rensselaer polytechnic institute material advantage...

June 1, 2011 RPI Material Advantage 1

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Material Advantage

Chapter of Excellence Application

2010-2011

Submitted to ASM International on June 1, 2011

Prepared by Rachel Ferebee

[email protected]

Chapter Advisor: Dan Lewis

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


CHAPTER OVERVIEW

The Material Advantage (MA) chapter at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy,

NY has increased its membership as well as quantity and quality of events in recent years. It is

run by an executive board consisting of six officers, and the faculty advisor is Dr. Dan Lewis in

the Materials Science & Engineering Department. The group is recognized by both National

MA and the Student Union that oversees student organizations at RPI. RPI MA has around 30

student members who have paid national dues. Additional statistics recorded at each event

indicate that 17 students have attended 5 or more events, and 33 additional students have

attended 2-4 events.

RPI MA has a tradition of participating in National MA competitions and conferences.

For the last two years, the group has won a travel grant from National MA to send students to the

MS&T Conference. Both years, the group has participated in outreach demonstrations during

the Chapter Leadership Workshops. Last year, the group also volunteered during the ASM

Materials Camp held at the convention center. In addition to participation at conferences, RPI

MA has been recognized with the Most Creative Recruitment Strategy designation for its

member recruitment efforts (Fall 2010). Students have also participated in the Materials Radio

Podcast Competition, submitting 1 successful entry in 2008, 3 in 2009, and 2 in 2010. The two

2011 submissions are still undergoing the review process. Most recently, the group was awarded

the ASM Materials Education Foundation Student Chapter Grant to be used for outreach efforts

in the local community.

The members of RPI MA are also active in applying for scholarships from the

professional societies. One member won a TMS award, and two members won ASM awards and

were recognized at the student lunch at MS&T. In addition RPI MA members won both

undergraduate scholarships and the graduate scholarship from the Eastern NY ASM Chapter in

Spring 2011. Lastly, RPI MA members won first and second place prizes in both the

undergraduate and the graduate categories at the TMS/CDMMS Poster Competition in

November 2010.


PROGRAMMING

RPI MA’s programming can be broken down into three distinct categories: career

development, service, and social activities. These topics will be discussed in greater detail in the

following pages, while the main events that originated from our chapter will be described in

detail here.

This year, the group hosted six General Body Meetings (GBMs) to inform members of

upcoming events and ways that they could get involved in the group. Some of the GBMs were

purely social, such as the Ice Cream Social to kick off the semester, while others featured guest

speakers from the department. Additional social programming included two movie nights, a

holiday party, and an end of the year lunch. These each served as great opportunities to promote

interaction between students and faculty as well as between students of different class years.

RPI MA also continued the tradition of holding a professional development series of

events including Graduate School Night, Career Night, and the Undergraduate Research Fair.

The goal of the Graduate School Night and the Career Night was to expose members to the

different paths available to them in materials engineering upon graduation. The objective of the

Undergraduate Research Fair was to provide students with an opportunity to meet different

professors and graduate students from research groups in the department to find undergraduate

research opportunities for the semester or the summer. These research experiences are another

form of professional development. A new career development event emerged this year in the

Active Member Celebration and Panel. This event recognized active members (those who

attended 6+ events) and provided a panel of four professionals from KAPL, GE Global Research

Center, Plasan North America, and RPI to discuss their career paths. Informal social

opportunities were also provided during dinner and dessert.

Original outreach programming included Alternative Energy Day with the RPI section of

the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) as well as the Averill Park High School Outreach

Session. At Alternative Energy Day, about 25 Girl Scouts built solar cars and wind turbines

while learning about alternative energy. At Averill Park High School, 23 high school students in

an Engineering Technology class participated in hands on activities while learning about the

mechanical properties of materials as well as nanotechnology. This was the first event to fall

under the ASM Materials Education Foundation Student Chapter Grant. Lastly, RPI MA hosted

its annual Student Feedback Session with its faculty advisor. The objective of this event was to

provide the department with feedback on curriculum and departmental support in a low-risk

environment.


Figure 1. Material Advantage members at Exploring Engineering Day in February 2011.

Figure 2. Material Advantage members volunteering at the ASM Materials Camp at the MS&T

Conference in Houston, TX in October 2010.


