The first year of college can feel intimidating. With so many classes, exams, labs, and organizations, finding your footing can be overwhelming. However, the School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) offers first-year students the unique opportunity to participate in research at the beginning of their matriculation through the MSE Research Scholars Program.

 The Research Scholars Program, spearheaded by MSE Educational Outreach Manager Tristen Jones, allows students to work on a faculty- or graduate-student-advised research project. Thus gaining early exposure to materials science and engineering. The program is open to first-year students who are majoring in MSE. Scholars develop technical, analytical, and communication skills. Often, they present their work at events such as the Buzz into MSE outreach program.

The scholars' projects span a wide range of materials science and engineering topics. Christina Strakes, a rising second-year MSE student, spent the summer investigating how titanium can be incorporated into epoxy resins to create hybrid materials with customizable properties. Her work contributes to a broader effort to develop metal-infused polymers capable of applications such as flame retardancy, corrosion resistance, and protection from X-rays and ultraviolet light.

Ben Badinger, also a rising second-year MSE student, explored shape memory alloys, metals that can return to their original shape after being bent or deformed when heat is applied. By studying different combinations of nickel, titanium, hafnium, and vanadium, he hopes to better understand how composition affects the performance of these materials, which are used in aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing applications.

Meanwhile, rising second-year student Teri Wong focused on battery materials in the McDowell Lab. Her research examined how repeated freeze-thaw cycles affect AA batteries at different states of charge. The project has implications for everything from household electronics to spacecraft, where batteries must operate under extreme temperature fluctuations.

While each student's research topic was different, many shared similar reflections on what it was like to join a research group so early in their college career. Strakes said she was surprised by the dynamic nature of the research process.

"Some days were spent reading lots of literature, some spent analyzing data or designing new experiments, and some were spent almost entirely in the lab," she said. "A week of research can feel like a rollercoaster ride, and it's always keeping me on my toes."

For Badinger, the biggest surprise was how welcoming and accessible research proved to be.

"Research has definitely gone from being a far-off elite dream to something I know I or any student in MSE can be a part of," he said, crediting faculty and graduate students for helping him develop new skills and confidence in the lab.

Wong was struck by how often concepts from her coursework appeared in her research. From materials science fundamentals to mathematical analysis techniques, she found herself applying classroom knowledge to real-world engineering challenges.

"Rather than learning theories in isolation, I have gained a much deeper appreciation for why these concepts matter and how they are used to solve real engineering problems," Wong said.

The experience has also helped the scholars envision their futures at Georgia Tech and beyond. Strakes said working alongside researchers and graduate students has sparked an interest in potentially pursuing graduate school. Badinger hopes to continue participating in research throughout his undergraduate career and is considering a future in research and development or academia. For Wong, exposure to battery materials and energy storage research expanded her understanding of the many paths available within materials science and engineering and introduced her to a field she may pursue professionally.

The full list of 2026-2027 research scholars is as follows:

Andrea Noele Reyes

BenjaminBadinger

Bryson Cole

Christian Kim

Christina Strakes

Cole Brady

Elizabeth Ballenger

Emma Miller

Ephraim Erdollo

Hannah Yurkovich

Naievaidya Kaushik

Nathan McKee

Raghav Subbiah

Roger Philipp

Teri Wong

Zoura Chan