MS&E students receive unique opportunity to expand their horizons

Our undergraduate students in the Materials Science and Engineering program are actively enhancing their skills and expanding their networks by participating in valuable experiences. During this semester, groups of MS&E students attended monthly chapter meetings of the ASM-Milwaukee Professional Society. The ASM-Milwaukee Professional Society is a part of the American Society of Materials (ASM), the world’s largest professional society for materials science. The Milwaukee chapter comprises numerous materials-focused professionals and companies from the Milwaukee/eastern Wisconsin area, as well as professors and students from Marquette, UW-Milwaukee, and UW-Madison. Notably, our own Materials Science and Engineering professor, Professor John Perepezko, currently serves on the ASM-Milwaukee executive committee.

So, what benefits do students derive from attending these meetings? UW-Madison students participating in these events have gained access to a range of unique opportunities, including job interviews, tours of local manufacturing facilities, and corporate sponsorships for various student projects facilitated through the Materials Advantage/American Foundry Society (MA-AFS) club on campus. Josh Baston, an undergraduate student in the UW-Madison Materials Science and Engineering program, attended the ASM-Milwaukee events during the fall 2023 semester and shared the impact of his experience. He emphasized the eye-opening nature of these events in providing insights into the professional landscape of materials science. Baston appreciated the welcoming community and valued the opportunity to learn from individuals with perspectives different from those in the academic setting.

In his own words, Baston stated, “Attendance at these ASM-Milwaukee events have been extremely eye-opening to see what is going on with materials science in the professional space. The community has been very welcoming, and I find it great to learn from people with a different set of perspectives compared to classroom academia. On top of that, we have been able to make extremely valuable connections with a few Milwaukee-area companies and individuals that I think will help out the department and student body via extracurricular projects over the next semester. It is something I highly recommend other students look into, and if anyone is interested, they should reach out to the MA-AFS club to hear more.”.

These experiences serve as an excellent platform for students to learn from industry professionals, offering insights into how their classroom education can be applied to diverse real-world materials careers in the Wisconsin area.