PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University’s student chapter of the joint American Society of Materials/The Materials Society (ASM/TMS) won two of five Chapter of Excellence awards chosen from nearly 100 chapters across the country. The awards were presented Oct. 6 at the TMS Fall Meeting and ASM Materials Week annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio.
The student club won awards for Excellence in Career Development and Most Improved Chapter. The group has won more of the national awards than any university in the United States, winning five out of the past seven years. Each award brings $500 to the club and a plaque recognizing the chapter achievements.
“This joins the many awards won by our ASM/TMS student chapter, continuing a tradition of excellence,’’ said David Bahr, associate professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and adviser for the group. “We are proud to share a commitment to providing this excellent experience for our undergraduate students.’’
The chapter officers during 2001-2002, the period in which the award was judged, were Megan Cordill, Cheney, president; Molly Kennedy, Olympia, vice-president; Katie Wells, Ephrata, secretary, Trevor Cox, Tacoma, treasurer, and John Finley, Lake Oswego, Ore., College of Engineering and Architecture Coordinating Council.
During the 2001 school year, the WSU chapter participated in national conferences, including sending 17 students to the TMS annual meeting in Seattle and four students to the ASM Materials Week in St. Louis. Two students gave presentations on their research at the TMS meeting. The group also visited area high schools throughout the state and invited high school students from across the state to a twice-yearly Materials Engineering Day, with hands-on demonstrations, laboratory and campus tours, and a basic introduction to the field of materials science engineering.
For this upcoming year the club plans on using the monetary part of the award to assist in hosting an introduction to the fall MSE day, help offset the cost of sending two undergraduate club members to Columbus, for the Fall ASM/TMS Materials Week conference and for other related new student recruitment/ member development costs.
This school year the fall MSE day will be themed for the first time under “Exploring Classic Failures”- The Space Shuttle, Hawaiian Airlines, and the Titanic.” Other plans include high school recruitment visits, paper night against University of Idaho, industry tours, the Spring ASM/TMS national conference and more. The club is also strengthening their ties with the professional ASM chapters around this region as well, participating with both the Inland Empire Chapter in Spokane as well as the Tri-Cities ASM chapter in their local events.
