Army-sponsored students advance materials science research, file patent

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Two Army-sponsored students co-authored a peer-reviewed scientific article, and one was named inventor on a newly filed U.S. patent for their work in advanced ceramic matrix composites.

The students participated as Army Educational Outreach Program, or AEOP, interns sponsored by the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Office. DEVCOM administers AEOP behalf of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology, and the program is a cornerstone of the Army’s strategy to inspire, engage, and develop a robust STEM workforce.

The research, which highlights innovations in materials critical to Army and aerospace applications, was conducted at Arizona State University and published in https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272884226016895.

The paper includes significant contributions from AEOP students Trae Nelson, now an engineer in the Propulsion Department at Honeywell Aerospace, and Kaia Thompson, now an undergraduate student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan.

Nelson participated in the program as an undergraduate student, and Thompson as a high school student. The AEOP summer program provides students with research experience and opportunities to contribute to Army-funded projects.

“ARO serves as the Army’s incubator to secure the future,” said Dr. Anne Marie Petrock, acting director of the Army Research Office. “Part of our mission is to build enduring partnerships and invest in emerging scientists and engineers. Through programs like AEOP, we are laying the foundation for the Army’s future workforce and strengthening the nation’s industrial base.”

In addition to the publication, Nelson is named inventor on a non-provisional U.S. patent application. The patent covers software tools for analyzing ceramic and polymer matrix composite microstructures and performing stochastic assessment of their thermomechanical performance.

AEOP Internships are commuter programs that provide high school students and undergraduates with hands-on science and engineering research experience alongside university researchers. Students develop skills in Army critical science and engineering research areas in a laboratory setting.

About 100 students serve as interns in university laboratories each year. Participants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

"By connecting students with Army-funded research and world-class mentors, ARO helps develop a pipeline of emerging talent,” said Ivory Chaney, ARO educational outreach program manager. “These experiences help students develop skills and confidence needed to become the Army’s future science and engineering workforce.”

Read the published research in Ceramics International, here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272884226016895

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About DEVCOM Army Research Office: Leveraging its 75-year history, the DEVCOM Army Research Office is the Army’s principal office for university research and partnerships, shaping scientific discovery worldwide for the Army of the future. As part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, ARO designs and directs bold science, builds partnerships, and cultivates talent to initiate the future operational superiority of our soldiers, Army and nation.

For more information, visit arl.army.mil/who-we-are/aro/