I’m thrilled to share that two of our outstanding undergraduate researchers, Ngan Dinh and Aryan, were honored at the 2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium (SURF)! 🏆 Aryan received the Best Poster Award. 🎤 Ngan received the Best Research Talk Award. A huge thank you to our dedicated graduate lab mentors–Nicole, Liz, and Ronaldo– for guiding and supporting these talented students throughout the summer. Also to Nicholas Ostendorf, who worked with Aryan on the project.

We are thrilled to congratulate Bianka Pajo on receiving a prestigious Poster of Merit Award at the PowderMet2025/AMPM2025 conference! This recognition highlights Bianka’s outstanding research and dedication to advancing the field of powder processing and high-temperature ceramics.

I am delighted to announce that my coadvised student, Bianka Pajo, has received the Purdue Materials Engineering People’s Choice Award in the 2024 Nanoartography competition. Her image merges science and art, showcasing the intricacies of materials at the nanoscale. See her image and the other winners at https://www.nanoartography.org/2024. Congratulations, Bianka!

Our article titled “Radiation Heat Transfer During Hypersonic Flight: A Review of Emissivity Measurement and Enhancement Approaches of Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics,” co-authored by Dr. Abdullah Al Saad and Prof. Trice, was recently awarded an American Ceramic Society Best Paper Award. All the praise goes to Dr. Al Saad and Prof. Trice for their hard work and expertise. The paper was published in the International Journal of Ceramic Engineering & Science (IJACT). The photo shows Prof. Trice receiving the award at the MS&T Meeting in Pittsburgh by Prof. John Mauro of Penn State. The image is from the LinkedIn post by the Purdue School of Materials Engineering found here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/purdue-university-school-of-materials-engineering_freepaperfriday-activity-7263266321096744961-KJAa?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Congratulations to Raul Paredes Noroña for delivering an outstanding poster at the Purdue Undergraduate Expo! His hard work and dedication were clearly showcased. We also recognize the invaluable guidance of his mentor, Bianka Pajo, in this achievement.

Congratulations to Bianka Pajo on successfully passing her preliminary examination! 🎉 Her preliminary exam seminar focused on the critical review of mechanisms responsible for viscous energy dissipation in amorphous glassy materials

Congratulations to Wenqi Zou for successfully presenting a poster at the 2024 SURF Research Symposium and winning the Best Poster Award! Wenqi, who came from Mount Holyoke College, did a fantastic job in our group this past summer. Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to work together again!

Congratulations to Ronaldo, Nicole, and Liz for passing their preliminary examination!

Congratulations to Dr. Averyonna Kimery for a successful thesis defese. Best wishes to Dr. Kimery on her next endevours!

I am delighted to announce that Dr. Abdullah Al Saad has successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis in the area of hypersonics. Congratulations on this significant achievement and best of luck for the future!