MRS Impact Award

MRS Impact Award Recipients

• Takiya J. Ahmed Foskey, DuPont (2020)

  “for leadership, mentoring and substantive contributions toward creating and organizing educational opportunities to prepare the next generation, in particular underrepresented and economically disadvantaged youth, to strive for STEM education and careers and be role models in the future"

  
  Takiya J. Ahmed Foskey joined DuPont’s Transportation and Industrial Adhesives business in 2018 after spending eight years as a Research Scientist in The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, MI. Prior to joining industry, she was an NSF American Competitiveness in Chemistry Postdoctoral Fellow with the Center for Enabling New Technologies Through Catalysis, researching biomass conversion with Professors Karen Goldberg and D. Michael Heinekey at the University of Washington.  She is passionate about creating and implementing opportunities to educate and empower youth, and her leadership in STEM-related community outreach spans over fifteen years. Most recently, she served as the president of the Midland Chapter of NOBCChE, engaging families, teachers, community leaders, company executives and colleagues in supporting and executing STEM programs in the Great Lakes Bay Region, including science bowls, after-school programs, summer camps and STEM festivals. She has impacted more than 150 local middle and high school students annually.
  

  
  
• Meyya Meyyappan, NASA Ames Research Center (2019)
  “for his lifelong dedication toward creating significant and outstanding impact to understanding nanotechnology through global outreach initiatives and for unwavering mentorship”
  
  
  Meyya Meyyappan is Chief Scientist for Exploration Technology at NASA Ames Research Center. He is a founding member of the Interagency Working Group on Nanotechnology (IWGN) established by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which is responsible for putting together the National Nanotechnology Initiative.
  
  Meyyappan has authored or co-authored over 380 peer-reviewed journal articles and made over 250 Invited/Keynote/Plenary Talks and over 250 seminars at universities.  He is a Fellow of MRS, IEEE, ECS, AVS, IOP, AIChE, ASME and the National Academy of Inventors.  For his contributions and leadership in nanotechnology, he has received numerous awards including a Presidential Meritorious Award; NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal; IEEE Judith Resnick Award; IEEE-USA Harry Diamond Award; AIChE Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum Award;  IEEE Pioneer Award in Nanotechnology; Sir Monty Finniston Award by the Institution of Engineering and Technology; IEEE-USA Professional Achievement Award; AVS Nanotechnology Recognition Award; IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Merit Award; and AVS Plasma Prize. For his sustained contributions to nanotechnology, he was inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame in 2009. Meyyappan has received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Witwatersrand and Concordia University.
  
  Learn more about Meyya's work in his interview from MRS TV.
  
  
  
• Michael Falk, Johns Hopkins University (2018)
  “for broadened participation in STEM education in Baltimore elementary schools; for bringing attention to professional and educational climate issues faced by LGBTQ students and researchers; and for pioneered research-based methodologies for integrating computation into the Materials Science and Engineering curriculum”
  
  

  Michael Falk is a professor of materials science and engineering at Johns Hopkins University where he also serves as the Vice Dean for Undergraduate Education. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in computer science from Johns Hopkins. He completed his PhD degree in physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and then launched his academic career as a computational materials scientist at the University of Michigan in 2000. In 2008, he returned to Johns Hopkins as an associate professor of materials science and engineering with joint appointments in mechanical engineering and physics.

  Falk’s research focuses on utilizing computer simulation on the atomic scale to understand the processes by which materials are pushed out of equilibrium by processes such as bending, breaking, charging and undergoing frictional sliding. His research has had an abiding focus on the ways glass structures accommodate plastic flow, deformation and fracture. These investigations have involved developing new methodologies for deploying molecular dynamics simulations and the development of thermodynamically motivated constitutive theories. Since returning to Johns Hopkins, his funded projects have expanded to include educational research on how engineering students best learn computing and a project called STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools (SABES). SABES is a $7.4 million National Science Foundation-funded partnership with the Baltimore City Schools to increase engagement of grades 3–5 students, teachers and communities in STEM learning. Falk has also been a strong advocate for diversity, particularly creating a welcoming climate for LGBTQ people within the engineering and physics professions.

  
  
• Lynnette D. Madsen, National Science Foundation (2017)
  “in recognition of her effectiveness in exemplifying technical leadership, advancing diversity, fostering mentoring and communicating persuasively to influence both large and small institutions”
  
  Lynnette D. Madsen has worked at the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a program director in materials research since 2000. Additionally, she has completed three detail assignments at NSF dealing with international efforts with Africa, increasing the advancement of women in academic careers, and strategic human capital analysis and planning. She has led new co-operative activities with European researchers in materials; has been part of the driving force in program development and initiatives in nanotechnology, manufacturing, and sustainability; and has maintained an active independent research program. 
  
  Previously, she was on the faculty at Linköping University and held a visiting/adjunct faculty position at Carnegie Mellon University. Earlier, she spent a decade working in industry in Canada. She has enjoyed support from industry (ABB, Siemens and Nortel Networks) for her research and consulting. 
  
  To date Madsen has published two books, three book chapters/sections, and 99 journal, conference and magazine articles; has been awarded three patents; and delivered more than 100 invited talks. She has served as a panelist for the National Research Council and as a Trustee for AVS, and currently serves as an Advisory Board member for the Rosalind Franklin Society and on the Board of Directors for The American Ceramic Society (ACerS). 
  
  Her qualifications include a BASc degree (Electrical Engineering) and BA degree (Psychology) from the University of Waterloo, an MEng degree (Electronics) from Carleton University and a PhD degree (Materials Science) from McMaster University. Madsen is the 2017 inaugural recipient of the MRS Impact award. She has also been recognized by NSF (two Director Awards, eleven Performance Awards and an Incentive Award), TMS (Ellen Swallow Richards Diversity Award), ABET (Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity), ACerS (Fellow), AVS (Excellence in Leadership Recognition), SHPE (Junipero Serra Award), the University of Waterloo (Professional Achievement Alumni Medal from Engineering) and previously by MRS (Presentation Award).