Category: Students

MTU and LIFT Partner to Design Future Additive Manufacturing Materials, Manufacturing Processes

LIFT, the Detroit-based manufacturing innovation institute sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense, has partnered with Michigan Technological University on a number of recent projects. Last year, four teams of undergraduate students designed a powder metal atomization chamber to enable the creation of new alloy metal powders for use in additive manufacturing.

While atomization is a standard technique for producing powders for metallic additive processes, there is limited production capability for custom alloys. The students’ design, a modular 10-foot-tall chamber, has the ability to atomize about 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of metal, including ferrous metals, nickel-based alloys and aluminum-based alloys.

“This atomization capability is needed because current powders for metal additive development projects are expensive and have long lead times,” said Paul Sanders, Patrick Horvath Endowed Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and advisor to the undergraduate design teams. “This chamber, if built and deployed, will provide for improved powder additive alloy design faster and at less cost across industry.”

For more information, read the full press release on LIFT’s website.

By Materials Science and Engineering.

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Abadi and Kasraie on 3D Nano-ink

Masoud Kasraie
Masoud Kasraie ’22 materials science and engineering

Parisa Pour Shahid Saeed Abadi (ME-EM/BioMed/MSE) and Masoud Kasraie ’22 (PhD, materials science and engineering) were quoted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in a story about the 3D nano-ink they developed in 2021 that could reduce the weight of many 3D-printed parts by 80%, keep cracks too tiny to see from growing in aeronautical equipment and medical devices, and double as electrical wiring.

The research was highlighted by Michigan Tech News in September 2021.

Abadi is an assistant professor in mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics, an affiliated assistant professor in biomedical engineering, and an affiliated assistant professor in materials science and engineering.

Read “A 3D Nano-ink for Stronger, Lighter Builds” by Jean Thilmany in ASME news.

Materials Science and Engineering for High School Students

MSE 2100: Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering

New Dual-Enrollment Course at Michigan Tech!

Pouring melt, stretching a sample, and displaying a micrograph.

Semesters Offered

Fall 2021 Course Delivery Course Registry
Aug. 30–Dec. 17, 2021 Online #85007
Spring 2022 Credits Instructor
Jan. 10–Apr. 29, 2022 3 Mary Fraley

Course Description

Learn about how engineering materials are processed and designed!

We will look at polymers, metals, ceramics, glass and composites.

Why take this course?

Earn college credits while in high school with dual enrollment!

MSE 2100: Intro to Materials Science and Engineering is now being offered as a new dual-enrollment course at Michigan Tech for high school students. These credits can be used towards a degree at Michigan Tech or any college that accepts MSE 2100 transfer credits. Many engineering curriculums, both at Michigan Tech and elsewhere, require this course or will accept it as an elective.

Who can take this course?

High school juniors and seniors who have completed high school Chemistry and Algebra 2.

How to Register

Contact your high school guidance counselor to complete the dual enrollment forms.

Registration is completed through the Michigan Tech Admissions office. Email mtu4u@mtu.edu or call 906-487-2335.

Questions About the Course

Contact Mary Fraley
Sr. Lecturer, Materials Science and Engineering
Michigan Technological University
mafraley@mtu.edu
906-487-1899

2021 Order of the Engineer inductees

Order of the Engineer logo.

Eight MSE seniors were inducted into the Order of the Engineer, an organization established underscore and celebrate the important role engineering plays in maintaining the safety and welfare of the public, through the ethical and dedicated commitment to the products that they design and produce. 

Inducted were Lauren Bowling, Nate Carey, Michael Claiborne, Morgan Drumm, Sidney Feige, Michael Gazdecki, Anna Isaacson, and Ryan Weiss.

2021 MSE Scholar Awards

Lauren Bowling

2021 Academic Achievement Award

Lauren Bowling was announced as the recipient of the 2021 MSE Academic Achievement Award at the MSE Senior Banquet festivities on April 23rd, 2021. The Achievement award is given to the graduating student with the highest grade point average following the previous fall semester.


