Department News

Mike Nagorka (’83, MS ‘86), a member of the MME Alumni Advisory Board, recently established an annual scholarship for seniors majoring in ceramic engineering. This scholarship will accelerate the growth of the ceramics engineering program and provide opportunities for more students to study a niche field of engineering at Mines. For more information about this scholarship, please visit this website.

Steven Spurgeon Wins Microscopy Society of America’s Burton Medal! Dr. Steven R. Spurgeon, a Senior Materials Data Scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and a Joint Appointee with the Colorado School of Mines MME department, is recognized as a leader in leveraging artificial intelligence to transform materials discovery and design. His innovative research in autonomous microscopy is reshaping materials characterization and accelerating critical technologies across diverse fields spanning microelectronics, quantum information science, and advanced energy systems. His seminal contributions to the field have earned numerous accolades, including an R&D 100 Award and commendations from the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and the Materials Research Society. He is a scientific innovator and passionate architect of the microscopy community’s future. For more information, please visit this website.

Professor Jihye Kim won the Scialog Award for Funding of Research in Sustainable Energy Systems. Professor Kim won the award as a part of a multi-university team working on electrodeposition of nickel, cobalt. She is part of a project titled “AI/ML-assisted Separation and Programmable Electrodeposition of Ni and Co.” For more information on this award, visit this website.

Diptak Bhattacharya, a senior researcher and an MME alum, has been awarded the Korf Award for Young Excellence at the Global Steel Dynamics Forum in New York City. This award honors students for their contributions and innovations in the steel industry while promoting goodwill and integrity. The Global Steel Dynamics Forum is the world’s leading conference for the steel industry. For more information on this prestigious honor, visit this website.

Pandora Picariello was selected to receive the 2024 ASTM International Graduate Scholarship. The ASTM International Graduate Scholarship is presented to 4 graduate students who have demonstrated high potential in both their field and in following the ASTM standards and goals of increasing knowledge, improving product quality, and enhancing safety. The scholarship provides $10,000 to be used for tuition, books, and other academic fees. With an internship at Canopy Aerospace, she plans to continue her experience in additive manufacturing. Visit this website to learn more about this incredible achievement.

The podcast, “Ceramic Tech Chat” features members of the American Ceramic Society who discuss personal, professional, and scientific discoveries in the fields of engineered ceramic and glass materials. In an episode released on December 20, 2023, Geoff Brennecka, Herman F. Coors Distinguished Professor of Ceramic Engineering at Colorado School of Mines, discusses the importance of having degree programs that focus specifically on ceramics, recalls the history and evolution of ACerS President’s Council of Student Advisors, and describes how the Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation’s new Teacher Training Workshops provide K–12 teachers guidance on effective ways to teach materials science. To listen to the episode, visit https://ceramictechchat.ceramics.org/974767/14167505-fostering-pathways-for-ceramic-engineers-geoff-brennecka.

The Colorado School of Mines football team, which is undefeated, is headed to McKinney, Texas to play in the 2023 NCAA Division II Championship! They will be facing Harding on December 16 at 12 pm Central Time, and the game will be televised on ESPNU and is also available for streaming on ESPN+. For more information about the game and upcoming free radio broadcast, click here to visit the Colorado School of Mines football team’s website. Congratulations to Flynn Schiele, Carter Forsythe, Jameson Kemp, Aksel Richard, Preston Rose, Peyton Rose, and Christian Peluse, who are all studying in the MME Department!

Professor Francisco Gil Coury (MME PhD 2018) of the Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais at the Federal University of São Carlos in Brazil is the lead author of a paper just published in Nature and coauthored by Cody Miller (MME PhD 2016 and now at Los Alamos National Laboratory), Robert Field (former director of Electron Microscopy Laboratory, now fully retired), and Michael Kaufman (current MME Professor and Director of Materials and Energy Initiatives in the Office of Research and Technology Transfer).

The article titled “On the origin of diffuse intensities in fcc electron diffraction patterns” explores the diffuse intensities observed in electron diffraction patterns that have been frequently misinterpreted as representing short- or medium-range order in a range of compositionally-complex face-centered cubic alloys. Coury and his co-authors provide the theoretical foundation to explain these intensities and a framework for determining the nature and location of such intensities that could indicate the presence of short-range order or medium-range order. Much of the electron microscopy was conducted in the Shared Instrumentation Facility (SIF) here at Mines and is an extension of the work in Cody Miller’s PhD dissertation. The complete article can be found here.

CCAC Director, Dr. Geoff Brennecka, has been made a Professional Member (Academician) of the Class “Science” in the World Academy of Ceramics. He will be officially awarded the Academy Diploma during the Plenary Session of CMCEE 14 in Budapest, Hungary, August 18-22, 2024. Only 15 candidates were selected for this prestigious honor in 2023.

For an updated listing of Academicians as well as more about the World Academy of Ceramics, visit www.waceramics.org.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awards funding for cooperative research at Mines and with university partners in the Advanced Characterization of Metals under Extreme Environments (ACME²) through the Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (SSAA) Centers of Excellence Program.  ACME² will focus on fundamentally understanding metals and alloys at high temperatures and under fast loading rates and pressures with novel experimental and computational tools. ACME² will also train a diverse, technical workforce with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to address stockpile stewardship at the NNSA national laboratories (e.g., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories).  SSAA Centers of Excellence Press Release

Dr. Suveen Mathaudhu published an article looking at the science of Beskar (a fictional metal from the Mandalorian) and comparing it to Damascus steels.  The article is free to download and available here,  article. 

Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) announces 12 honorees for its 2023 Business for the Arts Awards, including Sarah Harling‘s MME team: Colorado School of Mines students and faculty in the George S. Ansell Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and the Hennebach Program in the Humanities collaborated with performing arts collective itchy-O to create one-of-kind musical instruments, advancing the field of musical engineering and showcasing the intersection of the arts and science.

Dr. Prashun Gorai received the 2022 International Thermoelectric Society Young Investigator Award for “excellent original work and significant results in the field of thermoelectric”. This is an international award given annually to one early-career PI/researcher. More info here.

Dr. Emmanuel De Moor and Dr. John G. Speer are on the organizing committee of the 2023 International Symposium on New Developments in Advanced High-Strength Sheet Steels. The conference is shaping up great with substantial national and international attention by academia and industry. It should yield great visibility for Colorado School of Mines, ASPPRC, and MME! More info here. 

Mitchell Lensing, MME undergraduate, cleaned up in the Keramos Ceramic Mug Drop Competition! His mug survived the highest drop of 135 cm and met all the competition specifications.  Mitchell also submitted a mug in the aesthetic competition and won that too! This was the first time that Mines won in the Mug Drop competition. This is the beginning of yet another long string of Mines students’ achievements at MS&T. Read more here.

Dr. Kester Clarke wins the 2023 TMS Materials Processing & Manufacturing Division Distinguished (MPMD) Service award. This award recognizes an individual whose dedication and commitment to the TMS MPMD has made a demonstrable difference to the objectives and capabilities of the division and the society.