Students

Student Spotlight: Nicole Shuman

Fourth-year materials science and engineering (MSE) major Nicole Shuman found materials science as a returning college student and is determined to use her knowledge to inspire others through outreach, teaching and mentorship.

Shuman started her career managing a multimillion-dollar big box retail company in the Los Angeles area. After 15 years, she moved to the Sacramento area for a job, but it fell through, and she found herself missing the connections she had and looking for a new opportunity.

MSE Virtual Senior Sendoff June 11

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) is hosting a virtual senior send-off to celebrate the class of 2021 on Friday, June 11 from 1 – 2:30 p.m. The senior-send off celebrates the accomplishments and hard work of all of the MSE department’s graduating students as they move on to the next chapter of their lives.

Register to attend

Ph.D. Student Tucker Murrey wins 2021 Excellence in Graduate Student Safety Award

Starting this year, the UC Davis College of Engineering is proud to recognize four outstanding graduate students with the College of Engineering Graduate Student Awards.

These awards honor the achievements and contributions of engineering graduate students for their research and service. Nominations were open to any M.S. and Ph.D. student enrolled in a graduate program in the college. Each award recipient will receive a $500 scholarship and their name will be added to a permanent display located in the Kemper Hall lobby.

Student Spotlight: Yiqing Xia

Materials science and engineering (MSE) Ph.D. student Yiqing Xia has been chosen as a presenter for the 2021 North American Materials Colloquium Series, a competitive virtual materials science seminar series involving over 35 MSE programs from around the country. He will present his recent research on the thermodynamic and kinetic behavior of nano-confined liquids on April 8-9, representing UC Davis, the MSE department and his research on confined liquids and glassy materials.

Ph.D. Student Meghna Srivastava wins best poster awards at 2020 MRS Conference

Materials science and engineering Ph.D. student Meghna Srivastava received two best poster awards for her work at the virtual 2020 Materials Research Society (MRS) Spring/Fall Meeting and Exhibit. Her poster “Machine Learning Framework for Accelerated Development of Halide Perovskites” was named one of three best posters in the “Frontiers of Halide Perovskites” symposium and one of twenty best posters conference-wide.

“I am extremely honored and grateful for this recognition, and I’m hoping that it draws more attention to the work that we’re doing in the Leite Lab,” she said.

Student Spotlight: Weidi Zhu

Recent materials science and engineering (MSE) Ph.D. graduate Weidi Zhu had never worked with glasses before coming to UC Davis, but through research projects with Blacutt-Underwood Professor Sabyasachi Sen, he developed an interest in the material that turned into a career with Apple. As the world becomes “smart,” Zhu hopes to use what he learned at UC Davis to contribute to the science behind the glassy materials that will become increasingly important to the world.

Student Spotlight: Raegan Taylor

For fourth-year materials science and engineering major Raegan Taylor, engineering is a means to understand and contribute to the world around her. Driven by a desire to help people, she has used her curiosity about the world and her research experience to build a strong foundation in engineering as she pursues a career in optical engineering.

“I see engineering as an avenue to learn about the world and round out my interests in a way that’s beneficial to other people,” she said.

Student Spotlight: Louie Zhong

Fourth-year materials science and engineering major Louie Zhong looks to the ultra-small and ultrafast to make a big impact on the world. Though he has always liked math, engineering and chemistry, Zhong explains his interest in materials science with the James Joyce quote, “In the particular is contained the universal.” Ever since a high school teacher introduced him to the quote, it’s become a way for him to think about his interest in materials, and in science in general.

Student Spotlight: Ian Phillips

Becoming an engineer was a natural choice for fourth-year materials science and engineering major Ian Phillips.  He grew up working on cars with his dad, giving him a love of hands-on work and problem solving he’s taken with him throughout his time at UC Davis, from studying semiconductors and ceramics at UC Davis and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to teaching shop tools at the UC Davis D-Lab.

Student Spotlight: Annie Wang

From her interest in textiles and sustainability to her advocacy for public health and social justice, fourth-year materials science and engineering major Annie Wang’s interests cross paths and drive her to make a difference at UC Davis and in the world.

Ph.D. student Jianheng Li receives Berkeley Lab doctoral fellowship

Fourth-year Ph.D. student Jianheng Li received an ALS Doctoral Fellowship in Residence at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL). Li will spend the 2019-2020 academic year at LBL’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) facility working with the state-of-the-art equipment, techniques and applications in synchrotron radiation research, and will receive $20,000 towards his research

Ph.D. student Kimiko Nakajima named 2019-20 Mistletoe Research Fellow

Third-year Ph.D. student Kimiko Nakajima has been named a 2019-20 Mistletoe Research Fellow by the Mistletoe Foundation. Over the 2019-20 academic year, she will receive $10,000 towards her research and collaborate with a hardware-based startup company on science and technology problems.

Student Spotlight: Justin Mulvey

Justin Mulvey is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. In his time at UC Davis, he has been heavily involved on campus, in the MSE department and as a researcher in professor Adam Moule's research group.

Christine Smudde Awarded 2019 NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship

By Brady Oppenheim

The UC Davis Department of Materials Science and Engineering congratulates graduate student Christine Smudde on being named a 2019 NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship (NSTRF19) recipient.

Through her submitted proposal – “Microscopic Evaluation of Additively Manufactured Materials through Fatigue Crack Growth Analysis” – she was awarded a four-year, $80,000-per-year fellowship to support her innovative research, including stipend, tuition, fees, research materials and travel to a NASA laboratory.

Materials magic show a hit at 105th Picnic Day

The Material Advantage Student Chapter (MASC) at UC Davis hosted its annual Materials Magic Show at the 105th Picnic Day on April 13, 2019 and drew large crowds for each of its three shows in the Science Lecture Hall.

The student-run show introduces Picnic Day audiences to the world of materials science and engineering through magic. This year’s show was Incredibles-themed, as the students performed skits and experiments in costumes and told a story using materials.

Peifen Lyu Named a Santa Clara ASM/SAMPE Scholarship Recipient

By Brady Oppenheim

The UC Davis Materials Science and Engineering Department congratulates undergraduate Peifen Lyu, who has been named a Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Society for Materials (ASM) and the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process (SAMPE) scholarship recipient.

Lyu is one of two recipients of this year’s honor, which provides $2,000 each to selected applicants concentrating in materials science and technology and related engineering disciplines from Northern California colleges and universities.

New MSE Awards Support Graduate Research and Education

By Bonnie Dickson

The UC Davis Department of Materials Science and Engineering recently established several new fellowships and awards to support graduate engineering research and education. Luis Sotelo Martin, a first-year doctoral student in the department, is the first recipient of a graduate student researcher award generously funded by Jeffery and Marsha Gibeling.

Ph.D. Student Catherine Harvey receives Fulbright Fellowship

Catherine Harvey, a Ph.D. student of Professor Subhash Risbud, has received a Fulbright Open Study/Research Award for her project, “Multifunctional Therapeutic Bioactive Glass Scaffolds as an Alternative for Bone Regeneration.” She will conduct her research with Professor María Vallet-Regí in the Department of Inorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry at the Complutense University of Madrid from September 2018-19.

Student Spotlight: Jonathan Thomas

Jonathan Thomas is a passionate undergraduate student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). He works with carbon fiber composites in the ACERS laboratory on campus and is an active member of the Formula SAE car team at UC Davis. The department sat down with him to chat about his life and undergraduate career.

MSE: What activities (clubs, jobs, research, internship, etc.) have you been involved in during your time at UC Davis?