Undercooled: A Materials Education Podcast

S3E19 Loulou Batta: perspectives of a graduate student

Tim and Steve talk with Dr. Loulou Batta about her experiences as a grad student and her thoughts about her future now that she is getting her PhD in the week we filmed this podcast.  We discuss topics from sustainable fiber composites to helping new graduate students acclimate to a new living environment to the value (or lack thereof?) of coursework in a PhD program. The YouTube video can be found here: https://youtu.be/YncBxEr_ADY [https://youtu.be/YncBxEr_ADY] Our YouTube channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials This episode is sponsored by the TMS Foundation (https://www.tms.org/TMSFoundation/TMSFoundation/Default.aspx), The Electric Vehicle Center (EVC) at the University of Michigan (https://evc.engin.umich.edu/), and the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Alan Taub

Tim and Steve talk with Professor Alan Taub, the director of the University of Michigan EV Center and former Vice President of General Motors, director of global R&D for GM for 20 years. Bio: Alan Taub joined the faculty of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan in the Fall of 2012. In this role, Taub is conducting research in advanced materials and processing.  He founded and served as CTO of the Manufacturing USA Institute Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT), founded the Michigan Materials Research Institute and serves as the director of the newly formed University of Michigan Electrical Vehicle Center.  Taub retired from General Motors in April 2012. Prior to retirement, he was vice president, Global Research & Development, leading GM’s advanced technical work activity, seven science laboratories around the world including the Israel Advanced Technology Center, and seven global science offices.  He joined GM R&D as executive director in 2001 and was named vice president in 2009.  Taub advises several startups including C2a and X2F, is technical advisor for the strategic venture capital fund, Auto Tech Ventures and serves on the Technology and Strategy Committees for Bocar and Master Fluid Solutions. Before joining GM, Taub worked at Ford Motor Company for eight years.  Before that he spent 15 years in research and development at General Electric (GE), where he earned 25 patents. He has also authored more than 80 papers and has 27 patents. Taub received his bachelor’s degree in materials engineering from Brown University and master’s and Ph.D. degrees in applied physics from Harvard University.  Taub was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in 2006 and elected to the council for NAE in 2016 and 2019.  He became an SME Fellow in 2019 and a TMS Fellow in 2018.  He served as the Chair for the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT) for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and on advisory boards for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, and the University of California Davis and Berkeley. Among other recognitions and honors, Taub received the 2020 TMS Application to Practice Award and the 2011 Acta Materialia Materials & Society Award.  In 2010, ASM International’s Rocky Mountain Chapter awarded Taub the Charles S. Barrett Medal from.  In 2007, he was invited to give the TMS-50th Anniversary Laureate Lecture.  He received the 2004 Materials Research Society’s Special Recognition Award and the 2002 Woody White Service Award.  Brown University awarded Taub the Engineering Alumni Medal in 2002.  The YouTube video can be found here: https://youtu.be/4f-aPXslEN0 [https://youtu.be/4f-aPXslEN0] Our YouTube channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials This episode is sponsored by the TMS Foundation (https://www.tms.org/TMSFoundation/TMSFoundation/Default.aspx), The Electric Vehicle Center (EVC) at the University of Michigan (https://evc.engin.umich.edu/), and the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Ashwin Shahani and teaching Kinetics with Vibe Coding

Steve and Tim talk with Professor Ashwin Shahani about his role as undergraduate chair, how he approaches teaching kinetics with ChatGPT and vibe coding, as well as his research in solidification science.  Professor Shahani also talks about how he is incorporating his work with Hydro, an Al production company, to help them upcycle post-consumer scrap Al into high-quality products.  Short Bio: Shahani is an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. His group specializes in the application of advanced characterization methods for the study of phase and structural transformations in metallic materials. In support of his research pursuits, Shahani has won the AFOSR YIP award in 2017, ARO YIP in 2018, and NSF CAREER in 2019.  Recently, in 2025, he won PECASE, the highest honor bestowed by the federal government to young scientists beginning their academic careers.  Learn more about his teaching and research activities at:  https://www.ashwinshahani.com/ [https://www.ashwinshahani.com/] The YouTube video can be found here: https://youtu.be/PGPM47J8qWc [https://youtu.be/PGPM47J8qWc] Our YouTube channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials [http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials] This episode is sponsored by the TMS Foundation (https://www.tms.org/TMSFoundation/TMSFoundation/Default.aspx [https://www.tms.org/TMSFoundation/TMSFoundation/Default.aspx]), The Electric Vehicle Center (EVC) at the University of Michigan (https://evc.engin.umich.edu/ [https://evc.engin.umich.edu/]), and the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu [https://mse.engin.umich.edu/]).

