News

It's been a successful term. We would like to congratulate Clark, Cameron, Coleman, and Niquana for passing their PhD qualifier exams and Kristyn for her successful PhD dissertation proposal . We also wish Mackenzie every success as he moves on from his postdoc at UVA to his new position at ORNL. Congratulations to Alex for her 2nd place award in the undergraduate category for the Dean's First Annual Research Art Contest. Finally we welcome Morgan to our group as a new undergraduate researcher.

We are thrilled to welcome new members to our research group. Undergraduates Michael Richwine, Alex Uy, and Jack Carroll joined the group this summer. They all came up to speed so quickly and have already made significant contributions to our understanding of UHTC oxidation (Michael), CMAS attack of Yb silicates (Alex), and low temperature oxidation of CMCs (Jack). We also welcome new graduate student Lilly Balderson who comes to us with a BS degree in chemistry from VCU. She will be co-advised with Professor Tao Sun and researching additive manufacturing of ceramics. Welcome all!

Congratulations to Elizabeth J. Opila, who has earned The American Ceramic Society Arthur L. Friedberg award in recognition of her outstanding teaching and research contributions to ceramic engineering.Opila is the Rolls-Royce Commonwealth Professor in Engineering at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. She is a professor of materials science and engineering with a courtesy appointment in mechanical and aerospace engineering.

We have just finished another year of great accomplishments by group members.
Congratulations to KJ Meisner and Rachel Guarriello on defending their PhD dissertations. Also congratulations to Dom Pinnisi and Marcus Dozier as they graduate from our research group with their BS degrees (both have double majors!). We wish all four of you well as you move on to the next stage of your careers.

Congratulations to Mackenzie for the successful defense of his dissertation entitled: "Fundamental Degradation Mechanisms and Materials Optimization of Environmental Barrier Coatings." Awesome job! Thanks for staying around for a post doc.

Best wishes to Bekah as she moves on from her postdoc position. Congratulations on all your accomplishments as a grad student and post doc. We look forward to hearing about your successes in future positions.

Congratulations to Kristyn on passing her PhD qualifier exam. Have fun focusing on your research!

Learn how materials scientists are developing coating systems to protect airplane engines from molten debris in a national lecture by Rebekah Webster, a 2019 Ph.D. of materials science and engineering and post-doctoral researcher with the Rolls-Royce University Technology Center on Advanced Materials Systems at the University of Virginia.Webster's dissertation focused on interactions between coating materials and ingested debris such as sand and volcanic ash that can melt in the hot section of a turbine engine.

Congratulations to Dr. Lucas Herweyer on the successful defense of his PhD dissertation entitled "High Temperature Na2SO4 Interactions with Yb2Si2O7 EBC Systems and SiC CMC Materials." Best wishes for your future career!

A warm welcome to Charlotte and Connor as they join the group and the Department of Materials Science at UVA. They will be exploring the oxidation of refractory metals and carbides for their PhD research. We look forward to getting to know them.