The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) gave out awards to 10 students and a faculty member.
Outstanding Senior Thesis Awards went to Billie Wang of New Canaan, CT ("First Principles Study of the Magnetic Ground State and Thermodynamic Properties of LixMnO2") and Michael Tarkanian of Brockton, MA ("3,500 Years Before Goodyear: Rubber Processing in Ancient Mesoamerica"). Paulina Kuo of Great Falls, VA won the Best 3B Internship Report Award ("Dynamic Tuning of Fiber Gratings with Thin Film Heaters").
Certificates of honor for achieving a perfect 5.0 grade point average were given to seniors Harald Hoegh of Oslo, Norway; Paulina Kuo; Garry Maskaly of New Milford, PA; and Aaron Raphel of Dedham, MA. Foundry Education Foundation Scholarships for Outstanding Students with an Interest in Metals Casting were presented to juniors Robin Ivester of Charleston, SC and Nicole Zacharia of Hinsdale, IL.
Juniors Melissa Light of Parkland, FL and Albert Hung of Los Altos, CA received Awards for Outstanding Service to the DMSE Community. Pauline Kuo was named Outstanding Student in the DMSE Class of 2000.
The John Wulff Award for Excellence in Teaching went to graduate student Erin Lavik of McLean, VA.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 31, 2000.