Avi Bregman

Tim and Steve caught up with Dr. Avi Bregman at the TMS meeting.  Avi is at the Applied Physics Lab at Johns Hopkins University. He is the section supervisor for Materials Discovery there.  He talked about his journey to Materials Science and his career path after getting his PhD.  He talked about the work he is currently doing.  Avi also told us about his company that helps smaller universities get research funding, especially those that do not have the administrative staff to handle the details of actually getting the funds to the University. You can learn more about Avi's company, E4 Power, here: http://e4power.org/ [http://e4power.org/] You can contact Avi here: Avi.bregman@e4power.org [Avi.bregman@e4power.org] or avi.g.brgeman@gmail.com [avi.g.brgeman@gmail.com] Short Bio:  Dr. Avi Bregman currently serves as a senior staff scientist and section supervisor for Materials Discovery at the Applied Physics Lab at Johns Hopkins University (APL/JHU). In this role his recent work and interests span a variety of disciplines including composites (ceramic and polymer), nanoparticle synthesis and characterization, EMI shielding, green H2 generation, high temperature systems, FEM modeling in COMSOL, and additive manufacturing. Prior to APL/JHU, Dr. Bregman spent time at Sandia National Labs studying the resiliency of novel composite systems in extreme radiation environments. Dr. Bregman earned his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Haverford College and his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from The University of Michigan. Additionally, Dr. Bregman serves as the Director of Pre-Award Services at E4 Power inc. The YouTube video can be found here: https://youtu.be/AFzNJAjCr8o [https://youtu.be/AFzNJAjCr8o] Our YouTube channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials [http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials] This episode is sponsored by the TMS Foundation and the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu [https://mse.engin.umich.edu/]).

Steve and Tim talk sustainabilty stories

Steve and Tim talk about how to use stories of successful sustainability projects in the curriculum of second to fourth year engineering courses.  They explain how they will use several of the future podcasts to collect these stories.  They also talk about how these stories may end up framing an open source "textbook" for introductory materials science and engineering and complement higher level classes up to the graduate level.  Joel McDonald sent us some background links that explain more about how Dow Chemical Co developed the methods to recycle polyurethanes.  These could be used in a polymers course, a chemical engineering course, or a sustainability course.  Joel also suggested having students learn about the patent process by having them look up the related patents and talk about how this will protect Dow's IP.  This is an often under valued part of the sustainability process. Links: https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/news/press-releases/dow-jlr-and-adient-develop-industry-first-breakthrough-circularity-automotive-seating.html [https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/news/press-releases/dow-jlr-and-adient-develop-industry-first-breakthrough-circularity-automotive-seating.html] https://www.dow.com/en-us/product-technology/pt-polyurethanes/sustainability/polyurethanes/depolymerization.html [https://www.dow.com/en-us/product-technology/pt-polyurethanes/sustainability/polyurethanes/depolymerization.html] https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/news/press-releases/dow-and-gruppo-fiori-develop-breakthrough-recycling-process.html [https://corporate.dow.com/en-us/news/press-releases/dow-and-gruppo-fiori-develop-breakthrough-recycling-process.html] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dow-polyurethanes_dow-x-gruppo-fiori-video-1-activity-7373731403550863360-u-Ob [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dow-polyurethanes_dow-x-gruppo-fiori-video-1-activity-7373731403550863360-u-Ob] The YouTube video can be found here: https://youtu.be/hFbXyDyGzag [https://youtu.be/hFbXyDyGzag] Our YouTube channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials [http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials] This episode is sponsored by the TMS Foundation and the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu [https://mse.engin.umich.edu]).