The purpose of this award is to recognize a distinguished doctoral dissertation in the ceramics and glass discipline. The award is generously sponsored by Morgan Advanced Materials and includes the Morgan Medal.
Nomination Process
The awardee must have been a member of the Global Graduate Researcher Network (GGRN) and have completed a doctoral dissertation as well as all other graduation requirements set by their institution for a doctoral degree within 12 months prior to the application deadline.
- Nominations should be made by a person very familiar with the student’s work such as the research supervisor. It is expected the student will collaborate in the preparation of the nomination package.
- Nominations must be in English.
- Nominations must include the following:
- CV or bio of 1 page, including significant publications and presentations relevant to the dissertation.
- Abstract of 1,000 to 3,000 words plus no more than 2 pages of figures, including the following 3 sections.
- Statement of the problem.
- Summary of the research and results, including any new techniques developed and collaborations.
- Impact of the research.
- Two letters of recommendation – one from a) and one from either b) or c) below:
a. Letter from the supervisor which confirms that the dissertation and all requirements for graduation have been met, and which summarizes the key points of the nomination.
b. Letter from a member of the dissertation committee which provides an independent opinion on the value of the dissertation.
c. Letter from an external person familiar with the work which summarizes the impact of the work.
- Copies of accepted and published papers directly relevant to the dissertation.
- An on-line link to the dissertation or other means of accessing the dissertation.
The award is presented at the Awards Banquet at the SOCIETY Annual Meeting and consists of a $1000 honorarium, certificate including the Morgan Medal, and complimentary meeting registration at the Annual Meeting where the award is presented.
The award is presented at the Awards Banquet at the SOCIETY Annual Meeting and consists of a $1000 honorarium, certificate including the Morgan Medal, and complimentary meeting registration at the Annual Meeting where the award is presented.
Contact
Erica Zimmerman
ezimmerman@ceramics.org
Award Winners
Katelyn (Katie) Kirchner
Katelyn (Katie) Kirchner is currently a Glass Process Scientist at CelSian Inc. in Toledo, Ohio, USA. CelSian is a consultancy company for glass manufacturers and their suppliers, and as such Katelyn works on projects ranging from fundamental precompetitive research to applied process control in manufacturing plants. Katelyn earned her Bachelor of Science and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. Katelyn is a 2021-2024 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, 2019 Astronaut Scholar, 2020 Alfred R. Cooper Young Scholar, 2020 Penn State Alumni Association Scholar, and 2022 International Year of Glass (IYoG) Future Fellow, with 8 years of experience computationally investigating spatiotemporal fluctuations in disordered materials.
During her academic studies, Katelyn also earned the Graduate Student Teaching Certificate (May 2022) and Graduate Student Online Teaching Certificate (June 2021), which she now uses as an industrial trainer at CelSian Academy. Katelyn had three internships at Corning Incorporated and was an invited Visiting Scholar at Hokkaido University, Japan (6 months) and the University of Jena, Germany (1 week).
Katelyn is also an active member of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) and European Ceramic Society (ECerS). Katelyn is the current ACerS Young Professional Network liaison for the GOMD executive board and current US representative for the ECerS Young Ceramics Network. From 2018-2023, Katelyn served as a delegate for the ACerS President’s Council of Student Advisors (PCSA) and since 2021, Katelyn has co-organized student events for the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 Glass and Optical Materials Division (GOMD) annual conferences.