Steve and Tim talked with Professor John Allison about Integrated Computational Manufacturing Engineering (ICME) and his PRISMS center. John talked about how creating the Virtual Aluminum Casting program at Ford led to the ability to predict properties of the as cast aluminum engine blocks to the point where they were perfect the first time. This vastly improved the time to develop new products for Ford and helped significantly to the development of lighter weight vehicles. John also talked about his current role in helping improve the recycling of aluminum waste for large scale castings using ICME. John also talks about his new PRISMS center, Magnesium alloys, the importance of team dynamics in accomplishing his work, and how he got into materials science and engineering.

You can find the YouTube version here:
It will be posted on Monday by 1pm.

Our YouTube channel can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials

This episode is sponsored by the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Tim and Steve talked with Lily Turaski from Georgia Tech at the NAMES conference in August, 2025. Today's episode focuses on engineering education research. We discussed the importance of education research and how it applies to actually teaching, what are the barriers to adoption of research-based teaching strategies, and important problems in education research. We also discussed some preliminary results from Lily's ongoing research in materials education.

You can find the YouTube version here:
https://youtu.be/MzkBTuO2sJ0
Check out the video version to see the visual presentation of research results!

This episode is sponsored by the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Steve and Tim caught up with Professor Alison Polasik at the 2025 NAMES meeting in Atlanta. We talked about what it is like to teach at a small school, Campbell University, compared to her previous position at Ohio State. We also talked about her research and what she is currently interested in. She has recently been teaching classes that are integrated with small laboratory experiences right in the same room

You can find the YouTube version here:
https://youtu.be/iDSLFpaSLdE?si=_--jufs-qmIC5KA7

This episode is sponsored by the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Steve and Tim talk about reinventing our Materials curriculum based on what we have learned in the past year. AI has had a profound effect on the job market in areas like computer science. Is the Materials job market going to have a similar downturn? What can we do about it?

You can find the YouTube version here:
https://youtu.be/dnPnxCC_vA0

This episode is sponsored by the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Tim and Steve talk with 4 participants in the Summer 2025 ASM Teacher's Camp in Ann Arbor. You can learn more about the camps at
https://www.asmfoundation.org/teachers/materials-camps/year-one/
Over 12000 teachers have participated in ASM camps to date - it's a leading program in bringing materials science to the K-12 space.

You can find the YouTube video here:
https://youtu.be/-9dLj7b_OkM

This episode is sponsored by the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Steve and Tim talked with Prof. Ron Kander at the NAMES meeting in Atlanta last month. Ron talked about his experiences creating new engineering programs, first at James Madison University and later at Philadelphia University which has now become Thomas Jefferson University. He took the Olin model one step further by developing a design first approach that included Engineering, Design, and Business. You can learn more about the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering & Commerce (Named for Maurice Kanbar - not Ron Kander) here:

https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/colleges-schools-institutes/kanbar-college-of-design-engineering-commerce.html

Ron has recently retired but his information is still up on the Thomas Jefferson University website:

https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/colleges-schools-institutes/kanbar-college-of-design-engineering-commerce/about/message-from-dean.html

You can also learn about Ron and his research at this page:

https://ronkander.academia.edu/

The YouTube video of the podcast can be found here:

https://youtu.be/mDSWLACjg2M

This episode is sponsored by the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Steve and Tim talk with Dr. Christian Casper about how he teaches technical communication to students at the University of Michigan, in particular how we've integrated more advanced teaching in visual and written communication in materials lab classes.. You can learn more about the Program in Technical Communication at https://techcom.engin.umich.edu/

You can find the YouTube version here:
https://youtu.be/h-au8o3-3x8

This episode is sponsored by the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Tim and Steve talk about what is coming up in Season 3 of Undercooled. We will publish our first episode of season 3 on August 31st!

You can find the YouTube version of this trailer here:
https://youtu.be/QJU_wInoIYU

This episode is sponsored by the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).