Christopher Martin: Outstanding senior in materials engineering

Clubs and activities

I am most proud of my recent involvement with Material Advantage and my continued participation with the Iowa Bonsai Association. If I were not involved in one of these, you could always find me at the disc golf course. All were wonderful outlets to pursue my hobbies and interests outside the classroom!

Valuable hands-on learning in class

This past semester our group has been completing our senior design project covering additive manufacturing of concrete. The experience in total has been a wonderful culmination of skills I have developed over the past four years. It has been incredibly rewarding to develop a design project and bring it to completion with a wonderful group of friends.

From direct classroom experiences, I have gained the most from dedicated semester projects. Whether it be a phase diagram calculation in our thermodynamics course or a molecular dynamics simulation in our computational modeling of materials class, each project has challenged me to engage with the course material well beyond the norm.

Valuable out-of-the-classroom experience

I gained the most, by far, from working as a teaching assistant and research assistant. I would not be where I am today without these experiences working with wonderful researchers and lecturers. The research and teaching positions have guided me towards my current passions and future goals of becoming a tenure-track professor.

Most influential mentor

Dr. Steve W. Martin was my most influential mentor while at Iowa State. He provided me with countless opportunities to develop and grow as a researcher, as well as fostering a wonderful family of collaboration in his Glass and Energy Materials group. Under Dr. Martin I was able to flourish as a student researcher, develop my own projects and research questions, and work on challenging problems!

Best memory/greatest accomplishment

My favorite memory was participating with our Materials Department QuickyQuiz and Kaleidoquiz teams, winning both for the past two years. Within this, I will never forget watching the sunrise after a whole night of trivia, then heading to Kansas City for a surprise road trip event! It was an amazing feeling to see a group of friends, 20-30 strong, band together to win this trivia contest. The level of collaboration in the MSE department is unmatched, and it is reflected in pursuits like these.

Describe your major to someone who is unfamiliar with it

Materials engineering is the discipline of taking a limited toolbox (the periodic table) and designing new and innovative recipes and approaches to respond to an infinite number of technical challenges! But truly, some of the greatest problems facing humanity come down to material problems, and it is a rich and challenging field.

Plans after graduation

I will be pursuing a PhD in Materials Science at the Colorado School of Mines as a CoorsTek Fellow.

Making my mark on the world

I am looking to work towards a future that is built on sustainability and conservation. Through materials science and engineering, I want to inspire the next generation of researchers so that this dream can be a reality.

Engineering like a Cyclone Engineer

The level of interconnectedness and pride has been a wonderful part of being a Cyclone Engineer. There is an extensive network of Cyclone Engineers around the country, and it has been great to see the odd connection at any given company or university. Moreover, it feels like anywhere you look on campus you can find a group of engineers working on that week’s assignment or studying for midterms. During my time here, this energy has been inspiring.

What I’d tell my younger self about Iowa State

By choosing Iowa State, I truly gained a foundation and support group of lifelong friends, professional connections, and skills that I know I could not get anywhere else. While it challenged me at every step of the way, Iowa State provided me with the opportunity to grow into who I am today.

Most inspiring location on campus

Especially in my sophomore and junior years, I would take bike rides around campus at night. It was under the Marston Water Tower, Hoover Hall, and Student Innovation Center that I would do laps to clear my head during late nights of studying. The ‘center’ of the engineering campus inspired me the most as a Cyclone Engineer, because just as I was, I knew thousands of others had stood beneath the same structure, facing the same challenges.