College of Engineering News • Iowa State University

From industry to grad school: Katie O’Donnell found what she was looking for at Iowa State

“After getting my bachelor’s in MSE, I moved into industry, getting a job at a materials testing company. Near the end of my time there, we started to get additive manufactured parts more frequently, which piqued my interest and prompted me to return to grad school. When choosing grad schools, the MSE department at Iowa State specifically really caught my interest after I did a campus visit.

Joel Rieken named 2023 Cyclone Engineering Young Alumni Award winner

Joel Rieken (’06, PhD ’11 materials engineering) is a materials engineering innovator and leader on the rise. He’s the vice president of the global atomization division at Linde Advanced Material Technologies, Inc. and an entrepreneur: while still an Iowa State student, he co-founded Iowa Powder Atomization Technologies (IPAT).

Exceptional contributions: Mufit Akinc and Ick-Jhin Rick Yoon inducted into MSE Hall of Fame

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering inducted two new members to the Materials Science and Engineering Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Friday, Oct. 13 – honoring both for outstanding achievement and contributions to the discipline.

Brad Swan is finding the right balance between classes, research and family

“The greatest challenge was finding the balance of time between classes, research and family so that I could succeed professionally while still being a devoted father and husband. I was fortunate to find Dr. Cornelius, and he understands the challenges as a father and as an atypical student.”

Quantum mechanics and machine learning: Qi An is unlocking the secrets of strong and ductile materials 

Qi An focuses on using quantum mechanics and data-based computational methods to study materials science. In recent studies conducted by An and his team, significant progress was made in the field of ceramics. One of their works focused on improving the ductility of superhard materials. Normally, these materials have high strength but limited plasticity. 

Honoring excellence: Cyclone Engineering faculty and staff award winners, named faculty positions and new patents

Congratulations to 2023 College of Engineering faculty and staff award winners, new named faculty positions, and patent recipients.

Jun Cui and ChaoChao Pan get double win in R&D 100 awards

Cui, and graduate student Chaochao Pan, in conjunction with Ames National Laboratory, invented a continuous hot-roll process to manufacture nanograin neo magnets. It won in the mechanical/materials category and won bronze in the green tech category.

Forty years of dedication, Martha Selby retires with outstanding educator award

That dedication to students over her career led to Selby being awarded the 2022 Michael Ashby Outstanding Materials Educator Award by the American Society for Engineering Education. The award recognizes distinguished and exceptional contributions in materials science and engineering education. It is intended to honor an individual with demonstrated notable leadership in the materials education area.

Goldwater winner Nicholas Oldham’s undergrad research experiences provides confidence to pursue passions

Nicholas Oldham, sophomore in materials engineering, was one of four Iowa State students to be chosen for the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship, which is the premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering in the U.S. 

Paige Wogahn and Skyler Burke’s award-winning business idea: Lint rollers, but for broken glass

The sixth annual Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship college-by-college pitch off was held in March, and two Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) students won first place in the College of Engineering’s “new idea” competition.

MSE seniors Skyler Burke and Paige Wogahn started out by competing against other engineering students who created new products, winning first place for the College.

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