MSE Student Leadership & Service Award: In recognition of accomplishments as a leader in both the classroom and extracurricular activities, and for outstanding service to the MSE Department.
Jonathan Zaugg, a senior in the Iowa State University Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) from Mitchellville, Iowa, is the spring 2021 recipient of the department’s MSE Student Leadership & Service Award.
Zaugg graduates this semester summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering, specializing in polymers, and a minor in mathematics. He is being honored for his accomplishments as a leader in both the classroom and extracurricular activities, but especially for his outstanding service to the MSE department.
Zaugg served in several important leadership roles in his Iowa State career, including a Boeing Fellowship working in MSE Associate Professor Martin Thuo’s Soft Matter and Material Transport Research Group; a research internship with Ames Laboratory, collaborating with Scientist David Vaknin and studying the functionalization of gold; and an internship as a hardware developer with IBM. His most influential leadership roles for MSE include being a member and former treasurer of the student organization Material Advantage (MA). Through his work with MA, he enjoyed being involved in outreach activities, where he could share his love for materials engineering. Additionally, Zaugg has been a great asset to the department, as he has been a teaching assistant and grader for several undergraduate courses.
Zaugg served as a grader for ENGR 160 for Adjunct Assistant Professor Martha Selby and Mat E 214, Mat E 273 and Mat E 319 for Assistant Teaching Professor Tim Cullinan. Additionally, under Cullinan, Zaugg often co-hosted lab sessions for Mat E 214 and was entrusted to work with expensive and delicate machines while Cullinan spoke and directed students. As part of his teaching assistant role for Mat E 273, Zaugg held his own office hours for the non-major courses, which have an enrollment of 500-700 students. This further solidified him as a leader within the department.
After graduation, Zaugg will be staying in Ames and pursuing a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering, mentored by Professor Peter Collins.
“Jonathan has always been a student we could ask to help the department in a variety of ways, and we know we could count on him to be responsible, diligent and lead,” said MSE academic advisors Andrea Klocke and Holly Dunlay-Lott. “We are happy to honor Jonathan with this award to thank him for his outstanding efforts on our behalf.”