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M A T E R I A L S
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STUDENT BOARD MEMBERS
demo at Currie Middle School in Tustin, Calif. She is also
very active at UC Irvine in outreach to Eastwood Elementary
School and an aviation exposition held at Compton’s Aero-
nautical Museum.
Pittsburgh Golden Triangle
Chapter—Parag Bedekar
Parag Bedekar performed outstanding volunteer work
for the Chapter at an ASM Materials MiniCamp where he ran
a materials display station for two days. He also ran an ASM
station at Engineering Week, as well as National Chemistry
Week. In addition, he has volunteered many hours of read-
ing through student resumes and was part of the committee
to select an Owen Katz award winner.
South Central PA Chapter—Dan Elliott
Dan Elliott has served as Chapter Chair for many terms
and after ceding this responsibility to others, he continues
to ensure that the Chapter operates properly. He was instru-
mental in handling all aspects of the Chapter’s first Teachers
Camp, and did almost all of the volunteer work himself. He is
also active in promoting many ASM Historical Landmarks and
is very active in encouraging youngmembers via science fairs.
Student Board Members for
2015-2016 Announced
The ASM Board of Trustees values the insights, ideas,
and participation of Material Advantage students. The Stu-
dent Board Member program provides the opportunity to
attend four board meetings where the students will meet
and work with leading technical professionals and gain
leadership skills that will benefit them throughout their
career. The next deadline for submissions is April 15, 2016.
Details can be found on the ASM website.
Aaron Birt
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
AaronBirt is aPh.D. candidate
at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
studying materials science and
engineering. His current research
project is on a process called Laser
Assisted Cold Spray (LACS), which
takes fine metallic particles and
accelerates them through a min-
iature rocket nozzle to supersonic
speeds. A laser is used as a heat
source to soften, anneal, and ab-
late the deposited material in situ to processing. In order to
expedite development of applications for LACS, Birt is work-
ing on a machine learning model to help understand how the
vast array of inputs can be used to ultimately predict the bulk
properties of these materials. Outside of research, he stays
busy working with local entrepreneurial groups, ASM, and
Material Advantage. At the end of a longweek though, he says
nothing is better than getting outside and going on a hiking,
camping, or snowboarding trip with friends.
Joseph DeGenova
CaseWesternReserveUniversity
Joseph DeGenova is a rising
senior at Case Western Reserve
University (CWRU) studying ma-
terials science and engineering.
He is on the advanced materials
track, taking graduate-level elec-
tives for in-depth study in the
field. At CWRU, DeGenova served
as president of the local Materials Advantage society for the
past year and a half. During his presidency, he sat on the
executive board of ASM’s Cleveland Chapter and serves on
the undergraduate advisory committee to CWRU’s dean of
engineering. DeGenova has work experience in metallurgy
through two internships. During summer 2014, he worked at
The Timken Co. in Canton, Ohio, and is currently working at
Alcoa Forgings and Extrusions, part-time during the school
year and full-time during summer. He plans to pursue a ca-
reer in materials engineering upon graduation in May 2016.
Sarah Straub
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Sarah Straub is currently pur-
suing a Bachelor of Science in ma-
terials engineering with a minor
in management and technology
at Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti-
tute (RPI). Her concentration is in
electrochemistry and corrosion
with research projects including
an electrochemical study of pit initiation in aluminum and
an XPS study of copper oxidation. Outside of academics
and research, she is also a member of Material Advantage,
the Society of Women Engineers, Tau Beta Pi, and the ASM
Women in Materials Engineering committee. Straub’s free
time is spent working as an educational outreach volunteer,
playing tennis, and studying classical voice with an empha-
sis on Italian and German opera.