HIGHLIGHTS ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | JULY/AUGUST 2025 60 THE FACE OF MATERIALS ENGINEERING This profile series features members from around the world at all stages in their careers. Here we speak with Madilyn Jerke, lead manufacturing engineer at GE Aerospace in Cincinnati. What is your greatest professional achievement? My greatest professional achievement was knowing that I wanted to become a metallurgist and sticking with it. Not everyone makes it to graduation who ventures down the path of engineering. I’m glad that I remained determined because there are endless opportunities in the world of materials science. I might be biased, but aerospace materials are the coolest! What part of your job do you like most? The part of my job that I appreciate most is flexibility to volunteer on the clock. I try to volunteer at least once per quarter at a STEM outreach event. This quarter was Girls in STEM Day at the University of Cincinnati where we helped the middle schoolers make paper butterflies fly. What is your engineering background? I completed my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in metallurgical engineering and materials science and engineering, respectively. My thesis was titled, “The Production and Development of Acoustically Milled Reactive Ni-Al Composite Powders Consolidated Via Cold Spray Deposition,” and a short article was published in Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics titled, “Processing of Reactive Ni-Al Powders Via the LabRAM.” Powder metallurgy and aerospace alloy development are my industry focuses. What attracted you to engineering? My favorite alloy is Nitinol, also known as a shape memory metal. Without receiving samples at the ASM high school camp and being shown more shape memory metal demos at South Dakota Mines, I would not be a metallurgist today. Shout out to Fort Wayne Metals for recently sending me more memory springs and superelastic wire to share with kids at STEM outreach events. I enjoy paying the world of metallurgy forward and hopefully inspiring our next generation of metallurgists. Best career advice, given or received: You are your number one fan so keep count of all your accomplishments. You are in charge of your career. If your accomplishments are not seen by others, it might be time to move on. FACE OF MATERIALS ENGINEERING Tell us about your involvement with ASM. It’s amazing how full circle my experiences with ASM have come. My involvement started my junior year of high school when I attended the ASM Materials and Chemical Engineering Camp at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. This was one of my first real tastes of engineering since nobody in my immediate family is in the STEM field, and I was hooked. The camp attendees were all given a shape memory alloy spring that I still have to this day. From there, my college search began with materials science and engineering in mind. Dr. West, department head of metallurgical engineering at South Dakota School of Mines, introduced me to many more “cool” material demos on my campus tour and ultimately encouraged me to join Material Advantage during my freshman year. I was named the William Park Woodside Founders Scholar at the MS&T conference in Portland, Oregon. There, I met several ASM members who I keep in touch with through my involvement in committees. Currently, I am serving on the Emerging Professionals Committee and the IDEA Committee. My favorite part of volunteering is welcoming new members, whether fresh out of college or long-time ASM members, into the committee. New perspectives are always great to have. Do you know someone who should be featured in an upcoming Face of Materials Engineering profile? Contact Vicki Burt at vicki.burt@asminternational.org. CHAPTERS IN THE NEWS San Diego Hosts Stainless Steel Class The San Diego Chapter just completed its annual materials engineering continuing education offering at the Solar Turbine Harbor Drive classroom. This year, they presented an in-person Stainless Steel class. It was a great success due in part to Dr. Bellow’s organizational skills and the efforts of the instructors, Rich Bellows, Kevin Woolworth, Ken Kubarych, Lana Rokhman, and Bob Klug. The course was well attended. The Chapter is appreciative to all who contributed to another successful educational opportunity with a special thanks to Solar Turbines for their continued support. Participants in the Stainless Steel course hosted by the San Diego Chapter. Jerke
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