MSE Graduate Students Show Off Presentations at Grad Student Speaking Contest
Competitors for the 2018 Graduate Student Speaking Competition stand by the Gant Science Complex. From left to right: Benjamin Bedard, Thomas Moran, Tyler Flanagan and Douglas Hendrix. (UConn photo/Stefan Schaffoener)
By Marlese Lessing
Materials Science and Engineering graduate students let their communication and presentation skills shine at the 2018 Fall Graduate Student Speaking Competition on Friday, Nov. 16. Four students, Benjamin Bedard, Douglas Hendrix, Thomas Moran,and Tyler Flanagan, were selected by the MSE Graduate Committee to participate in the annual contest, which is part of the MSE Seminar Series.
Each graduate student had 12 minutes to present his topic, with time given for questions form the judging panel afterwards. The graduate students were evaluated based on their presentation’s quality, scientific and engineering merit, originality and other criteria by a panel of three faculty members and two graduate students.
Douglas Hendrix, an MSE Ph.D. student who graduated from UConn in 2015, emerged victorious, taking first place with his presentation on “Characterization of Dispersion Quality of Nanoparticles in Cementitious Materials.” He is currently studying the effects of nano-sized particles in cement, co-advised by Professor Bryan Huey and Associate Professor Kay Wille from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
“The quality of all 4 of the presentations impressed me the most. Each speaker succinctly described their research, made it interesting to the audience, and answered questions with authority,” Professor Huey said. “In fact, these talks would fit in perfectly at any major materials conference, and thus set a great example to the students in the audience. I’m especially pleased for Doug whose work is inherently interdisciplinary, as is much of what we do in MSE.”
Congratulations to Douglas, and to those who participated in the competition!
The list of winners can be found below.
First Place
Douglas Hendrix
Characterization of Dispersion Quality of Nanoparticles in Cementitious Materials
Second Place
Thomas Moran
Property-Thickness Dependencies for Dielectric and Dielectric/Piezoelectric Multilayer Thin Films
Third Place
Tyler Flanagan
Mechanical Characterization of Cold Sprayed Aluminum Alloy Powders Using in-situ Micropillar Compression and Tension
Fourth Place
Benjamin Bedard
Microstructural and Chemical Analysis of Gas Atomized and Heat Treated Aluminum Alloy Powders
Published: December 10, 2018
Categories: awards, contest, graduate students, news
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