Alfred University was well represented at the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) Materials Science & Technology (MS&T) Conference, held last week in Columbus, OH. Twenty Alfred undergraduate and graduate students and nine faculty/staff from the Inamori School of Engineering participated the four-day conference, which opened Sunday, Sept. 28 and concluded Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Alfred University was well represented at the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) Materials Science & Technology (MS&T) Conference, held last week in Columbus, OH. Twenty Alfred undergraduate and graduate students and nine faculty/staff from the Inamori School of Engineering participated the four-day conference, which opened Sunday, Sept. 28 and concluded Wednesday, Oct. 1.
Students who take part in the Keramos, Materials Advantage, and Mug Drop clubs on campus attended the conference, participating in events like the Keramos Student Chapter Meeting and Convocation, Materials Advantage’s Chapter Officer Workshop, a student networking reception, and a student career panel. Caio Bragatto, assistant professor of ceramic engineering, took part in the career panel.
Alfred University’s chapter of Keramos—the national professional ceramic engineering fraternity—was recognized as the Most Improved Chapter for 2025.
Students visited Allied Mineral Products, a global leader in production of monolithic refractory ceramics. Late Alfred University alumnus Jon K. Tabor ’55 served as chairman and CEO of Allied Mineral. His son, Jon R. Tabor, an Alfred University trustee, has served as president and CEO of the company since 2009.
Several undergraduate students gave research presentations at the conference. Lam Tran, senior glass engineering major, gave a talk titled “Accelerated Low-Temperature Stabilization of Glasses via Thermo-Ultrasonication,” based on a National Science Foundation-ASCENT-funded program. Zephyr Ramsey, junior glass engineering major, spoke on “Multi-Faceted Quantitative Cross-Correlating Characterization and Phase Mapping of Gradient Refractive Index Chalcogenide Glass-Ceramic Bulk Nanocomposites,” based on a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-FOCII-funded program. Both Lam and Zephyr are undergraduate researchers in the research group led by Myungkoo Kang, assistant professor of ceramic engineering. Kang said the students drew a large audience of 50-plus people during their talks.
Jake Klucinec, graduate student in a research group led by Kathleen A. Richardson ’82, MS ’88, PhD ’92 at the University of Central Florida, was selected runner-up for the 2025 Alfred R. Cooper Scholar Award based on his research funded by the same DARPA program in which Kang served as a co-principal investigator. The Cooper Award is given to an undergraduate, is named in honor of the late Professor Alfred R. Cooper Jr., member of the faculty at Case Western Reserve University and a prominent contributor to the understanding of many glass phenomena and glass problems. Richardson, who earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in ceramic engineering and a master’s degree in glass science from Alfred University, is Pegasus Professor of Optics and Materials Science in CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and is a member of Alfred University’s Board of Trustees.
Several from Alfred University participated in a Glass Learning Opportunities Workshop (GLOW). The GLOW program, offered in partnership with MS&T, is a Ceramic and Glass Industry Foundation (CGIF) initiative that provides middle and high school students with hands-on experiences in glass science, often including glassblowing demonstrations and career panels, to inspire future professionals in the field. Approximately 90 middle and high school students from the Columbus area, representatives of the Columbus Glass Art Center, and a number of faculty, students, and alumni from Alfred University participated.
Doris Möncke, associate professor of glass science and chair of the Glass Program at Alfred University, staffed a table and gave demonstrations on a variety of glass samples, including optical glass, fibers, fluorescing glass, metallic glass, and foam glass. Another table manned by alumnus Lucas Greiner, ’24 M.S., a PhD candidate at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and several undergraduates provided demonstrations: Lenorah Haight-Stott and Jacob Kaspryk (master’s students in glass science), and Grace Dunham (PhD candidate, ceramic engineering) gave glass-breaking demonstrations with Prince Rupert’s drops and tempered glass; and Amir Ashjari and Deniz Saadatpour (PhD candidates in glass science) gave a demonstration on ion conduction in hot glass. The GLOW event also featured a glass studio with a glass blowing demo and a career panel.
Greiner, Haight-Stott, Kaspryk, Dunham, Ashjari, and Saadatpour all gave talks and/or presented posters at the MS&T Conference.
Preston Guynup, a master’s degree student in biomaterials engineering, won third place in the poster contest for graduate students, and Ashjari was selected as one of 10 finalists for the Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) award. He is among five Sapphire Awardees for 2025.
Abraham Ebunu, a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering, concluded his term the President’s Council of Student Advisors (PCSA), while Dunham and Ashjari began their terms on PCSA.
Alfred’s chapter of the Mug Drop Club—under the supervision of Bragatto and Mario Caccio, assistant professor of ceramic engineering—entered 15 mugs in the Mug Drop Contest. The contest tests students on their prowess in designing and manufacturing a ceramic mug possessing high strength, mechanical reliability, and/or aesthetics. Mugs fabricated by students from ceramic raw materials are judged (separately) on aesthetics and then by dropping them from ever-increasing heights. The mug that is dropped from the greatest height without breaking wins.
Alfred University’s attendance and participation in the MS&T Conference was sponsored by the Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST), the Ceramics and Glass Industry Foundation (CGIF), the American Ceramic Society (ACerS), the Alfred University Center for Advanced Ceramic Technology (CACT), and Alfred University.
