MSE Faculty Featured on ACerS’ Ceramic Tech Chat
Three materials science and engineering faculty at UC Davis—Professor Ricardo Castro, Assistant Professor Scott McCormack and Distinguished Professor Emeritus James Shackelford—were recently featured on Ceramic Tech Chat, the official podcast of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS).
On the second Wednesday of every month, the podcast interviews ACerS members about their research, personal stories of how they got into ceramics and important issues facing the field. The podcast began in May 2020 as a way to look at ceramic and glass materials through the eyes of ceramic professionals.
Castro’s episode, “Superheroes and Open Access Inspire Research” premiered on November 10. It highlights Castro’s passion for superheroes and how they can inspire students to pursue STEM careers. He also discusses the importance of open-access publishing to facilitating research.
In “Thermodynamics in the Classroom and Lab,” McCormack talks about his journey from a struggling elementary school student to a junior faculty member at a top research university. He also talks about his approach to teaching thermodynamics and how he helps students tackle the sometimes daunting topic. The episode premiered on May 12, 2021.
Most recently, on March 9, 2022, Shackelford and his wife Penelope shared their lifelong appreciation for wine and how glass became the material of choice for storing, shipping and sipping wine. They also discuss the intersections between winemaking and materials science on the episode titled “The Glass of Wine,” after the book they co-wrote in 2017.
ACerS was founded in 1898 as a hub of the global ceramics community to advance the study, understanding and use of ceramics and related materials to benefit members and society. Since founded, it has been one of the most trusted sources of ceramic materials and applications knowledge.