Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Active students drive success of Material Advantage

 

Iowa State’s student chapter of Material Advantage recently became a dynasty after winning the national Most Outstanding Chapter Award for the fourth year in a row. Chapters from all around the country entered the competition, making the accomplishment of Iowa State’s students even more remarkable. How do they do it?

“The students are driven to be involved,” says Josh Frederick, a senior in materials engineering.

“This is a great group of students,” says Scott Chumbley, professor in materials science and engineering and adviser for Material Advantage. “They are very proactive.”

Material Advantage, a pre-professional society for materials engineering majors and those interested in materials science and engineering, combines four professional societies: the Materials Information Society; The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society; The American Ceramic Society; and The Association for Iron and Steel Technology.

There are 75 student participants in Iowa State’s chapter.

“I joined Material Advantage because it is a good way to get involved and interact with others,” says Emily Merrick, senior in materials engineering and president of the Iowa State chapter. “We enjoy hanging out and doing activities together.”

Material Advantage activities can be separated into three categories: social, educational, and outreach.

Social activities comprise one of the categories judged for the Most Outstanding Chapter Award. In addition to making room for a little fun—such as a barbeque kickoff event, Friday after Class (FAC) at the Pizza Pit once a month, and intramural broomball—the social interaction is a great way for members to get to know one another. FACs in particular are meant to be a reprieve from the intensity of class work. Once or twice a semester, faculty and their families are invited to join the members.

“These events are a way of getting people together outside of the classroom into an atmosphere with less stress,” explains Jeff Czerniak, senior in materials engineering and events chair for the chapter.

Educational activities, which include programming and career development, are two more items on which chapters are scored during the national competition.

“The students get to experience the world outside of Iowa State by going on industry tours,” says Chumbley. “The tours are also an opportunity to interact with potential employers.”

A fourth item that earns points for the Most Outstanding Chapter Award is service, which includes outreach activities such as demonstrations and selling pizza on the Iowa State campus.

“The demos are one of my favorite parts of being a member,” says Frederick. “We have frozen racquetballs using liquid nitrogen and shatter them against walls and melt pennies using fire. Demos are an opportunity to apply what we’ve learned in class and teach others.”

In addition to these activities, members can also attend conferences such as the annual national Materials Science and Technology Conference and Exhibition (MS&T) and an event known as Congressional Visits Day.

“Conferences are an excellent networking opportunity,” says Czerniak. “You can see what people in our field actually do.”

“They are a great way to meet other students from other schools and network with employers,” says Merrick. “Members often return with multiple job offers.”

The 2007 MS&T conference held in Detroit, Michigan, attracted more than 735 Material Advantage members from all over the nation.

During Congressional Visits Day, members travel to Capitol Hill in order to educate their state representatives about the importance of research and funding in materials science, engineering, and manufacturing.

“It is nice to be able to meet and talk to our congressmen,” says Charles Fisher, senior in materials engineering and former president of Material Advantage, who participated in the program in March.

Through all of these opportunities, Material Advantage helps students build networks and gain leadership skills.

“There are lots of leadership positions and many opportunities,” says Merrick. “You can build leadership skills through outreach activities like doing demos or talking one-on-one with another student.”

“I have definitely grown as a leader,” explains Fisher. “When you are president, you realize just how much time you have to put into an organization to run meetings smoothly and solve problems. This is an experience that everyone would benefit from. Plus, being a member of Material Advantage is just fun.”

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