Jul 18, 2017

ASTM International’s President Katharine Morgan announced that four graduate students each won $10,000 scholarships for their doctoral studies in fields where technical standards play a crucial role. This year’s winners were selected from a competitive pool of 20 applicants.

“We are thrilled to support these Ph.D. students who are using ASTM International standards to contribute to fields in which standards play a significant role,” Morgan said, “I look forward to watching them expand scientific knowledge of corrosion, packaging, 3D printing, and more. I also look forward to seeing their contributions to the global standards community in the years to come.”

Patrick McDavid of Michigan State University will use the scholarship to help fund research in distribution packaging, field analysis, and lab simulation. McDavid is an active member of ASTM International’s committee on packaging (D10). He maintained a successful career before pursuing his Ph.D. with a concentration in packaging engineering.

Kien Nguyen of the University of Kansas will use the scholarship to research how to protect steel structures from corrosion. Kien is a student member with connections to ASTM International’s committee on fatigue and fracture (E08). He is interested in finding and filling gaps that exist in standards in his field.

Rakish Shrestha of Auburn University will use the scholarship to continue research in mechanical engineering and materials engineering. Shrestha is a student member with interests in additive manufacturing related to the committees on fatigue and fracture (E08) as well as medical and surgical materials and devices (F04).

Aref Yodallahi of Mississippi State University will use the scholarship to continue experimental and numerical investigations on fatigue behavior of additively manufactured materials. He is a student member with an active role in ASTM International’s committee on fatigue and fracture (E08), pursuing his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering.

ASTM International has 5,000 student members at all levels of education who pay nothing for membership. The organization offers several scholarship and grant opportunities each year. Undergraduate and graduate student members receive a front-row seat to the standards development process, allowing them to network with technical experts and participate in standards discussions.


For more information on the free student membership and academic outreach activities, visit www.astm.org/studentmember or contact Travis Murdock (tel +1.610.832.9826; tmurdock@astm.org).

Media Inquiries: Dan Bergels, tel +1.610.832.9602; dbergels@astm.org
   
Release #10365