2013-2014 MSE Undergraduate Awards

Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) undergraduates were among the award recipients at the 2013-2014 A. James Clark School of Engineering's Honors and Awards Ceremony, held April 10. The event honors students from all departments who have demonstrated outstanding academic performance, research, and contributions to their departments or fields. Clark School professor and associate dean William L. Fourney and MSE professor and chair Robert M. Briber presented the awards.

This year, the awards and their recipients were:

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering Chairman’s Outstanding Senior Award
Presented to a graduating senior for scholarship, leadership and service to the department.

Awarded to Kathleen Rohrbach.

Kathleen Rohrbach has been a top scholar and very active in leadership and service to the department. She has been involved in research and is a coauthor of two peer-reviewed publications and a third in preparation. Kathleen has been involved in the leadership team for MatES, the Materials Science and Engineering student chapter, currently serving as Director of the Board; serves as an Outreach Committee member for Tau Beta Pi; and was an active participant in the department’s outreach activities. She was named a Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar in 2013, and is also the recipient of a number of other scholarships. Kathleen will begin work on a Ph.D. in Fall 2014.

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering Outstanding Materials Student Service Award
Presented to graduating seniors for outstanding service to the department and to the student chapter of the Materials Engineering Society.

Awarded to Kari McPartland.

Senior Kari McPartland has been very active in departmental service activities. She currently serves as the president of MatES, the Materials Science and Engineering Professional Society student chapter, and has been regularly involved in the department’s outreach activities. She has participated in a faculty research group and completed a research internship in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. She has also served as a Clark School Ambassador. Kari has accepted a position with Accenture and will start her new job this summer.

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering Student Research Award
Presented to an undergraduate who has demonstrated creativity and scholarship in research.

Awarded to Steven Lacey.

Steven Lacey has been very involved in undergraduate research both on and off campus. He currently works as a research assistant for assistant professor Liangbing Hu, studying batteries and flexible electronics. He is also a guest researcher at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Md. Steven is the coauthor of six papers (at last count!) submitted for publication in peer-reviewed technical journals. Steven serves as the vice-president of MatES, the Materials Science and Engineering student chapter. He plans to begin work on his Ph.D. in Fall 2014.

Outstanding ASPIRE Research Award
This Clark School award, presented by the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute to the ASPIRE (A Scholars Program for Industry-Oriented Research in Engineering) student who has carried out the most successful research project.

Awarded to Nathaniel Schreiber.

Nathaniel Schreiber, a junior, specializes in electronic, optical, and functional materials. For his ASPIRE project, he studied the structure and functionality of modified perovskite compounds, working toward the use of low temperature synthetic techniques to produce materials that have potential applications in fuel cells as electrode and electrolyte materials. Nathaniel plans to earn a Ph.D. in Materials Science. His goal is to have the capability to take a functional material from the starting phases of design and synthesis, through the intermediate phases of modification and refinement, to finally creating a useful device or device component.

Congratulations to all of these exceptional students!

Published April 10, 2014