor Perez, Kristina Stranski
Louis R. Berner Scholarships: Michael Katz, Samuel Mo, Sean Murray
Gerson B. Bilow Scholarship: Michael Szymanski
Robert Bohl Scholarships: Andrew Bettin, Meng Huang, Alex Katsulis, Nipat Liampisan, Vijay Rajendran, Steven Shewchuk, Xizhu Wang, Renhan Wang, Ashton Wasserman, You Wu
Otto Sr. and Mildred Capek Scholarship: Ryan Thier
Caterpillar Scholarships: Dominic Bonucci, Seth Cazzell, Jonathan Streufert
Earl J. Eckel Scholarships: Chun-Wei Chang, Yong Bing Chong, Seokhwan Chung, Michael Di Mare, Jonathan Hestroffer, Shuo Li, Yanfu Lu, Anna Mast, Tan Nilgianskul, Eric Przybylski, Liwei Song, Hongyi Wu
M. Laird and Charisann Froberg Scholarships: Daniel Roper, Ryan Smith, Tan Shi
Phillip H. Geil Scholarship: Daniel Li
Henry E. Grein Jr. Scholarship: Luke Shi
Donald W. Hamer Scholarship: Olivia Rogers
Joseph and Wyvona Lane Scholarship: Michael Collins
Robert E. and Karen Martin Luetje Scholarship: Martin Kim
Kevin Moore Memorial Scholarship: Emrys Tennessen
G. Ronald and Margaret H. Morris Scholarship: Janna Eaves
G. Ronald and Margaret H. Morris Opportunity Scholarship: Daisy Fong
James A. Nelson Scholarship: Steven Simpkins
Cullen W. Parmelee Scholarships: Andrew Curtis, Derek Kwok, David Limberg, Katharine Mehan, Akshay Murthy, John Smith, Hannah Taylor, Alexander Trick
Cullen W. Parmelee International Research Scholarships: William Andrews III, Keiko Kato, Janice Yoshimura, Andrew Zhao
Frederick A. Petersen Scholarship: Dennis Jones
Norman L. Peterson Scholarships: Joshua Ayers, Mitchell Bigelow, Carrington Watkins
Larry D. and Carol Rakers Scholarships: Ryan Haney, Douglas Hansel, Shao Mei, Charles Stovall
Ian and Victoria Robertson Scholarship: Timothy Ouradnik
C. M. Wayman Scholarship: Alex Wendt
Wert Scholarships: Lei Che, Nicole Crosby, Tara Cullerton, Yichuan Ding, Nicole Ernat, Andrew Erwin, Samuel Jesse, Euiyeon Jung, Pengyang Li, Timothy Lichtenstein, Enjiong Lu, Ching-Jui Lu, Brian McDonald, Stephanie Nemec, Aibar Nurmukhanov, Adriana Schoenfeldt, Zixing Wang, Rui Wang, Jon Wilson, Jun Kit Wong, Yingjie Xiang, Ruoyan Zhang, Aaron Zhao, Yuecheng Zhou
Alfred W. Allen Awards: Pritam Bhattarai, David Bruk, Fang Jiunn Ewe, Zi Yang Kan, Derek Kwok, Akshay Murthy, Olivia Rogers, Ryan Their, Alexander Trick
Arthur L. Friedberg Awards: Aaron Bentz, Kyle Lamson, Miheer Munjal
Laird Froberg Award: Spencer Wells
Materials Science and Engineering Alumni Board Award: Jordan Turner
Sheryl Blair Tipton Award: Parul Koul
Welcome Kimberly
Kimberly Anderson is a new secretary in the department office. Kimberly grew up in Villa Grove and currently lives in Paxton. She attended Parkland College, earning her degree in nursing, and spent the last several years working at home as a medical transcriptionist. Kimberly and her husband, Gary, farm and like to work in their yard. They also enjoy basketball, football and baseball games.
Congratulations
Jing Yan, PhD student in the Granick group, and Xuan Zhang, PhD student in the Bellon/Averback group, are the 2013 recipients of the Racheff-Intel Award
Lito de la Rama, PhD student in the Allen group, won a Silver Medal Award at the Spring MRS meeting in San Francisco.
