Materials Science Graduate Society (MSGS)
The Materials Science and Engineering department has boasted a strong undergraduate organization: Materials Advantage. While graduate students were invited to participate in their activities, there was no specific group that was set up to meet the specific professional and social needs of the department’s graduate student community. When the graduate students were called to convene with Pawel Keblinski, the department head, the forum produced new ideas of how to meet these needs.
It began in November 2015 with the introduction of the Graduate Student Seminar, a student-organized third-Thursday seminar series which features presentations by graduate students on topics related to their studies. For example, February’s seminar featured MS&E graduate students Yiping Wang and Thomas Cardinal; Wang gave a summary of his work and recent findings, while Cardinal offered a short lecture on modern vacuum technology. Through the seminar series, students have found a time and place to convene and discuss with their peers, leading to the founding of a permanent student organization:
The Materials Science Graduate Society (MSGS) began as a concept in April of 2016, and shortly the first draft of Bylaws was written and edited by graduate students Ainsley Pinkowitz, Thomas Cardinal, Timothy Krentz, and department head Pawel Keblinski. The group is to eventually stand as a department ordained but separate organization, run entirely by the graduate students. The MSGS will coordinate social functions and professional development opportunities in conjunction with the professional societies in the department, as well as take management over the Graduate Student Seminar. Voting for adoption of MSGS Bylaws was held at a grad student organized department picnic in June, the first in what will hopefully become a summer tradition hosted by the newly formed MSGS.
