Week of 9/19: Free Post Big News in Material Science

Week 9/19 Free Post: Material Science Excitement

Hello everyone, for this weeks free post I am going to be talking about a news story I found about material science that I found interesting. I mostly found it interesting because I found it quite astounding that material scientists could be involved in a process like this. The article discusses a new technique that could be used to extract magnesium from the depths of the ocean. 

This magnesium can be used to to make more fuel efficient cars and planes, more stable buildings, and more efficient power generation systems since it is much more lightweight than the traditional steel used currently. The downside is right now it takes 7 times the energy to pull magnesium from the earth as it takes to extract steel. The most energy efficient method is used in Utah, which is done by pulling it out of molten salt. This process still requires temperatures of 900 degrees Celsius, which requires a lot of energy. China uses a different method, which requires significantly more energy and gives off even more carbon emissions.

With the new method, the temperature required will be no more than 300 degrees Celsius and will give off far less carbon emissions. This process will greatly decrease the American dependency on foreign importers of magnesium, and will significantly increase the American magnesium market. This is approximated to be 50% more efficient than the current process used in Utah. 

I found this article quite interesting. It is inside my range of interests and I will be looking for more updates on it when there is more information available. I am curious to see if the scientists will be able to get this process rolling, and to see if they will release more information on how they did it. Thank you very much for reading!


"Fuel-Efficient cars, planes cheaper with magnesium drawn from ocean." Phys. Pacific Northwest National           Labratory, September 20, 2013. Web. September 22, 2013.

PNNL. Magnesium. Magnesium. Phys. September 20, 2013. Web. September 22, 2013.

Week of 9/19: Interviewing a professional

Interviewing a Material Scientist

This is a picture I had of my dad walking by one of the furnaces
in the shop.

Hello everyone, this week for my exciting post I will be interviewing someone in the material science field to figure out what type of writing they do in their job, and to ask them a few questions about their job in general. Now, luckily for me my father happens to be a material scientist, so I am just going to interview him. This should work out pretty good since he will give me 100% honest answers and not hold back whatsoever. He is employed in the heat treating field, which is a manufacturing business. He does a lot of work through GM, and I'm hoping these connections can help me to get employed after college also. 

My questions I am going to ask him are:

What is the biggest type of writing you have to do?

Mainly e-mail. He said he is constantly sending e-mail to keep up with customers and their wants. He also has to write up quotes and metallurgic reports. The reports are typically 2-5 pages long.

Is it mostly formal or informal?

For the most case, formal. Much of the conversation goes on with customers and he needs to look and sound educated. 

How often do you have to do this?

Every day. He has to keep up with all of the e-mail that people send him. He has to do the reports typically 3-4 times a week.

How often are you dealing with the steel yourself?

It's basically an everyday occurrence, and also whenever there is some type of an issue or new work comes in he must run samples in the furnaces to either fix the issue or find the best way to run the new parts.

Week of 9/12 Free Post

Free Post 9/15: Understanding Material Science

Hey again, this week I'm going to do a little research on what material science really is. I figure this would be a good topic for one of my beginning posts. This isn't a very popular degree so there are not many people who really know what material science is all about. Since I'm not educated enough about material science, I can't give people a good response about what it really is. I know it involves studying the properties of materials such a steel, plastic, ceramic, and other materials but that about it. However, I will be focusing on the metallurgic side of material science. I will search the web for information so I can present it to anyone who wants to more about material science. 

After doing some searching on the internet I found a very informative website devoted to chemistry, acs.org. One of the things I learned that I never thought about was that it can be an extremely frustrating field since 99% of the time the experiments do not actually work out, but when it does work out its a fortifying feeling. Let me explain this more. Since material science is the study of the micro structure of materials, it can be frustrating since the experiments involve messing with the chemical properties and things can often go south. Someone who want to pursue a career in this field needs to be very persistent, which luckily I am. Material Scientists mess with the micro structure of materials and therefore are able to mess with the central properties of them. This means new materials, or sub materials can be created in order to make more efficient products. This can be applied to mostly industry, such as manufacturing. Material Scientists will contribute to the creation of products and then helping their customer utilize the product to their maximum capability.   

I would say that I did not exactly get an enormous amount of information about material science, but I got more information of the type on job I will have after college. Furthermore, I learned the struggles and successful parts of the job. I found all this information quite interesting and still have a thirst for more information. I will continue to do more research each week, and bring you guys more information every week. I will also be learning more as I do it, so I am extremely excited about it. 

Molecule Structure. Photograph. n.d. nanotechweb.org. Belle Dume. Web. 9/15/2013.

Pouring Steel. Photograph. n.d. muskegoncc.edu. Web. 9/15/2013

"Material Science." American Chemical Society. ACS, 2013. Web. 9/15/2013

Week of 9/12 Material Science Articles

Material Science Articles

For my blog post this week I look at a news article regarding material science and a journal written by a professional in this field. I am comparing the two based on the style they were written in, what type of audience they were both written for, and the purpose of the two different readings. 

As it turns out, a journal written by a professional in material science is far more complex than any ole news article relating to material science. The new article is definitely written more for anyone who is interested in it, since it uses more simple lingo and not nearly as many specialized words. It  has a pretty basic vocabulary and just has the purpose of delivering the news, which in this specific article was about discovering the thinnest piece of glass (which was only 2 atoms thick). The terms they used could be understood by anyone that has ever taken a science class before and was a lighter read than the professional journal.

