Alfred University Inamori School of Engineering

Senior students from GST BOCES New Visions Engineering program hosted their final poster session and boat regatta at Alfred University on Friday, May 29, 2026. The new Visions Engineering program is a new initiative this year held by GST BOCES in Hornell with instructor Emilie Carney. Alfred University engineering students, staff, and faculty attended a few of their classes this past semester to offer support regarding specific engineering instruction and provide information about different engineering fields. These students were tasked with creating a boat out of cardboard! Some floated. Some sank - in spectacular fashion! Alfred University looks forward to welcoming three of the eight students to campus in the fall to be a part of our engineering program.

Graduate and undergraduate students went to Alfred-Almond Central School this past Thursday, May 28, 2026, to teach the 3rd and 4th grade STEM Club students. This club is run by Mrs. Julie Ormsby, a 5th grade teacher at Alfred-Almond. Graduate student, Grace Dunham, showed the students how a microwave kiln works, and the students were able to make beads to be fired with undergraduate students Sammy Wertheim, Avery Sledesky, and Gawon Han. Graduate student, Nate Marrero, taught the students about different materials, and even talked a little bit about nuclear waste!

A great time was had by all and the students (both elementary and college students) had a blast! If your school is interested in Alfred University Engineering students, faculty, and staff coming out to do outreach, please email Amelia Overbye at [email protected] to get on our schedule for the 2026-2027 school year!

Fiat Lux at Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI)

Prof. S. K. Sundaram, Inamori Professor of MSE, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Research, and Glass-Art Engine (G*E) team member visited Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI), where the spirit of Fiat Lux is alive and well. Shown in the picture are three AU alums:

Sarah Corneille, Executive Director - Pictured in the center (2015-2026)- Sarah started working at BAGI as a volunteer in 2015, to get involved with the glass community in Nor Cal. She continued to work for BAGI, starting as a Hot shop Instructor, Program Administrator, and Operations Manager. She is dedicated to BAGI’s Mission, to her staff, and the arts and glass community. Sarah earned a BFA in Sculpture and Dimensional Studies and a Minor in Religious Studies at Alfred University (2000)

Erin Hoffman, Studio Manager- Pictured Right (2021-2026)- Erin Hoffman is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily with glass sculpture and installation. Originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania, Hoffman earned her BFA in Glass from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia (2015). She later worked as the Departmental Assistant in the glass program at the University of Louisville from 2015 to 2018. Hoffman received her MFA in Sculpture and Dimensional Studies from Alfred University in New York (2020). She currently lives and works in San Jose, California, where she has served as Studio Manager at the Bay Area Glass Institute since 2021, helping to grow and sustain a vibrant, community-centered nonprofit glass studio.

Kimberly Wilcox, Program Administrator (class programming) – Pictured Left (2024-2026) - Kimberly (she/her/hers) is an interdisciplinary artist from the Philadelphia Area. After receiving her BFA in Painting from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, she pursued her MFA in Sculpture and Dimensional Studies at the New York State School of Ceramics at Alfred University, with a concentration in Glass. There she explored the complex nature of the intergenerational relationships that shape who we are. By using material poetics and found objects, she created an immersive installation to present her MFA Thesis, Buried, Encased, Embedded.

ALFRED UNIVERSITY’S ANVIL CLUB MAKES THE PODIUM at FIERF

Alfred Anvil brought home a 3rd place finish at the 2026 FIERF American Felling Axe Forging Competition — competing against 22 forging teams from across the country.

What makes this even more impressive? Our students forged the axe almost entirely by hand, using power tools only for finishing work. This project pushed the limits of our skills, teamwork, and equipment, building on the momentum started with last year’s Blacksmith’s Hammer project.

Competitions like this are more than just awards — they’re hands-on experiences that bring our team together through hard work, problem solving, and making. Every strike of the hammer reflects the passion and dedication of the students behind it.

Over the past five years, this club has grown into something truly special, and the future is bright with a new generation of student leaders ready to take on what’s next.

Alfred Anvil is “all grit, no quit” says former VP Sam Gross — and they’re already looking ahead to FIERF 2027.

Read our newly-minted graduate, Lina Young’s story.

Changing directions can be intimidating—but for Lina Young, it led to a future in engineering. Hear how Lina switched majors, challenged herself, and found her path. 🎓 Read more: [Link] https://www.alfred.edu/blog/blog-posts/alumni-spotlight-lina-young.cfm

Congrats to our newest alum as she begins her career in the advanced ceramics industry!

Prof. Caio Bragatto visited his international collaborator Prof. Marcio Nascimento at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), where they discussed future plans on their research of the fundamentals behind ionic conductivity in glasses, as well as talks to the first-year Chemical Engineering students on career in Materials Science and on Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy for Engineering graduate students.

Alfred University Engineering Open House:

The day includes:
Campus and engineering facility tours
Interactive demonstrations
Shadow a research undergrad
Student, faculty, and staff panels
Lunch on campus

Register here:
https://connect.alfred.edu/register/eng-open-house-6-2-26

Several Alfred University students recently attended Ceramics Expo in Cleveland, OH. Preston Guynup, Ben Rondeau and Roque Santiago shared their research with industry leaders at The Student Poster Pitch Competition.

Roque Santiago took home first place with his poster titled: Structural Optimization Enables Fast Lithiation of Wadsley-Roth Shear Phases

His work looks at optimizing next-generation battery anode materials by purposefully introducing defects into their structure that boost performance, pushing these materials towards commercial viability.

Dr. Mario Affatigato, physics faculty at Coe College, presented the 2026 Scholes Lecture at Alfred University last week.

Dr Affatigato’s presentation covered traditional thermodynamic methods (roller and splat quenching, spray cooling), levitation techniques of various kinds, chemical methods, and mechanical/optical strategies for creating disorder in the solid state. Methods used by living organisms (such as sponges and diatoms) were also discussed.

A poster session honoring James Shelby was also held. Shelby joined the faculty of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in May 1982 as an associate professor of glass science. He was promoted to professor in 1985 and was named the McMahon Professor of Ceramic Engineering in 1998. He received the G.W. Morey Award for his research on gas diffusion in glasses in 1975, chaired the Gordon Conference on Glass in 1985, and was named a Fellow of the ACerS in 1986.