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Structure—DMSE's newsletter for alumni and friends

Department Head Wins Award

Subra Suresh, the R.P. Simmons Professor and head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has received the Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award from The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) in recognition of his long-lasting contribution to the fundamental understanding of microstructure, properties and performance of structural materials for industrial applications. The award was presented during the annual TMS meeting in New Orleans in February 2001. Professor Suresh was selected recently to be a Fellow of the society, an honor held by only 100 living members of TMS at any time. (From The Tech)

MacVicar Fellowship

Prof. Anne Mayes, Associate Professor of Polymer Physics, was named a Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow in a reception held March 2. Please congratulate Anne on this well-deserved honor.

New Facilities Manager

It is a pleasure to announce that Gerald Hughes (Gerry) has accepted the full-time position of Facilities Manager in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering effective Tuesday, February 20, 2001. Gerry comes to us from the Department of Facilities at MIT where he has been working as a Supervisor/Coach for the A-Zone. His office will be in DMSE HQ, Room 8-309, and he can be reached at 2-3938. His email address: is ghughes@mit.edu Please welcome Gerry to DMSE and to his new role. The department is about to embark on the largest and most ambitious space renovation project in its history and Gerry will address space needs of faculty and students, as well as renovation and creation of new laboratories, office space and educational infrastructure. George LaBonte will continue working with DMSE Facilities in a part-time role as renovation projects are implemented in the coming year.

Distinguished Lecturer Series

Professor Michael F. Ashby, Department of Engineering University of Cambridge Cambridge, U.K.
Unnatural Selection: Classification and Choice in Engineering Design (with Examples Drawn from Materials Selection)

Tuesday, March 13, 2001
3:30 p.m. Lecture in Rm. 4-270
4:30 p.m. Reception in Rm. 8-314

Life is full of difficult choices. Everyone has their own way of dealing with these, some effective, some not. The problem is particularly acute in engineering design because of the vast amount of information designers have to process. This talk deals with a subset of this problem: the subset of selecting materials and processes, and their links to the design of products. Even these, though, present many of the generic problems of choice, and the challenges in creating tools to assist the designer in making them. The key elements are those of classification, of indexing, of reaching decisions using incomplete data in many different formats, and of devising effective strategies for selection. This final element ® that of selection strategies ® poses particular challenges. Product design, as an example, is an intricate blend of the technical and (for want of a better word) the aesthetic. To meet these needs, a tool that allows selection by analysis, by analogy, by association and simply by 'browsing' is necessary. An example of such a tool, its successes and remaining challenges, will be described.

ASM Student Paper Contests — $500 Prize

The ASM International paper contests are designed to increase interest and awareness in Materials Science and Engineering and to provide recognition for outstanding undergraduate and graduate student efforts. The general student paper contest and the graduate student paper contest are open to all ASM Student and Joint ASM/TMS student members pursuing an education in the field of Materials Science and Engineering. All papers must be confined to topics related to Materials Science and Engineering. In addition to a $500 cash prize, the recipient of the Student Paper Contest Awards will be honored at ASM's Annual Event, presented with an award certificate commemorating the event, and will receive an additional $250 for expenses to attend the Event. ASM encourages all eligible interested student members to submit papers for judging. The winner's school will receive a complete set of the ASM Handbook Series dedicated in the winner's name.

ELIGIBILITY: Entrants must be an ASM Student or Joint ASM/TMS Student in good standing and enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at a school or university offering courses in the field of Materials Science and Engineering at the time of entry. The award shall not include posthumous selection. Seniors and graduating students will be eligible to enter this contest only if their entry is received prior to their obtaining their advanced degree. FORMAT: All papers submitted should be in good technical report format and should include graphics and glossy photographs. Entries must be submitted in English. JUDGING: All papers postmarked by 15 June will be judged by the Selection Committee. Paper selection will be based on technical content.

CONTEST RULES: A statement from a faculty member must be submitted with the paper that assures that the student has performed the work on which the paper is based and is a student, in good standing, at the school or university as well as the studentês anticipated degree and graduate date. Students must do substantially all experimental work supporting his or her paper. Only single author papers will be considered. Papers should be at least 2,000 words and not more than 4,000 words. They can contain material from the student's Masters or Ph.D. thesis but the entire thesis is not acceptable. The paper must not have been published. Papers must be confined to topics related to Materials Science and Engineering. ASM shall have the right to publish all papers deemed acceptable for publication. Winner will transfer copyrights to ASM.

ADDRESS PAPERS TO APPROPRIATE CONTEST: International Student Paper Contest ASM International 9639 Kinsman Road Materials Park, OH 44073-0002, USA
OR International Graduate Student Paper Contest ASM International 9639 Kinsman Road Materials Park, OH 44073-0002

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