Nate Carey

2021 Richard Sharrow Award

Also at the MSE Senior Banquet, Nate Carey was announced as the recipient of the Richard Sharrow Award. The Sharrow award is given to the graduating MSE senior that demonstrating the most improvement in grade point average over the course of their studies at Michigan Tech.


Tori Nizzi

2021 MSE Department Scholar

Rising MSE senior Tori Nizzi was selected by Michigan Tech Provost Jacqueline Huntoon as the 2021 MSE Department Scholar. Torri was selected on the basis of her academic achievements to date, her participation in research as an undergraduate, and for her service to the department, college, and university.

2021 Alpha Sigma Mu inductees

The logo of Alpha Sigma Mu.

Five students were inducted into Alpha Sigma Mu, at the MSE Senior Banquet on April 23rd, 2021. Inducted were MSE seniors Signey Feige and Maria Rochow, and MSE juniors Megan Huggett, Sophie Mehl, and Haley Papineau.

Congratulations MSEers!

Alpha Sigma Mu is the international academic honor organization of the materials discipline. It was established in 1933 at the Michigan College of Mining and Technology; Michigan Tech holds the distinction of being the alpha chapter of this widely recognized and highly respected organization!

Morgan Drumm is Student Employee of the Year

Morgan Drumm
Morgan Drumm

Outstanding students, staff, and a special alumni were honored Friday (April 16) during Michigan Tech’s 27th Annual Student Leadership Awards Virtual Ceremony.

Morgan Drumm was selected as Student Employee of the Year. Morgan has been a valuable member of the International Programs and Services department. Her nominator states, “I’ve never encountered someone with so much drive, dedication, and incredible attention to detail. In her role, Morgan worked with international students with Optional Practical Training, or OPT. The work is described as tedious, with a great amount of pressure. However, this did not stop Morgan from going above and beyond approaching the work with vision and creativity.”

Morgan is a materials science and engineering major.

By Student Leadership and Involvement.

MSE Grad Ninad Mohale Awarded Second Place Presentation in the 2021 Graduate Research Colloquium

Ninad Mohale
Ninad Mohale

Oral Presentations

Ninad Mohale from the Materials Science and Engineering department took second place for his presentation titled “Effects of Eta Phase on the High Temperature Creep Behavior of Nimonic 263.” The research is sponsored by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). Mohale is advised by Professor Walter Milligan.

This year’s Graduate Research Colloquium organized by the Graduate Student Government was hosted virtually due to COVID restrictions. There were in total 48 presentations — 17 poster presenters and 31 oral presenters.

Poster presentations took place in a pre-recorded video style and the oral sessions were hosted live via Zoom. You can watch all the poster videos and recordings for the oral sessions here. Each presentation was scored by two judges from the same field of research.

Participants were able to gain valuable feedback from these judges before presenting their research at an actual conference. It was stiff competition amongst all presenters.

A hearty congratulations to all the winners at this year’s Colloquium. The Graduate Student Government would like to thank everyone: presenters, judges, volunteers, and GSG supporters, for making this a great event despite COVID-19 restrictions. GSG would also like to hear ways in which this event could be improved next year using this feedback form.

By Graduate Student Government.

Tiny Nanoindentations Make a Big Difference for Prasad Soman

Microimage of iron shows triangular indentations, like small pyramids, at the brown/green grain boundary.
In this microphoto of iron, nanoindentations performed near or away from the grain boundary, made to study their effect on deformation. Photo credit: Prasad Soman

Prasad Soman will graduate soon with his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering. But instead of walking down the aisle and tossing his cap in Michigan Tech’s Dee Stadium, this year he’ll take part in Michigan Tech’s first-ever outdoor graduation walk.

“My PhD research goal was to better understand how the addition of carbon affects the strengthening mechanism of iron—by looking to see what happens at the nanoscale,” he explains.

Soman studied the mechanisms of grain boundary strengthening by using an advanced and challenging technique known as nanoindentation to get “up close and personal” to the interfaces between individual crystals within a material. Just last week Soman successfully defended his PhD dissertation: “Study of Effects of Chemistry and Grain Boundary Geometry on Materials Failure.” The research was sponsored by the US Department of Energy.