I’m very excited about the coming year and my opportunity to serve as the Materials Research Society President in 2014. As in the past, MRS activities this year will be shaped in large part by you—the MRS members—as we strive to better serve you. One area of increased focus this year will be supporting students, building from programs we’ve initiated over the last couple of years. After telling you of these efforts, I’d like to explain how you can help our students! MRS is actively working to create a worldwide network of students through the MRS University Chapter Program. We now have over 80 Chapters, having recently recognized students at the University of Alberta (Canada), Khalifa University for Science Research & Technology (United Arab Emirates), Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), the African University of Science and Technology (Nigeria), and the University of Cologne (Germany, with the European MRS). We are collaborating with E-MRS, Sociedad Mexicana des Materiales (Mexico), and Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa em Materiais (Brazil) to jointly recognize Chapters. And we are now offering free membership to students from institutions in developing countries. But these efforts are just the beginning.
We are seeking to establish sustainable, community-driven programs for engaging and empowering students, with an end goal of a “perpetual environment” for serving students throughout the year, including:
Promoting student-led programs through the Materials Research Society Foundation. In 2013, MRS supported student-proposed, community-based projects at Drexel University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California–Davis, University of California–Los Angeles, University of Connecticut, University of Delaware, University of Texas at Austin, and Vanderbilt University. These included University Chapter Special Projects for lectures, career days, and undergraduate mentoring as well as Grassroots, Member-Proposed projects for education outreach to middle and high schools.
Enabling meaningful interactions between students with MRS OnDemand®. At the 2012 MRS Fall Meeting, we ran the first pilot program using two-way streaming to engage students in Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in the Sustainability Forum in Boston. At the 2013 MRS Fall Meeting, students from Case Western Reserve University, Iowa State University, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Saudi Arabia), University of Central Florida, University of Tuskegee, and University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire created a session on Exploration of the Impact of Materials on Society that was live-streamed to MRS University Chapters.
Fulfilling the vision of the David Turnbull Lectureship through the MRS OnDemand Webinar Series. The David Turnbull Lectureship has always included a travel allowance for speaking engagements at universities throughout the year. Virtual technologies will now enable us to fully achieve the vision of reaching students who cannot attend the MRS Fall Meeting as we host an interactive lecture on MRS OnDemand during the 2014 spring semester.
These are just some ways that our members and Headquarters staff are helping us move forward on the MRS Vision to build a dynamic, interactive, global community of materials researchers. And true to MRS’s grassroots heritage, a central theme of this effort is to enable students to create the programs that they want.
So how can you help? Here are three simple, but impactful ways that you can support our students:
1. Help Yury Gogotsi and the MRS University Chapter Subcommittee by engaging the students at your institution or alma mater. Encourage them to start an MRS University Chapter. And support their work with students from other University Chapters to create programs for an upcoming Spring or Fall Meeting.
2. Participate in the student-led programs. Volunteer to give a talk on campus. Accept invitations from students to participate in University Chapter MRS OnDemand events at the Spring and Fall Meetings. Assist them with local projects through the University Chapter Special Projects Program.
3. Donate to the Materials Research Society Foundation. Direct your donation to support student programs, including the University Chapter Special Projects and Graduate Student Awards. Consider creating new awards, such as the recently endowed Arthur Nowick Graduate Student Award.
These are just three quick examples of how you can help. You can also contact Lorri Smiley (smiley@mrs.org) at MRS Headquarters if you want to learn about other opportunities. Either way, I thank you for your help as we engage and serve the next generation of materials researchers.
Tia Benson Tolle
2014 MRS President
