The team of faculty members and engineering students who attended the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) university research symposium at CAMX in fall 2023. (Courtesy R Sweat)
In an unparalleled achievement, students from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the High-Performance Materials Institute (HPMI) emerged as the undisputed champions at the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) university research symposium at CAMX this fall. The 2023 SAMPE symposium saw a historic win for the institution as its talented researchers clinched the gold medal in all three categories: Ph.D., M.S., and B.S.
“We are very proud of our students’ success,” Richard Liang, interim associate dean for research and graduate studies and a professor at HPMI said. “They demonstrated a great passion for engineering research and produced leading results.”
CAMX is the composite and advanced materials expo formed by the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) and SAMPE. It is a highly regarded and visible conference important to the industry and academic professionals in advanced materials and composites.
The team from the college and HPMI placed at the top of each degree category in the competition—for the first time in its history.
The awardees were:
- 1st Place Ph.D. - Cecil Evers (doctoral candidate, materials science) described groundbreaking research on carbon nanotube yarn treatments. The prize will send him to the 2024 European SAMPE conference to represent North America.
- 1st Place M.S. - Aspen Reyes (doctoral student, industrial engineering) showcased her work on supersonic hot jet testing and the performance of boron nitride nanotube hybrid composites.
- 1st Place B.S. - Kalea Gant (industrial engineering undergraduate student) displayed research on ablative testing of toughened hybrid boron nitride nanotube thermoset composites.
- 3rd Place M.S. - Kaylee Thagard (master’s student in materials science) for work testing carbon nanotube yarns that outperform current state-of-the-art composite fibers.
Their achievements are a significant milestone for the institution and reflect the high level of dedication and competence at the nation’s only joint college, demonstrating that HPMI is a leader in materials science research.
Rebekah Sweat, an assistant professor in industrial and manufacturing engineering and the college’s SAMPE chapter faculty adviser said, “This historical championship in all categories makes a statement of the excellence of our students and their impactful research. It marks the 11th consecutive year in which our students from HPMI have claimed awards in this national competition.”
The SAMPE symposium is an invaluable platform for students to present their research to academics and industry leaders nationwide. It provides a unique opportunity for emerging researchers to share groundbreaking work and connect with industry professionals. This year’s winners, particularly those in the Ph.D. category, now have the potential to present their research at SAMPE conferences in Europe and Japan, offering them a global stage to showcase their findings.
Notably, 25 researchers from HPMI actively participated in the symposium, contributing through posters, presentations, chairing sessions and hosting an exhibit.
A post-doctoral researcher at HPMI, Joshua Degraff said, “Our students make us proud. We have had great success in this competition, but this group of students took it up a notch.”
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