ASM International, the leading trade organization in the materials engineering field, held its annual Chicagoland Student Poster Competition last week at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Materials engineering students summarized their research on large-format posters and provided technical updates to a panel of expert judges.
The event was organized by Chicago regional ASM chapter chair James Male, who is a materials design engineer at Evanston-based QuesTek® Innovations. Founded in 1997, QuesTek is a leader in integrated computational materials engineering (ICME). The judges and organizers also included QuesTek president Jason Sebastian (ASM Chicago awards chair), and QuesTek engineers Zhi Liang (ASM Chicago events chair) and Margaret Hensel (ASM Chicago treasurer).
In addition to students from Illinois Institute of Technology, the event also included participants from Northwestern University and University of Illinois Chicago.
“To have three universities represented at an event like this is very special,” says Male. “The students were very interested in one another’s projects and also got exposure to organizations in this industry such as ASM and QuesTek.”
The winners of the competition were:
- 1st place ($350 plus plaque): Changlong Chen from IIT presenting: “TEP, a green solvent for cathode fabrication of Li-ion batteries”
- 2nd place ($200): Lindsay Chaney from Northwestern University presenting: “Fully-Printed, High-Temperature Microsupercapacitor Arrays Enabled by Hexagonal Boron Nitride Ionogels”
- 3rd place ($100): Broderick Lewis from Northwestern University presenting: “Fracture Behavior of Dynamic, Disulfide-containing Epoxy Thermosets”
“There was a very strong field of entrants,” says Male. “Several students were focused on solid-state battery advances, as well as improved mechanical performance in polymers, and nickel cobalt aluminum alloys.”
With multiple strong university programs and industry pioneer QuesTek, the Chicago area is a national hub for materials engineering.
“Materials science is increasingly crucial for technological innovation in many industries,” says Sebastian. “Maintaining the talent pipeline through events like this where students connect with their peers and professionals in this industry is vital.”
About QuesTek
QuesTek empowers innovators by resolving materials-based challenges. QuesTek is both a pioneer and current market leader in Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME). QuesTek’s Materials by Design® technologies enable new products and new thresholds of performance across a wide range of industries including aerospace, automotive, medical devices, consumer electronics and luxury goods. QuesTek’s ICMD® software platform launched in 2023 and is the first comprehensive digital materials design technology. QuesTek Innovations is the primary operating subsidiary of QuesTek International LLC and is headquartered in Evanston, Illinois. QuesTek has additional locations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Solna, Sweden; and Tokyo. questek.com
About ASM International
ASM International is the world’s largest association of materials-centric engineers and scientists. We are dedicated to informing, educating, and connecting the materials community to solve problems and stimulate innovation around the world. asminternational.org