On December 12th, the 1st Material Advantage Chapters of Excellence Seminar was held on the campus of the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT). Organized by International School of Materials Science and Engineering (School of Materials and Microelectronics) of WUT and the Material Advantage Wuhan University of Technology Chapter, the seminar took place both online and offline with the theme of “Sharing the Future of Material Advantage”. A total of 16 Material Advantage (MA) student chapters which had won the “Chapter of Excellence Award” were invited to the event from China, the United States, Mexico, Egypt, India, and other countries.

Liu Zuyuan (Vice President of WUT), Dan Grice (Chairman of the Material Advantage Committee) and Drew Fleming (Executive Director of the MA Committee) attended the opening ceremony which was presided over by Wang Tao, Dean of International School of Materials Science and Engineering (School of Materials and Microelectronics).

When addressing, Liu Zuyuan expressed his welcome and gratitude to guests attending the seminar. He said that the Material Advantage  Chapters of Excellence Seminar was a good platform for international exchange where 16 outstanding chapters gathered around developmental needs in the new era and scientific frontiers. And they aired their own views for mutual learning and sparks of thought, jointly creating a new blueprint for the growth of global materials science and Material Advantage teams.

In his virtual speech, Dan Grice extended his appreciation to WUT for arranging this seminar, and gave favorable comments on the MA WUT Chapter’s five straight wins of “the Chapter of Excellence Award”. And he indicated that the MA committee was established to empower each chapter with an idea that they should build a materials science community and discuss the advancement of materials science through collaboration with each other.

During the seminar, heads of each chapter on invitation delivered presentations. Aiming at humanities and arts, the University of North Texas restored the beauty of “artistic materials” in handcrafts with candles, glass, ceramics and other household materials. Based on the scientific research news, the Colorado School of Mines shared the latest academic achievements about “thinking materials”. Under the focus of greening and environmental protection, the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) gave publicity to and implemented the idea of “natural materials” by virtue of ecological planting activities. With the characteristics and experience of each chapter, all participating research teams took a deep dive into aspects such as advanced research results of material science, team building of the MA student chapters, and guidance on student members’ learning ability, thus co-consulting the cultivation program for top-notch innovative talents in materials science.

The successful delivery of the seminar highlights the international influence and appeal of WUT’s material discipline, and also shows the world the university’s performance on cultivating cutting-edge  innovative talents in materials science. In the future, the WUT Chapter will continue to practice the concept of internationalized pattern, actively play a leading role in the international exchange of Material Advantage, and make new contributions to the development of WUT’s material discipline.

Material Advantage is a platform of exchange, innovation, and competition for students in materials science and engineering, jointly launched by four international materials research societies: The American Ceramic Society (ACerS), Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST), International – The Materials Information Society (ASM), and The Mineral, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). At present, more than 100 universities around the world, including the University of California and the Columbia University, have established the MA chapters and conducted material competitions and exchanges at the Materials Science & Technology (MS&T) annual conference. As the first MA chapter in China, Material Advantage Wuhan University of Technology Chapter has always focused on the goal of building world-class material disciplines and cultivating top-notch innovative talents, constantly improved the team charter, and carried out sci-tech innovation and social services. What’s more, the WUT chapter has actively encouraged students to participate in global materials competitions like making academic posters and lectures which can broaden their international vision and comprehensive abilities. And it has organized high-end academic exchanges such as Lectures about International Perspectives and Scholar Forums to stimulate students’ professional interests and independent innovation ability. Besides, WUT has also been interacting with other MA student chapters at home and abroad, covering the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Suez, so as to enhance the international reputation and influence of its material discipline.

Reported by: Lu Jiaqi, Gao Zhixue, Chen Fei, Mu Zhao

Reviewed by: Yan Kui

Rewritten by: Zou Yingqi, Chao Yijia

Edited by: Zhang Xiangqi, Li Tiantian

Source: International School of Materials Science and Engineering