Kaila Bertsch, PhD in the Robertson group, and Lisa Pogue, PhD in the Rockett group, have received 2013 NSF Fellowships.
Spencer Wells has been awarded a NDSEG Fellowship.
Jaime Kelleher received the H. L. Wakeland Undergraduate Leadership Award.
Parul Koul received the Stanley H. Pierce Award.
Prof. Kilian, Prof. Rockett, Prof. Bellon and Dr. Sanders are recipients of the Engineering Council Advising Award.
Prof. Martin is the recipient of the Dean's Award for Excellence in Research.
Professors Averback, Bellon, Braun, Schweizer and Sherburne were on the list of teachers ranked as excellent for Fall 2012.
Joseph Flanagan, PhD student in the Shim group, received a 2013 Carver Fellowship from the College of Engineering.
Big Ten+ Grad School Exposition
The Big Ten+ Graduate School Exposition is specifically designed for those interested in graduate study in the fields of Engineering, Mathematics, Science, Technology and related disciplines. Students from all institutions are encouraged to attend, and travel scholarships are available. The Grad Expo features educational workshops, graduate school fair, networking receptions, and more. The 2013 Grad Expo will be held on October 20-21, 2013. This annual event is held at Purdue’s West Lafayette, IN, campus. Visit www.purdue.edu/gradexpo for more information and to join the mailing list. Students who join the mailing list by June 1 will be entered into a drawing for a free registration.
Student-Faculty Basketball Game
The students beat the professors three games to zero on April 20. Everyone had a good time and the game raised money for Material Advantage.
Material Advantage News
Congratulations to the newly elected Material Advantage Board:
President: Stephanie Nemec
VP: Steve Shewchuk
Treasurer: Anuj Mehta
Service: Kelsey Wu
Social: Jae Ho Shin
EC Rep: Meher Bharucha
Secretary: Kim Campbell
Biomaterials Rep: Janice Yoshimura
Ceramics Rep: Sankalp Kota
Electronic Materials Rep: Michael Wu
Metals Rep: Colton Adamick
Polymers Rep: Alicia Cintora
Jr Rep: Andrew Zhao
Sophomore Rep: Alex Trick
Webmaster: Michael Wu
Kriven-Keane Dinner
The 18th annual Kriven-Keane dinner was held on April 13. Fifteen students paid $35/plate for the dinner at the Student-Faculty Auction, raising over $500 for the Material Advantage student society. At the dinner, students enjoyed Austrian/Australian dishes and Prof. Kriven's performance on the harmonica and accordion.
Prof. Kriven in the kitchen
Students attending the 2013 dinner
DOW MIT ACCESS Program
ACCESS is a weekend of engaging events intended to introduce talented under-represented minority undergraduate students (sophomores, juniors and seniors) to the benefits of a graduate education in science and engineering and related career opportunities. The event takes place on MIT’s campus on September 27-28. Over half of ACCESS alumni are now enrolled in graduate programs across the country. Applications for the ACCESS Fall 2013 session are due July 8. All travel expenses, meals and hotel accommodations for students selected to participate in the ACCESS program will be paid for by Dow Chemical. Participation neither obligates the student to apply for graduate study nor guarantees future consideration for study at MIT. For more information, visit http://access.mit.edu or email mit-access@mit.edu.
ECS Survey
ECS is collecting data on all engineering students graduating Dec 2012, May 2013, and Aug 2013 regarding post-graduation plans. This data assists in the production of yearly Salary Summary and Employment Information which is used by students and employers alike to determine salary ranges and additional employment trends. If you are "still seeking" please report this as well, as it will help our office better serve you after graduation.
Please take 5 minutes and report to ECS your offer by clicking the link: https://illinois.edu/sb/sec/4904973. Your personal information is always kept confidential and never reported.
Virtual Internship
What is a virtual internship? Usually, it’s not much different than a traditional internship, save that interns conduct their duties from a remote location rather than heading into an office each day. Most interns interact with supervisors through Skype, emails, or other forums on a daily or weekly basis to make sure projects are staying on track. Read more
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