Alfred University’s 2025 Summer Engineering Research Institute concluded with a display of innovation, discovery, and student achievement. Undergraduate and graduate researchers presented the outcomes of their research projects during the annual Engineering Research Poster Session, where students showcased their work, from advanced materials science to renewable energy systems and innovations.
Alfred University’s 2025 Summer Engineering Research Institute concluded with a display of innovation, discovery, and student achievement. Undergraduate and graduate researchers presented the outcomes of their research projects during the annual Engineering Research Poster Session, where students showcased their work, from advanced materials science to renewable energy systems and innovations.
This year’s event brought together faculty, students, and industry professionals to recognize outstanding student research across several categories. Following are winners of the poster session:
- Best Overall Graduate Research Poster – Ecem Akirmak Yamac: "Quasi-Harmonic Approximation in Oxide Glasses: Linking Structure and Thermal Transport.”
- Best Overall Undergraduate Research Poster – Abby Atnafe: “Force-Enhanced Atomic Refinement: Machine Learning-Based Reconstruction of Non-Crystalline Structures”
- Best Presentation Graduate Research Poster – River Pao: “A New Method to Guide the Processing of Additively Manufactured Glass”
- Best Presentation Undergraduate Research Poster – Ruby Kavanagh: “Improved Synthesis of Wadsley-Roth Battery Anodes”
- Best Technical Graduate Research Poster – Deniz Saadatpour: “Dynamic Charge Modeling in Glasses; Toward a Redox-Aware Classical Interatomic Potential”
- Best Technical Undergraduate Research Poster (tie) – Kendra Crumbacher: “Iron Oxide Reduction-Oxidation After the Glass Transition,” and Jane Tkachenko: “Mixing Model for Recycling Soda-Lime-Silicate Glass Cullet”
The awards reflect not only the students’ hard work and dedication but also the mentorship and collaborative research culture fostered at Alfred University. The summer research experience offers students a chance to deepen their academic knowledge, explore real-world applications, and prepare for careers in engineering, science, and innovation.
The Summer Engineering Research Institute and poster session awards were sponsored by Corning Incorporated, the Center for Advanced Ceramic Technology (CACT) at Alfred University/NYSTAR, and the Ceramics Association of New York.
