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Outstanding MatSci Junior Award

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2024 Recipient

Jaemin Yoo

2022 Recipient

Davy Zeng

2021 Recipient

Zach Martin

2020 Recipient

Paul Brown – Paul has been an undergraduate researcher for the past 18 months on a  collaboration between the Weiss group (Chemistry) and Hersam group (MSE) on long-range energy transfer between 0D semiconductors (quantum dots) and quasi-2D layered semiconductors. He co-founded the Northwestern Nanotechnology Club (nanoNU), serves as as executive producer of the Jazz Show on WNUR 89.3 FM, and volunteers for K12 outreach events that involve teaching science to kids

2019 Recipient

Leah Borgsmiller – Leah promotes STEM education at Northwestern as a Campus Tour Guide and as a leader in a number of campus organizations inlucluding the MatSci Club, Engineers without Borders, and SWE. She has worked on research projects related to magnetostrictive thin films (NU Physics), flexible electronics (NIST-CHiMaD), and will spend summer 2019 in the REU program at MIT. In her spare time, she participates in the musical theatre dance company, Steam Heat Dance Company.

2018 Recipient

Peter Hosbein – Peter is active in many campus organizations, including his residential college, Tau Beta Pi, and particularly Project Wildcat as a counselor and steering member.  He is pursuing honors in MSE and a Segal Design Certificate. He began energy-materials-related research with the Poeppelmeier group after taking inorganic chemistry and has since worked on a lithium extraction project and has recently joined the Barnett group to study solid battery materials. An engaged participant in class, Peter prides himself with contributing to an active learning environment by his willingness to ask questions in class. He will spend summer 2018 as an intern with SiNODE.

2017 Recipient

Kyle Bushick – A member of the Wolverton research group working on computational discovery of novel mixed anion compounds, Kyle developed an interest in computational materials design after working on a freshman design (DTC) project with the Olson group related to developing TRIP-180 steel for military/industrial applications. He spent the summers after his freshman year and sophomore years modeling alloys at QuesTek and will spend the coming summer at SpaceX. An outstanding student and a leader outside of the classroom, Kyle has served as a McCormick peer advisor. He is also co-president and captain of the Men’s Club Fencing Team.

2016 Recipient

Jake Song – A scientifically curious student who parlayed a work-study job in the Keten research group into a successful proposal for undergraduate research,  Jake is a co-author on several manuscripts describing work on the mechanical properties of polymers near interfaces.  He is co-advised by Professors Keten and Shull on a project sponsored by Goodyear and has used molecular simulation methods to model  key experimental results on the project.  In addition to research, Jake has been involved with the Solar Tree team in ESW and is a member of Tau Beta Pi.

2015 Recipient

Yang Yu – A double major in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and Manufacturing and Design Engineering (MaDE), Yang is an outstanding scholar.  He joined the Wolverton group at the beginning of his sophomore year and works on developing new high-accuracy density functional theory methods to predict thermodynamic properties of transition metal sulfides for energy applications, such as for rechargeable batteries.  Outside of the research lab, Yang is a graphics designer at DesignWorks, a campus graphics-oriented startup, and a junior consultant leader at the Tech computer lab.  He is an active member of Tau Beta Pi.

2014 Recipient

Edward Pang - Edward is an MSE major in MEAS and the recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Sophomore Award. He is a 2014-2015 Barry Goldwater Scholar and won the ASM Chicago Chapter Carl Samans Undergraduate Award. He conducts research on simulations of phase-transformations with Professor Peter Voorhees and works for the startup company NanoAl, a spinoff of research from the Dunand and Seidman groups. Edward also serves as composites sub-team lead for the Formula SAE team and was awarded an undergraduate research grant for computational work on carbon fiber epoxy composites, using finite element modeling and expterimental testing to determine elastic constants and strength limits of the materials implemented in the race car. Edward is also a member of Tau Beta Pi and a mentor for the Gateway Science Workshops in Engineering Analysis.

2013 Recipient

Rachel Beal - Rachel is a MatSci major in WCAS and an undergraduate researcher in Professor Mason's electroceramics laboratory where she works on developing better materials for fuel cell electrodes. She has also served as a volunteer TA for Matsci 101. In summer 2012 she participated in the Research Internships in Science and Engineering program at UC Santa Barbara where she worked on dilute magnetic semiconductors. In summer 2013 she will work on synthesis and characterization of nanowires and ultra-thin metallic films at Trinity College, Dublin, and plans to travel to the syncrhotron facility in Lund, Sweden. Her many extra-curricular activities include writing for Northwestern Flipside and competing in half-marathons.