The professional journal was intended for someone who is involved in the material science field, or at least someone with an understanding of it. The vocabulary used was far more complex and not nearly as easy to read as the news article. The title of the journal is "Arc Spraying 3Cr13 Molten Drop Impact Stress Numerical Analysis" and that alone shows that it's not a light or fun reading. The intention was to deliver the final result of the experiment and it did just that. However, it is not a good reading piece for someone who does not have any kind of a background in some form of material science or engineering. 

    "Guinness record: World’s thinnest glass is just two atoms thick."ScienceDaily, 12 Sep. 2013. Web. 12 Sep.                2013. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130912095241.htm

C.H. Li. "Arc Spraying 3Cr13 Molten Drop Impact Stress Numerical Analysis." Bentham Open.  Web.

    http://www.benthamscience.com/open/tomsj/openaccess2.htm

Free Post Week of 9/6

     Not Enough Books, Not Enough Kids

        I am astounded by the fact that the enormous selection of text material in the MSU library does not have many books on material science. I searched through the catalogs and through the library to only find a few books on material science, none of which were a basic introductory book. Out of the 10 questions I had, I could only find the answer to one of them and the book was printed in 1970, so hopefully the information is still relevant. I now must search the internet for a source of information that can actually answer my questions.

       I can't say I'm extremely surprised at the lack of information I could find though. There are not many people who have even heard of the degree I'm pursuing, and I have yet to meet any other student that is also involved with this branch of engineering. Although, I imagine as I continue my college career and expand into more complex courses I will meet other in the same field as me. I hope as time goes on I can meet other kids just so we can get together and do classwork together, since currently all the kids in my dorm are in the Lyman Briggs college and I cannot work on any homework with them. I am actually envious of all these kids, and desire to find other students with similar courses as me to work with. My interests will probably be sparked even more if I can find people to work on my preparatory engineering classes with.


      There is an even greater demand for people with this degree than I thought. There are only 21,000 jobs, but since there aren't many people going after this degree companies are searching for people with it. They will always need people to study materials and find ways to be the most efficient and save the most money, so this information is exciting to me. I hope the outlook is still the same when I graduate.


"Material Science and Engineering Overview." Sloan Career Cornerstone Center, 2013. Web. 9/10/2013.
http://www.careercornerstone.org/pdf/matscieng/matscience.pdf

Week of 9/6: 10 Questions About My Profession

After searching for library for books regarding material science, I was not able to find much information. This is definitely not the most popular major, and there isn't as much information readily available as some degrees such as teaching. The only question I was able to answer using a book was question four. I now plan on searching the internet for a good overview of the career to find the answers to my unanswered questions.

1. What major curriculum is studied for this degree?
Material science engineering focuses mainly on physics and chemistry, but not heavily on math, even though 4 year of calculus is still required. More physics and chemistry is used than math in the field.

2. How is what I learned in school applied to this career?
This depends on which type of sub area I plan on studying. I plan on focusing mainly on metallurgic so I will apply information I learned in my material science and chemistry classes in my career.

3. What type of jobs can come about from obtaining a material science degree?
There are a vast variety of jobs available for material science. I could land in manufacturing, research, management, sales or many other. However, since I am from Michigan I will more than likely land a job in manufacturing or automotive.

4. What are the major companies looking for students fresh out of college with this degree?
A few of the major companies are Amcast, BASF Corporation, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Microsoft, Hp, and GE. There are still a great deal of other large companies, and the list can be found here on page 9 and 10.

5. Will I be able to stay in Michigan after I graduate from college?
There is a very good chance I will be able to stay in Michigan since we are a large manufacturing state.

6. What type of technology will I be using in the field and during college?
Since the 1940's, material scientists have used electron microscopes to further process their lab samples to get closer examinations of that materials they are studying. It has been a huge help in studying the properties of materials.

7. Are the jobs I can get going to be within my interests?
The jobs I could be employed for would definitely be inside of my interests. I think this is a very good degree for me to obtain.

8. Is there a lot of room for advancement in this field?
There can be based on my own personal interests and work habits. I can be moved up to management in companies but I will have to work for it and show that I am willing to take the challenge.

9. Will I possibly be able to work for one of the Big 3 after college?
Yes, they are almost always looking for people since there aren't too many kids who are going after this degree right now.

10. How long will I have to wait once I'm out of college to be employed?
I will not have a very long wait. Any of the Big 3 are constantly looking for fresh material scientists, and with family connections with each company, primarily GM, I will have a job out of college quickly.



Valdre, U. Electron Microscopy in Material Science. New York: Academic Press, 1970. Print

"Material Science and Engineering Overview." Sloan Career Cornerstone Center, 2013. Web.                                   9/10/2013.http://www.careercornerstone.org/pdf/matscieng/matscience.pdf

About Anthony Deciechi

About me

         I am a material science major currently studying at Michigan State University. I will be focusing mostly on the metallurgic aspects of material science. With my father being a heat treater, naturally my interest was sparked in this area of study. As a person, I believe in always doing the right thing. I will help out someone in need when I can tell they need help and won't be indifferent with the situation like a lot of people will be. I apply all of my abilities I'm capable of applying to whatever I do, since I strive to be the best that I am able to be.

Interests and Hobbies

• Avid outdoors man, I love to hunt during the fall and fish whenever I need a break from life
• I also enjoy just being in the woods, and being surrounded by nature in general
• During the summer I work with my dad at Woodworth Inc. and also work on the side as a landscaper
• Spending time with my friends and family, and building connections with people I can trust