While focusing on a topic is important when pursuing a Ph.D., you should give yourself the freedom to explore other interests as well. Steve Feller, B.D. Silliman Professor of Physics at Coe College, describes the benefits of pursuing teaching opportunities during his physics graduate studies, his use of NMR in glass research, and how his interest in numismatics led to numerous research projects and publications in that field as well.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Steve Feller is B.D. Silliman Professor of Physics at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was instrumental in developing an extensive NSF-funded glass research program at Coe over the last 40 years. In addition to his glass research, Feller studies numismatics and has published a book on civilian camp money of World War II with his daughter Rachel, which is now the standard book in that area.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Started in 2011, the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) aims to accelerate the pace of new materials development. James Warren, director of the Materials Genome Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, talks about how he became involved with the MGI, describes the initiative's goals and successes, and considers what the next decade holds for the MGI.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
James Warren is director of the Materials Genome Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He has been involved with the Materials Genome Initiative since its inception, and he continues to play a central role in guiding the initiative into its second decade. Additional parts from Warren's interview can be found in the June/July 2021 issue of the ACerS Bulletin.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Finding the way that you learn best can help you to achieve goals that may once have seemed out of reach. Scott McCormack, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California, Davis, discusses how he overcame learning challenges during his elementary school years, how he helps his own students learn the sometimes scary topic of thermodynamics, and his experience setting up a university research program as a young professor.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Scott McCormack is assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California, Davis. His research group at UC Davis studies ceramics in extreme environments, specializing in characterization of thermochemical and thermophysical properties. McCormack previously chaired ACerS President’s Council of Student Advisors and is now chair of ACerS Northern California Section, which he helped to reinvigorate with ACerS past president Sylvia Johnson.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Thailand is known for its traditional ceramics industry—but there are signs that research in more advanced ceramic technologies is taking off as well. Rattikorn Yimnirun, dean of the School of Energy Science and Engineering at Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology, and his colleagues Naratip Vittayakorn and Jakrapong Kaewkhao discuss the current state of the ceramics industry in Thailand, how they cofounded the Thailand Chapter of ACerS, and what role they see the Chapter playing in the country’s local ceramic community.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guests
Rattikorn Yimnirun is dean of the School of Energy Science and Engineering at Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology in Rayong, Thailand. He is chair of the ACerS Thailand Chapter, which he cofounded with Profs. Kaewkhao and Vittayakorn in 2019. In December 2020, the Thailand Chapter made its introduction to the larger ACerS community during the 5th International Conference on Smart Materials and Nanotechnology (SmartMat@2020) in Thailand. Learn more about the Thailand Chapter on their Facebook page.

Jakrapong Kaewkhao is professor of physics and head of the Center of Excellence in Glass Technology and Materials Science in Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. He is vice chair of the ACerS Thailand Chapter.

Naratip Vittayakorn is professor of materials science at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang in Bangkok, Thailand. He is academic chair of the ACerS Thailand Chapter.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Advances in transmission electron microscopy allow researchers to explore the structure of materials at atomic resolutions—and improvements in TEM continue to be made. Yuichi Ikuhara, professor of engineering innovation at the University of Tokyo, discusses his work using scanning TEM to characterize grain boundaries in ceramics, the recent advances that have greatly improved this technique's resolution capabilities, and where he sees TEM headed in the future.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Yuichi Ikuhara is professor of engineering innovation at the University of Tokyo, Japan. His group researches the mechanical and functional properties of materials using scanning transmission electron microscopy. An ACerS Fellow, Ikuhara is a member of the Basic Science Division and a firm believer in studying both materials science and microscopy techniques in order to fully understand the properties of materials.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

What does it take to communicate science effectively? Taylor Sparks and Andrew Falkowski, associate professor and BS/MS student, respectively, at the University of Utah, discuss how they got into the field of materials science, what led them to start their podcast Materialism, and offer ways for scientists to improve their science communication skills.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guests
Taylor Sparks is associate professor and associate chair of the materials science and engineering department and associate director of the Materials Characterization Lab at the University of Utah. His research focuses primarily on the discovery, synthesis, and characterization of new materials for energy applications. In addition to co-hosting the podcast Materialism with Falkowski, Sparks has a YouTube channel where he posts materials science lectures.

Andrew Falkowski is a BS/MS student in the materials science and engineering department at the University of Utah. His research focuses on using computational methods to explore new, more advanced materials. Falkowski co-hosts Materialism with Sparks.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

What is it like to pursue the same degree as your parent—or to have your child working in a field similar to yours? Dad and daughter duo Greg and Ashley Hilmas, university professor and government research materials engineer, respectively, describe their similar journeys to becoming ceramic engineers, how their career paths diverged after earning their Ph.D.'s , and what it is like working in the same niche field.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guests
Greg Hilmas is Curator's Professor of Ceramic Engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri. His research focuses on ultrahigh-temperature ceramics and their composites. Two of Hilmas' three daughters, including Ashley, are following in his footsteps to become ceramic engineers.

Ashley Hilmas is a research materials engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. Her research focuses on SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites. Hilmas has been an ACerS member since her undergraduate years, and in graduate school she served as committee chair and chair of ACerS President's Council of Student Advisors.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Being the CEO of a corporation takes more than a degree and managerial experience. Carol Jackson, chair and CEO of HarbisonWalker International, describes her pathway to becoming the CEO of a global refractories company, the challenges of operating during a global pandemic, and why she believes in cultivating a strong corporate culture.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Carol Jackson is chair and CEO of HarbisonWalker International, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa. She currently is serving a two-year term as chair of the World Refractories Association. In both roles, Jackson is actively involved in education efforts to increase societal awareness of refractories and their importance, including with HarbisonWalker's own podcast, High Temperature Times.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

If nuclear energy is to become a major contributor to the energy portfolio, we must find ways to safely and effectively dispose of the radioactive waste it generates. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory materials scientist Charmayne Lonergan discusses what she's learning through her research on vitrifying Cold War era nuclear waste at PNNL, how the laboratory helps educate the public about this technology, and her goals as a STEM Ambassador to increase diversity in the sciences.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Charmayne Lonergan is a materials scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. Outside of her work on the vitrification of nuclear waste, Lonergan serves as a PNNL STEM Ambassador, co-chair of the ACerS Young Professionals Network Steering Committee, and on the ACerS Publications Committee. Check out displays that PNNL's STEM Ambassadors use when talking to the community about their work here.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Additive manufacturing is a hot topic in the ceramics industry right now, but that was not always the case. Johannes Homa, cofounder and CEO of Lithoz GmbH in Vienna, Austria, describes his journey to launching the ceramic additive manufacturing company in 2011, some of the challenges that he and his business partner had to overcome, and why he sees a very bright future for the additive manufacturing of ceramics.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Johannes Homa is cofounder and CEO of Lithoz in Vienna, Austria. Homa became interested in the additive manufacturing of ceramics during grad school and launched Lithoz with his cofounding partner, Johannes Benedikt, in 2011. The company is actively involved in education efforts to increase public and market awareness of the opportunities ceramic additive manufacturing offers.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.