Michigan Materials Science and Engineering

Did you hear the news? Michigan MSE ranked inside the Top 10 for MSE Graduate Programs in the U.S! Cutting edge research, illustrious alumni, and extraordinary outreach help propel Michigan Materials Science and Engineering to its #7 spot.

Gabi Grey (PhD Candidate-Taub Group, B.S.Eng '22) is the 2026 recipient of the Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement. Swipe to see how the 2025-2026 MSE Graduate Student Council President spoke about her research, future goals, and her inspirations. Gabi was awarded this prize due to her exceptional research, leadership, and academic performance.

In addition to her role as President, Gabi has served as GSC Secretary (2024-25), as a UROP Mentor (2023-26), a GSI, as a current Rackham Student Government Division Representative, and is serving (literally) on the court as a member of the MSE IM volleyball team. Congratulations, Gabi!

This morning, Yujie defends his dissertation on wide-band gap nitrides and high energy semi-conductors. A member of Emmanouil Kioupakis' research group, Yujie served as a Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery and Engineeing 2023-2024 Fellow and, in 2025, conducted an internship at Meta. Congratulations to Yujie!

Yesterday, Yuhan Li defended her thesis. A memeber of the Wang and Field groups, Yuhan conducted research on nuclear materials, particularly investigating their radiation response in hollandite ceramics and ferritic alloys. During her time at Michigan, Yuhan served as a GSI, presented at numerous conferences, and interned at Applied Materials and Idaho National Laboratory. Congratulations to Yuhan!

Last Friday, members of MSE Outreach and Graduate Society of Black Engineers and Scientists volunteered for STEMulation. STEMulation, an event hosted by the Michigan chapter of , brought high schoolers from around Southeast Michigan to campus to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math.

Today, you’re invited to a special Lunar New Year event from 1:30-3:30 p.m. in the Pod Room ( #3158 Dow). Traditional festive treats will include homemade meat and vegetable dumplings, salad, fortune cookies and red envelope gifts.

ALL are welcome to join us in celebrating the Year of the Horse!

This morning, Michigan native Jon Goettsch defends his doctoral thesis. A Harvard graduate, Jon came to the University of Michigan's Materials Science and Engineering Department in 2021 as a Master's student before transitioning to his PhD under Professor Alan Taub. During his time at Michigan, Jon served as an intern with Eck Industries and General Motors, and as a DoE Science Graduate Student Research Awardee, which allowed him the opportunity to conduct research at the prestigious Brookhaven National Lab. Jon will present his work on electric current assited solidification in 2000 Phoenix Memorial Lab at 9:30 am. Congratulations to Jon!

A University of Michigan-led team, in collaboration with General Motors Research & Development, has developed a computationally efficient, multiscale model that offers a predictive pathway to tune the chemistry and cooling of high strength aluminum alloys for optimized performance.

Michigan Engineering

Here's the full article ⬇️

Model predicts best cooling and aging regimen to form strong alloys — UMich MSE A new multiscale materials modeling framework developed by the Qi group predicts microstructures to control the final strength of lightweight aluminum alloys for fuel-efficient vehicles.

MSE is excited to announce that Assistant Professor Abdon Pena-Francesch has been named a 2025 Rising Star by Materials Today!

The Materials Today Rising Star Awards recognize researchers in materials science and engineering who have demonstrated exceptional talent and promise, and who have shown significant potential to become future leaders in their field. Pena-Francesch was one of nine winners representing five different research fields: biomaterials, energy conversion & storage, materials data science & AI, sustainability, and quantum materials & electronics. The researchers were selected not only for the outstanding quality of their work, but also for the real impact their contributions have had in their fields of study.

Read more at https://bit.ly/4s1E60w

Pena-Francesch named a 2025 Materials Today Rising Star — UMich MSE The Materials Today Rising Star Awards recognize researchers in MSE who have demonstrated exceptional talent and promise, and who have shown significant potential to become future leaders in their field.

🚨 NEW UnderCooled PODCAST ALERT! 🚨

Steve and Tim talked with Professor Ivan Baiges from University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez about the new undergraduate program he and his team developed called Sustainability Engineering. He described the need for such a program, especially in Puerto Rico, as well as how he went about assembling a team of faculty to do the hard work of creating new courses, convincing administrators, and making it happen. He suggested several books that inspired him, and he recommends them to all interested in Sustainability Engineering.

You can find the YouTube video here: https://bit.ly/4pVmOQU

Here's the link to the podcast: https://bit.ly/3MuneiE

Our YouTube channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/.Materials
Michigan Engineering

S3E9 Ivan Baiges Sustainability Engineering Steve and Tim talked with Professor Ivan Baiges from University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez about the new undergraduate program he and his team developed calle...