Young Professionals Network (YPN)

2024-2026 YPN Co-Chair

Xuan Song, University of Iowa

2025-2027 YPN Co-Chair

Zhezhen Fu, Penn State Harrisburg

YPN Steering Committee Members

• Christopher Kassner, Air Force Research Laboratory
• Mark Losego, Georgia Tech
• David Poerschke, University of Minnesota
• Shiv Prakash Singh, International Advanced Research Center for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI)
• Briana Tom, Harper International
• Kelsey Cannon, LM Space
• Dillip Panda, Clemson University
• Lavina Backman, Naval Research Laboratory
• Caio Barco Bragatto, Alfred University
• Emmanuel Rowe, Middle Tennessee State University
• Ângelo Cristante, Vesuvius
• Pandiyarajan Thangaraj, Indian Institute of Information Technology
• Chuancheng Duan, Kansas State University
• Katie Detwiler, Air Force Research Laboratory
• Damandeep Kaur, Institute of Applied Physics (IFAC-CNR)
• Luis Ruiz Pestana, Miami University

The American Ceramic Society’s Young Professionals Network (YPN) Steering Committee aims to:

• Attract and retain young professionals as members of The American Ceramic Society
• Connect young professionals with opportunities to actively contribute and take on leadership roles in the Society
• Create a technical and social network amongst young professionals within the Society
• Provide opportunities for professional development training of relevance to young professionals
• Facilitate networking between YPN members and senior leaders in the ceramics and glass communities

The YPN Steering Committee is composed of members who are actively engaged in identifying and executing specific activities and tasks to further the goals of the YPN within any given year, as determined by the YPN co-chairs.

The YPN’s initiatives for 2022 include:

• YPN + 1 Initiative – launched as of January 2022!
• YPN Connect (informal networking virtual events) – created to connect YPN members across the globe for networking opportunities outside of conference events.
• YPN is actively helping to define and support the roll out of ACerS Strategic Initiatives.
• Reorganization of YPN Steering Committee in order to focus on the following topics: YPN Connect, YPN+1, YPN Communications, YPN Programming, YPN Webinars

Ongoing YPN initiatives include:

• Lunch/Network with a Professional – offered in conjunction with a variety of ACerS conferences throughout the year.
• Webinars – offered under the ACerS Professional Skills and Personal Development Webinar Series, the YPN organizes several webinar offerings throughout the year.
• Collaboration - The YPN Steering Committee strives to work with groups such as the PCSA, to co-organize programs and events, as well as to more clearly define a path from student to young professional.
• Du-Co Ceramics Young Professional Award