CAREER DEVELOPMENT

RPI MA has very close ties with the Eastern NY chapter of ASM. The group has had

members in attendance at every event held during the academic year, including dinner lectures,

tours to Keymark and PVA, and the ASM Symposium at the GE Global Research Center. RPI

MA assisted with the planning for the TMS/CDMMS Poster Competition held at RPI in

November and had a great student turnout for the dinner. In addition RPI MA members swept

the undergraduate and graduate categories in the poster competition.

As mentioned in the Programming section, RPI MA hosts a professional development

series of events including Graduate School Night, Career Night, and the Undergraduate Research

Fair. The goal of these events is to expose students to the various paths available to them after

graduation and to provide them with opportunities to develop professionally. This is achieved by

the chance for networking at the panel events as well as the support provided in finding

undergraduate research through the URF. The group has many contacts in industry with a

variety of backgrounds, so the diversity present at these events is such that people with very

different interests will both find relevance in attending.

The MS&T Conference was another great opportunity for career development for RPI

MA members. This year, the group was able to send four members to the conference in

Houston, TX via travel grants from National MA and from ASM scholarships, the RPI School of

Engineering, the RPI Dept. of MS&E, and RPI MA funds. The students attended lectures, the

student social, networking opportunities with professionals, and chapter development workshops.

Due to the positive experiences enjoyed at the 2010 conference, there has been a surge in interest

for the 2011 conference in Columbus, OH.

GBMs also featured career development programming in the form of guest speakers.

Two speakers were professors from the department, while one was a graduate student from the

department. After the presentations, students had the opportunity to interact with the guests.

Lastly, a new career development event emerged this year in the Active Member

Celebration and Panel. This event recognized active members (those who attended 6+ events)

and provided a panel of four professionals from KAPL, GE Global Research Center, Plasan

North America, and RPI to discuss their career paths. Informal social opportunities were also

provided during dinner and dessert.


Figure 3. Material Advantage members learning about research opportunities at RPI at the

Undergraduate Research Fair in December 2010.

Figure 4. Material Advantage members at the MS&T Conference in Houston, TX in October

2010.


Figure 5. Material Advantage member receiving his certificate of Active Member Status at the

Active Member Celebration and Panel in May 2011, with the panelists in the background.


SERVICE

Fostering an Awareness of Materials to K-12 Students

RPI MA has significantly increased its contributions to outreach programming for

students in grades K-12. This year, the four members who travelled to Houston for the MS&T

Conference also volunteered at the Materials Camp held in the convention center. This included

assisting with demonstrations, guiding the children from station to station, and handing out

safety glasses and programs. In addition, those members also presented a PowerPoint containing

some pictures and best practices of previous outreach efforts including a Nanodays event and

prior ASM Materials Camp involvement at RPI.

In February, RPI MA participated for the third time in the School of Engineering and

SWE’s Exploring Engineering Day. The chapter held a session demonstrating the effect of

temperature on the properties of materials for 6 groups of 20-25 students throughout the day.

The session included discussion of the ductile to brittle transition temperature in materials and

included hands on activities in which the students bounced a ball frozen in Liquid Nitrogen and

shattered flowers frozen in Liquid Nitrogen.

This spring, the chapter hosted an Alternative Energy Day with RPI SWE to teach about

25 Girl Scouts about alternative forms of energy while leading them in making solar cars and

wind turbines. The survey results from the students and parents were positive (85% of the girls

and 100% of the parents indicated that they would recommend this event to their friends).

This spring, RPI MA was selected as a recipient of the ASM Materials Education

Foundation Student Chapter Grant, based upon a proposal outlining the activities that will be

done at six local schools over the course of the upcoming year. In May, the first outreach session

was performed at Averill Park High School in Averill Park, NY. Lessons on the mechanical

properties of materials and nanotechnology were delivered to an Engineering Technology class

of 23 students. The students participated in hands on demonstrations and activities throughout

the lessons.

Exposing Prospective or Current Students to Studies in MS&E

RPI has many special weekends designated for visiting students, such as the Open House

and the Accepted Students Day. These days provide an opportunity for seniors in high school to

visit RPI’s various departments to gain a better idea of the engineering discipline suited for them.

