Undergraduate research experiences have many well-known benefits for those just starting on their potential career path. Mario Affatigato, the Fran Allison and Francis Halpin Professor of Physics at Coe College, shares how his initial experiences with glass research as a student at Coe came full circle when he returned to Coe as a professor, describes the fundamental and applied glass science that his research group conducts, and discusses his plans and goals as president of ACerS this year.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Mario Affatigato is the Fran Allison and Francis Halpin Professor of Physics at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His group studies various glass-related questions from both a fundamental and applied perspective, including electrical conductivity of vanadate glasses and laser-based manufacturing. He is serving as this year’s president of The American Ceramic Society, and he is also editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Applied Glass Science.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Reducing carbon emissions in the cement and concrete industry is a complex, multifaceted challenge. Juan Pablo Gevaudan, assistant professor of architectural engineering at The Pennsylvania State University, talks about how his childhood desire to protect the environment led to his eventual work in cement, describes some of the research taking place in the cement industry to reduce carbon emissions, and shares how his identity as a Latino and Hispanic scientist plays a role in his approach to learning and teaching.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Juan Pablo Gevaudan is assistant professor of architectural engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. As head of the D/Carb Group at Penn State, JP works with students on developing solutions to reduce carbon emissions in the cement and concrete industry by taking a whole lifecycle approach to the challenge. He is actively involved in the ACerS Cements Division, currently serving as secretary for the 2025–2026 term.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Glass is generally considered inert, but recent decades have seen increasing interest in glasses that react more readily with their environment. Courtney Calahoo, research and development team lead at Genics, shares her journey to working on dissolvable glasses, describes some of her current projects, and provides examples of how Indigenous knowledge can benefit modern scientific research.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Courtney Calahoo is research and development team lead at Genics Inc., a chemical manufacturer in Alberta, Canada. She became interested in dissolvable glasses while working in Lothar Wondraczek’s group at the Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research, and she now develops dissolvable glass rods for wood preservation at Genics. During the International Year of Glass celebrations at the United Nations in 2022, Courtney talked about her experiences as an Indigenous woman glass scientist and the overlap between Indigenous knowledge and glass science. Read a summary of her talk here and watch the recording here (2:35:00 mark). Learn more about the ingenuity of Indigenous materials scientists in this book.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Recent decades have seen a resurgence in interest and funding for hypersonics research. Rod Trice, professor of materials engineering at Purdue University, briefly overviews the history of hypersonic flight, describes current hypersonic vehicle design paradigms and materials, and shares his expectations for the future of this critical national defense sector.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Rod Trice is professor of materials engineering at Purdue University. His group works on the processing and forming of ceramics for hypersonic applications. Since January 2024, Rod has helped support the ACerS–USACA Materials Training Program by teaching a short course on hypersonic materials. The program recently received a two-year funding extension from the U.S. government and will continue in 2026.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Many patients—and sometimes even dentists—are not aware of the many ceramic and glass materials that sneakily find application in the dental world. Carolyn Primus, medical device consultant, shares her journey into the field of dental materials, provides a glimpse of the history and variety of ceramic materials used in dentistry, and describes some of the ways she’s personally contributed to this field.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Carolyn Primus is a medical device consultant and adjunct associate professor at Augusta University in Georgia. She has spent more than 35 years working with dental materials, particularly for endodontic applications, and will publish a book through ACerS–Wiley in fall 2025 that provides an expansive overview of everything she knows about ceramics in dentistry.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Glass is a solution to many modern challenges, and there remains ample opportunities for further improvements. William LaCourse, Emeritus Professor of glass science in the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, shares how several serendipitous encounters with giants in the glass field led to his employment at Alfred, highlights some of the untapped markets for ion-exchanged glass products, and gives some fun anecdotes from his time as the Alfred sports announcer for football and basketball.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
William LaCourse is Emeritus Professor of glass science in the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He has conducted extensive research in the field of glass strengthening, with a current focus on ion-exchange processing of commercial soda-lime-silica glasses, as described in the May 2025 ACerS Bulletin.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

Developing technologies with a deep impact in certain niche areas is arguably just as important as research that has a widespread impact. Joe Cesarano, founder and president of Robocasting Enterprises, explains how he helped develop a 3D ceramic printing method called robocasting at Sandia National Laboratories, provides examples of its applications, and shares tips on how to successfully bring your ideas to market.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Joe Cesarano is founder and president of Robocasting Enterprises in Albuquerque, N.M. The company uses a 3D printing method called robocasting to build different types of ceramic components. The method began as a research project at Sandia National Laboratories, as explained in this video, and Joe successfully transitioned that research into commercial application through his company.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.

As we prepare for a future traveling the stars, energy-efficient processing technologies will be a necessity for both those in space and those remaining as Earth’s stewards. Holly Shulman, research professor at Alfred University, shares how she became interested in microwave sintering, describes its benefits compared to conventional sintering processes, and explains how it could support the development of future lunar colonies.

View the transcript for this episode here.

About the guest
Holly Shulman is research professor at Alfred University and founder, president, and chief technology officer of Bluestar Advanced Manufacturing. She specializes in developing microwave processing technologies, and she was recently named director of the new Space Materials Institute at Alfred University in part due to the potential applications of her research on the moon. She will be giving a talk on microwave processing for lunar construction at the 59th Annual Microwave Power Symposium in June 2025, and she plans to teach an ACerS short course in the near future.

About ACerS
Founded in 1898, The American Ceramic Society is the leading professional membership organization for scientists, engineers, researchers, manufacturers, plant personnel, educators, and students working with ceramics and related materials.