Awards of the Materials Research Society
Graduate Student Awards
Gold and Silver Award finalists presented papers and were recognized at the Award Ceremony.
Innovation in Materials Characterization Award
John M. Carpenter presented "History, Development and Applications of Neutron Sources."
Mid-Career Researcher Award
Seth R. Marder presented "The Design of Organic Molecules and Materials for Nonlinear Optical Applications."
MRS Fellows
2015 MRS Fellows were recognized at the Awards Ceremony.
MRS Postdoctoral Awards
Dustin Janes, The University of Texas at Austin, and Yuan Yang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were the 2015 MRS Spring Meeting recipients.
Outstanding Young Investigator Awards
The 2015 recipients were Karena W. Chapman of Argonne National Laboratory and Ali Javey of University of California, Berkeley.
Featured Events
Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Nanoscience
Hongyou Fan presented "Nanomaterials under Stress—A New Opportunity for Nanomaterials Synthesis and Engineering."
Plenary Session
Samuel Stupp presented "Bio-Inspiration and Energy Landscapes in Soft Materials Design."
Poster Sessions and Poster Winners
Posters were presented Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
Public Outreach Center
Exciting hands-on activities, demonstrations, information areas and seminars were offered to engage future materials scientists and engineers
Science as Art Winners
Multiple first and second place prizes were awarded.
Student Poster Award Exchange Program
The three most outstanding poster winners from the XXIII International Materials Research Congress (IMRC) 2014 were displayed at the Tuesday Poster Session.
Symposium X—Frontiers of Materials Research
Lunchtime lectures were held Tuesday through Thursday. Speakers included Alexandra Navrotsky, Lionel Vayssieres and Daniel Vanmaekelbergh.
Tutorial Sessions
Twelve tutorials were offered on Monday, April 6.
Women in Materials Science & Engineering Breakfast
Kate Farrar of the American Association of University Women presented "The Next Generation of Women's Leadership."
Career Central
ABET Information and Evaluator Retraining Session
This session was open to anyone who wanted to learn more about the accreditation process, was preparing for an upcoming visit or wanted to ask questions about how to prepare their materials department for an accreditation visit.
Career Development Sessions
These educational sessions introduced participants to a wide range of rewarding careers in materials science.
Career Fair
Highlights included on-site interviews, mentoring, workshops, resume critiques, mock interviews and networking opportunities.
Essentials of Getting Your Work Published
MRS journal editors-in-chief covered the fundamentals of successful scientific publishing.
Making the Most of Broadcast Media Workshop
Communications expert Tim Miller demonstrated how to craft a brief, but impacting, news story about your work. Participants had an opportunity to practice their communication skills during a live interview.
Managing Virtual Teams
Participants were shown management strategies for overcoming common issues. They understood that an effective operation requires the manager to focus their attention on building and maintaining team member relationships.
Mastering Science Presentations Seminar
Communications expert Tim Miller explained how to choose the very best tools for communicating effectively and taking your scientific presentation to the next level.
Moving from a Technical to Management Role
Participants were shown how to manage the transition to management and learn what skills to focus on. For existing mangers, this represented an opportunity to take a look and rate their existing “soft skill” portfolio and identify what areas need improvement.
Resume Critiques—Mock Interviews
MRS had recruiters and mentors on-hand to assist with recommendations on improving your resume, as well as to conduct mock interviews and provide career guidance.
Science Writing Workshop
An interactive, one-day workshop for researchers, scientists, science educators and students who were interested in journalism and science writing.
Technical Poster Design Seminar
Participants learned the basics of good poster design and effective tools to improve their science communication skills and create a poster that stands out in a crowd.
Government Affairs
Basic Energy Sciences Overview: Research Opportunities to Energize Our Future
Harriet Kung of the U.S. Department of Energy presented about research opportunities through BES.
Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship Program Information Session
Attendees learned about the MRS/OSA and MRS/TMS Congressional Fellowships and heard from current and former fellows about their experiences as scientists in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Funding Opportunities at the National Reconnaissance Office
Theresa Axenson discussed funding available from the National Reconnaissance Office.
Funding Opportunities for Materials Research at the National Science Foundation
Mary Galvin, director, Division of Materials Research—National Science Foundation, presented about materials science funding from the National Science Foundation.
Research Frontiers in Materials Science
John T. Prater of the U.S. Army Research Office presented about materials science funding opportunities through ARO.
Research Programs and Funding Opportunities for Biomedical Research at NIBIB
Christine Kelley of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering presented on funding opportunities in biomedical research.
The ARPA-E Process for Advancing Energy and Materials Technologies
Eric Schiff provided an overview of the agency's process for developing program areas and will highlight several materials-related projects.
Student Activities & Opportunities
Graduate Student Award Finalists' Special Talk Sessions
Gold and Silver Award finalists presented papers in this talk session and also were recognized at the Award Ceremony.
Student Mixer
Students from around the globe networked and had fun exploring science.