My goal for the first part of this seminar is to take you on my journey through the field of materials science and engineering, from the day that I discovered this amazing field to today. Together, we will briefly overview the tough decisions that life throws at us, often in unexpected ways; we will discuss what “work hard, play hard” means and why that’s at least one proven method for how to approach a reasonable work/life balance; and we will discuss why you should give back to the professional organizations that support you.

The remainder of the presentation will focus on the current research in my group, concentrating largely on ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs). UHTCs are an emerging class of structural materials capable of withstanding extreme environments, which is allowing them to be used in applications ranging from hypersonic flight and rocket propulsion to advanced nuclear reactors, electrodes for metal production, and more. These applications involve temperatures, heat fluxes, radiation levels, strain rates, chemical reactivities, or other stresses that are beyond the capabilities of existing materials. This presentation will review recent research on UHTCs, focusing on mechanical and thermal behavior at temperatures up to 2000°C, or higher. The presentation will overview the MS and PhD research of the current graduate students in the group and take a deeper dive into one or two key projects related to improving the elevated temperature thermal and mechanical properties of boride and carbide based UHTCs. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of some emerging trends and future needs.