News

Alumni Rewind: 1990 UC Davis Egg Drop Contest

Materials science and engineering alumnus Tim Dyer '90, '93, now the president of Elcon Precision, remembers the UC Davis Egg Drop contest, hosted by The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) during National Engineer's Week 1990.

Scott McCormack wins NSF CAREER Award

Materials science and engineering assistant professor Scott McCormack has received the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award. The award recognizes young faculty who have the potential to be leaders in their fields as researchers and educators by funding projects that should serve as the foundation for the rest of their careers.

Ricardo Castro and the Science of Superheroes

Materials science and engineering (MSE) professor Ricardo Castro may not be as much of a “mad scientist” as Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but he does dare to ask intriguing questions like, “why must Thor’s hammer (Mjölnir) be thought of as a fictional item, unachievable in the real world?”

Alumni Spotlight: Emily Beeman ‘17

Materials science and engineering alumna Emily Beeman ’17 draws on her UC Davis experience every day as she helps keep UC Berkeley’s Marvell Nanofabrication Lab running.

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.

AOEP Undergraduate Apprenticeship Opportunity in MSE

The Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) is offering an apprenticeship for undergraduate students in the UC Davis Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE).

The apprenticeship, which can run between a summer and an entire year, gives undergraduate students an opportunity to conduct hands-on, U.S. Army-supported research and gain experience in a laboratory while being mentored by top researchers across the country.

Jeffery Gibeling wins TMS Oleg D. Sherby Award

Materials science and engineering (MSE) professor Jeffery Gibeling has won the 2021 Oleg D. Sherby Award from the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). The award, named in honor of materials science trailblazer Oleg Sherby, recognizes individuals or groups who have made significant contributions to understanding how materials behave at high temperatures.

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.

Temporary Instructor Opportunity in Materials Science and Engineering

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California Davis invites applications for a pool of qualified temporary instructors to teach courses in our department should an opening arise. Screening of applicants is ongoing and will continue as needed. The number of positions varies from quarter to quarter, depending on the needs of the department.

Apply Now

Zuhair A. Munir honored for contributions to ceramic engineering

Materials science and engineering distinguished professor emeritus and College of Engnieering dean emeritus Zuhair A. Munir was recognized for his lifetime achievements in the field of ceramic engineering with the 2021 James I. Mueller Memorial Award from the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) Engineering Ceramics Division. He will be honored at the 45th International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, where he will deliver the Keynote Plenary Lecture virtually on February 8, 2021.

Applying machine learning to renewable energy

Materials science and engineering associate professor Marina Leite thinks machine learning is key to the next big breakthrough in renewable energy. With a new three-year grant from the National Science Foundation, Leite will use machine learning techniques to study perovskite solar cells, a class of highly efficient but volatile devices, to find the optimal conditions to run them reliably.

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.

Jeremy Mason named UC Davis Hellman Fellow

Materials Science and Engineering Assistant Professor Jeremy Mason joins the class of 2021 UC Davis Hellman Fellows. The unique Hellman Fellows Program helps promising assistant professors bridge the funding gap between start-up funding and securing competitive external grants.

Alumni Spotlight: Brian Peters '88

Engineering alumnus and Inneos CEO Brian Peters ‘88 is a successful leader, businessman and entrepreneur in the optics industry, but he wouldn’t lead with that. In his 25 years in business, Peters takes the most pride in leading companies with an inspired community of colleagues who have helped him carve out his place in Silicon Valley.

Exploring Perovskites: A Conversation with Marina Leite

Though their optical and electrical properties are very promising, perovskites are a class of materials that are still understudied. Until researchers have a better understanding of their overall properties, they can’t learn how to control them to create ubiquitous devices like solar cells, LEDs and photodetectors.

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.

Yayoi Takamura named MSE department chair

Professor Yayoi Takamura is the new chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering Department, effective July 1. A long-time leader in the department, Takamura joined UC Davis in 2006 and had been vice chair of the MSE department since 2017. She also served on the Dean’s faculty advisory committee from 2016-17 and was chair of the College of Engineering graduate study committee from 2018-20. She plans to bring her experience with her to her new role.