Alfred University alumnus and current graduate student Roque Santiago ’25 won the student poster contest at the recent 2026 Ceramics Expo, held May 5-6 in Cleveland, OH. Santiago, from Canisteo, NY, earned bachelor’s degrees in ceramic engineering and physics from Alfred University in 2025 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in ceramic engineering, also from Alfred.
Santiago was among 11 students from four institutions—Alfred University, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, and The Ohio State University—to compete in the poster session. His poster, titled “Structural Optimization Enables Fast Lithiation of Wadsley-Roth Shear Phases,” took first place. The poster illustrated Santiago’s research on advanced oxide ceramic anode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries, which is being conducted under the supervision of Scott Misture, Inamori Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Alfred University.
“The research focuses on improving next-generation battery materials that could help enable faster-charging and longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries,” Santiago explained. “Specifically, we study how introducing defects into these materials in a controlled manner can actually improve their performance.”
As an undergraduate at Alfred, Santiago was an Honors Student and recipient of a 2025 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. His undergraduate engineering thesis in Misture’s research group studied devitrifiable glass sealants for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells, focusing on crystallization behavior and glass-electrolyte interfacial reactions.
He served as lead engineering intern for Blue Star Advanced Manufacturing, as part of research conducted at Alfred University’s Space Materials Institute on the microwave sintering of lunar regolith simulants (artificial moon dirt) for lunar construction applications. A four-year member of the Alfred University football team, he currently serves as an assistant coach for the Saxons.
Roque Santiago ’25 discusses his research with a visitor to the student poster session held during the 2026 Ceramics Expo in Cleveland, OH. Santiago took first place in the poster competition.
Santiago said he is unsure of his plans after he receives his master’s degree in December. He is exploring opportunities in materials research and development, particularly in areas related to energy storage and aerospace materials. “I’m looking forward to continuing to grow professionally and seeing where those opportunities lead,” he said.
This marks the first year the Ceramics Expo included a student poster session and organizers deemed it a tremendous success. In a fast-paced one-minute lightning pitch format, students presented research to expert judges based on real-world application, commercial relevance, and industry impact. Judges described Santiago’s research as “critical work at the intersection of ceramics and energy storage.”
“The Ceramics Expo was a fantastic experience. It was inspiring to see the technology being developed within the ceramics industry and to speak with leaders in the field,” Santiago commented. “The student poster and pitch competition was especially rewarding because it gave me the chance to share some of the impactful work being done in our labs while also continuing to develop my presentation and communication skills.”
Two other Alfred University students—Benjamin Rondeau and Preston Guynup ’24, M.S. ’26—also had entries in the poster session. Rondeau, who will be a senior in the fall, majors in glass science engineering with a minor in chemistry; Guynup, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomaterials engineering from Alfred, is a research assistant in biomaterials engineering in the Inamori School of Engineering.
Rondeau’s poster was titled “Crystal Growth Quantification via Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy,” while Guynup’s was titled “Structural Incorporation into Hydroxyapatite.”
