Several current grad students participated in the fourth Materials Matters seminar, on September 30, 2009, learning more abot patent law as a post-degree career. Alumni Gretchen DeVries and Rob Walat shared their experiences working at Occhiuti Rohlicek & Tsao and Wolf Greenfield & Sacks, respectively, discussing the necessity of law school, the day-to-day experiences, and the impact on society at-large. Snacks were provided by Wolf Greenfield & Sacks.

Organized by the DMSE Alumni Club, this series of seminars focusses on genres of careers that MS, MEng, and PhD students from our department might consider after graduation. Previous topics have been Start-ups (with guest appearances by two venture capitalists), big industry, and consulting. Current students are invited to the seminars and alumni are invited to participate; future topics of Post-Graduation Careers events will include academia and government.

Guest blog by Timothy W.C. Zens

DMSE Nucleates growth of New Scientists

DMSE graduate students completed their first Science Outreach Month this spring. During this pilot program, the graduate students of DMSE preformed materials science demonstrations for over 220 children in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. Read the rest of this entry

Guest Blog by David Bradwell, DMSE Grad Student

For a fortnight in late March, I joined 50 students from around the world, including five other MIT students, on an expedition to the bottom of our planet. We were invited to Antarctica with the common interest in addressing perhaps the greatest challenge of our generation, climate change. And as I reflect upon my experience – watching blue icebergs calve off of slowly advancing glaciers, laying breathless as we camped beneath a dazzling night sky, or admiring the majestic tails of humpback whales as they dove from our world into theirs, I can’t help but smile. Read the rest of this entry