DMSE Tenure Talk

Metals, up-close
or: How I stopped worrying and loved the tenure-track life

Abstract: 
Metallic materials can create endless amounts of excitement, joy, and possibilities, upon careful inspection. Currently employed design guidelines, however, are often informed by investigations of over-simplified model microstructures, exposed to idealized boundary conditions. Growing economic, environmental, and safety concerns call for more damage-resistant new metals with complex microstructures, to cope with the increasingly demanding application conditions.
 
In this talk, I will present the approach my group and I followed during the past seven years at MIT to address these challenges, which relies on developing dedicated in-situ characterization methods, that not only reveal the key micro-mechanisms governing the behavior of advanced alloys but also provide design guidelines for improved damage-resistance. What made this experience at MIT a unique personal journey was also its many expected and unexpected challenges. Fortunately, as will be discussed (and as Kubrick's satiric masterpiece taught us back in 1964) there can be fun in even the most dramatic events – yes, even in the tenure-track life.

DMSE Tenure Talks
A series of presentations by faculty recently granted tenure about the challenges of seeking tenure and lessons learned along the way.

Reception to follow talk in 6-104, Chipman Room