The role of the chapter at these activities is to do demonstrations for visiting students, answer

questions about the MS&E curriculum, and take them on tours of the department. The group

also assisted with Design Your Future Day, an event geared at high school females interested in

engineering. The students hosted a booth with demonstrations and information about MS&E.

In addition, RPI conducts events for freshmen who are still deciding on a major. The

group manned a table at the School of Engineering Fall Fest to talk with students about MS&E,

specifically their undergraduate research projects, their curriculum, and their involvement in

MA. This provided the students with a clear understanding of what the major entailed.

Campus Service

The annual Curriculum Feedback Session with the faculty advisor is an opportunity to

discuss potential changes in the department and courses in a low risk environment. This

provides the students’ candid perspectives to the faculty, information that is not otherwise

obtained.


Figure 6. Material Advantage member demonstrating the effect of temperature on properties by

freezing a rubber ball with Girl Scouts at Exploring Engineering Day in February 2011.

Figures 7a&b. Material Advantage members doing demos for prospective students and

assisting Girl Scouts with the design of wind turbines at Alternative Energy Day in September

2010 and March 2011, respectively.

[a] [b]


Figure 8. Material Advantage members leading a lesson on mechanical properties of materials

at Averill Park High School in May 2011.


SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Many of the social activities provided by the chapter are open to the entire materials

community. This serves as a way to attract more people to the events and subsequently to recruit

people to MA who might not otherwise come to a meeting. The first GBMs of each semester

were advertised as social events. One featured an ice cream social and the other featured a pizza

party. Additional social events included potluck movie nights, at which the members watched

the materials-related movies, Iron Man 2 and October Sky.

RPI MA hosts end of the semester socials in addition to the GBMs and movie nights. In

December, the chapter hosted a holiday party with food, games, and music in conjunction with

the Curriculum Feedback Session. This boosted the attendance at the feedback session, allowing

valuable input to be collected by the faculty advisor. In May, the group co-hosted an End of the

Year Luncheon with the MS&E Department to provide food for MS&E students in between final

exams. Despite bad weather, a large percentage of the department, including professors and

graduate students, joined the members for lunch.

In addition to planning original events and events in conjunction with the department,

RPI MA also participate in events run by other organizations. In November, the group provided

a team to represent the MS&E department in Tau Beta Pi’s Engineering Feud, a game similar to

Family Feud. The team made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing to the team from

Civil Engineering. In addition, the chapter provided a carnival booth at the School of

Engineering BBQ in May, sponsoring a Lego Racers game in which participants raced to build

Lego cars in the shortest amount of time.

It is evident that the social activities sponsored by MA are effective at bringing together

members in a relaxed environment. The social events often have the largest turnout of new

MS&E students who are curious about MA and thus are an excellent tool for recruiting new

members. They also are effective at building a sense of community within the department.

Faculty members attend many of the social events and help bridge the gap between the

professors and the students.


Figure 9. Material Advantage members attending a General Body Meeting in March 2011.

Figure 10. Material Advantage members mingling during the Ice Cream Social in September

2010.


Figure 11. Material Advantage members enjoying music, food, and games at the Holiday Party

in December 2010.

Figure 12. Material Advantage members running the Lego Racers Booth at the School of

Engineering BBQ in May 2011.


CHAPTER MANAGEMENT

Overview

RPI MA is run by an executive board of six officers including a chair, vice chair,

secretary, treasurer, webmaster, and graduate liaison. The officers have weekly meetings that

typically last 30-60 minutes. The agenda for the meeting is prepared by the chair, since the chair

is the point of contact to National MA, the Eastern NY chapter of ASM, the RPI School of

Engineering, and the RPI Department of Materials Science and Engineering. When

opportunities for MA involvement are presented, the chair includes them in the agenda for

discussion at the next officer meeting. During the meeting, each officer provides an update

regarding his or her individual action items for an event, or in the case of the webmaster and the

treasurer, specific updates regarding the status of the website and the budget, respectively. These

meetings ensure that nothing falls through the cracks and that officers have a chance to ask for

help or insight in a timely fashion, far in advance of the event that they are planning.

Elections

Elections are held every spring semester, typically in late March or early April. This

year, an email was sent out the first week of March to announce the officer elections that would

occur at the GBM on March 21. A description of each position was provided on the MA

website, and those interested in running for office were required to send a paragraph describing

their qualifications, involvement in RPI MA, and reasons for running to the current secretary.

