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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J U N E 2 0 1 5
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NEW WiME COMMITTEE FORMS HIGHL IGHTS
FROM THE
FOUNDATION
Materials Camp is Magical Experience
Ron Shealer, Mount Nittany Middle School Teacher
This past summer, a unique opportunity arose
to attend one of the ASM Materials Education Foun-
dation’s Materials Camps. My experience was truly in-
ternational in nature, as my colleague and I chose to
attend a five-day residential camp in Ottawa, Canada.
With safety glasses, closed-toed shoes, long pants,
notebooks, pens and laptops packed, and passports in
hand, we headed off to Canada.
First thing Monday morning, everyone gath-
ered in the cafeteria for breakfast. We then moved to
the main classroom and began introductions. It was
obvious we had a rather diverse group attending the
camp. There were approximately 30 participants, the
majority from Canada, plus two from the U.S. and two
from France. Each day, a different material category
was covered with a presentation that was followed by
experimentation time in the science lab. Materials in-
cluded crystals, metals, polymers, ceramics/glass, and
composites. The goal was to prepare teachers for ma-
terials science topics at the high school level, but as I
discovered, middle school teachers could also benefit.
During the lab time, a variety of hands-on exper-
iments helped to reinforce the lecture material. Some
things I had seen or tried before, but many I had not.
More than once, I felt like I had become part of a David
Copperfield show, as some of the material properties
seemed magical. Materials did things that seemed
unlikely or impossible. Through the camp, I gained a
greater understanding and appreciation for many of
the materials we use every day in technology educa-
tion. I could now see these materials from a different
viewpoint: The technology teacher had become a
scientist.
However, the true transformation was not re-
alized until the trip home. I caught myself examining
recycling codes on the bottoms of plastic cups and re-
called how each of the materials had reacted in our ex-
periments. All I could dowas shakemy head and smile,
as things would never be the same.
New Committee Champions Women in
Engineering
ASM International’s newest committee, the
Women in Materials Engineering (WiME) committee,
focuses on providing women-specific programming
including networking opportunities, and guidance
for mentoring, leadership, career development, and
retention of female engineers. The committee formed
in 2013 as a task force charged with determining how
ASM could better serve and increase the number of
women members. The group formed into a commit-
tee in 2014 with Diana Essock, FASM, as Chair, and
held a successful breakfast lecture at MS&T14, where
Dr. Kathleen Buse gave a rousing talk on “Women
Persisting in the STEM Professions.”
The WiME committee is seeking volunteers (both
men and women) for its four subcommittees. The
events subcommittee works on networking events
and organizes the breakfast lecture at MS&T. The rec-
ognition and promotion subcommittee identifies and
supports nomination of ASM women for technical
awards, fellowship, and encourages leadership par-
ticipation at the chapter and national level. The chap-
ter focus/Leadership Days subcommittee is creating
a presentation and guidebook about how chapters
can provide mentoring and career development op-
portunities for young professionals. The career and
leadership development subcommittee is building
an online forum for discussion and reference infor-
mation relevant to issues facing women in engineer-
ing, along with developing a webinar series. To join
a subcommittee or learn more, contact
.
The WiME committee held
its inaugural breakfast
lecture at MS&T in October
2014. Dr. Kathleen Buse pre-
sented research on women
who persist in STEM careers.