Reminders were sent out leading up to the elections, and on March 21, the group voted on the

new officers. From March 21 through the end of April, the old officers helped the new officers

with the transition into their new roles. This included going over specific responsibilities of the

role and discussing important record keeping information. The officers are typically the most

active members of RPI MA, attending nearly every event and encouraging others to become

involved as well.

Record Keeping

RPI MA keeps meticulous records of events and chapter information that is updated

frequently and accessible to all officers. The officers have a shared folder in dropbox to store the

files for the current year. The files from previous years are backed up on an ifolder server, which

is run by the faculty advisor. In addition, a CD containing all the files is available in the MA

closet in the MS&E Department. The files are broken down in the following way: Agendas,

Activity Reports, Events, and Other. Agendas: This folder contains the agendas from the weekly

officer meetings. The version saved in this folder includes all the comments and notes the

secretary makes during the meeting. Activity Reports: This folder includes the activity reports

made for each event. A sample activity report is shown below. Events: This folder contains

subfolders for each event that occurred that semester. The planning details associated with the

event are included, such as flyers, handouts, spreadsheets, etc. Other: This folder includes

general MA chapter info separate from events, such as the membership excel sheet, the roster,

and contact info.

This method of record keeping ensures that the knowledge acquired by officers is not lost

from year to year. In planning an event, officers first check for documentation of similar events

that have been held in the past. By doing this, they gain insight into important contacts,

suggestions for improvements, and estimates for food and attendance.


Chapter Website

The website (http://materialadvantage.union.rpi.edu/) is maintained by the webmaster and

features information about upcoming events, a Google calendar, links to the National MA

website, officer contact info, how to join, academic references, MS&E info, job/internship leads

based on places former MA members have worked, and scholarship info.

The website is just one tool used in communicating with members and the community.

The chapter also uses a bulletin board outside of the student lounge to advertise events and job

postings, a Twitter account, and a Facebook account. Events are advertised through flyers

posted around the department as well as through emails to the member list and to the department.

Finances

The treasurer oversees the finances of the group. The RPI Student Union offers a bank

account service for all of its student organizations, which cuts down on the hassles of an account

with an actual bank. The treasurer is allowed to make deposits and withdrawals (with an original

receipt) for reimbursements.

In order to keep track of finances, a budget is made each year with the following

headings: event, category, typical attendance, cost last year, budgeted cost this year, actual cost,

difference in cost, actual attendance, date of event. This prevents excessive spending and allows

for a big picture view of the finances of the group.

Recruiting

At the beginning of each semester, the group recruits heavily for new members. This fall,

RPI MA’s efforts were recognized with the Most Creative Recruitment Strategy designation.

The group participates in a variety of events, such as the Open House and the Activities Fair, to

expose students to MS&E and the benefits of being a member of MA. Some contests require

MA membership for participation, such as the MS&T essay contest and the T-shirt contest,

which prompts people to join. The group also has large socials involving ice cream or movie

nights to highlight the social aspects of MA. The most effective means of recruiting has been a

combination of these events with verbal advertising in classes. Professors are excited to promote

involvement in professional societies and often even provide personal anecdotes or testimonials

of their experiences in various societies.

Continuity of Excellence

A combination of succession planning, meticulous record keeping, and an active chapter

membership base has resulted in the continuity of success for RPI MA. Succession planning has

involved creating opportunities for general members to gain exposure to officer positions

through assisting with an event or shadowing the planning for an event. Contact was maintained

with those members to encourage them to run for officer positions. In addition, the activity

reports and other record keeping devices prevent the loss of knowledge between executive

boards, and the RPI MA general body has made the organization successful by taking advantage

of the resources available to them and by being involved in events and networking opportunities.

http://materialadvantage.union.rpi.edu/


Figure 13. Sample Activity Report including the planning schedule, the description of the event,

the specific problems, the suggestions, and the budget.

Figure 14. Homepage of the RPI MA website (http://materialadvantage.union.rpi.edu/).

http://materialadvantage.union.rpi.edu/


OFFICERS (2010-2011)


CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Fall Semester Events 2010


Spring Semester Events 2011

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