Today, ASTM International President Jim Thomas announced that three deserving students won $10,000 scholarships for their graduate studies. ASTM has 5,000 student members and it offers several scholarship and grant opportunities each year.

“These students show that the future of the standards development community is very bright,” Thomas said. “I know that they will make major contributions through their studies and through their involvement in ASTM, ultimately helping our world work better.”

This highly competitive scholarship rewards graduate students (master’s or doctoral) who have shown high levels of interest in or involvement with ASTM standards. The 2015 winners are:

Janet Gbur is pursuing her doctorate in materials science and engineering at Case Western Reserve University. She holds a B.S. in materials engineering and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from Youngstown State University. She has participated on ASTM Committees E08 on Fatigue and Fracture and E28 on Mechanical Testing since 2011. Gbur received the Committee E08 M.R. Mitchell Best Student Presentation Award in 2014.

Joel Kulesza is a Ph.D. candidate studying nuclear engineering and radiological sciences at the University of Michigan. He earned his B.S. in nuclear engineering at the University of Michigan, as well as an M.S. in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee. Kulesza worked as a nuclear engineer at Westinghouse Electric Co. in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, prior to pursuing his doctorate. He is an active member of ASTM Committee E10 on Nuclear Technology and Applications.

Mohsen Seifi is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. He holds a B.S. in materials engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, and an M.S. in materials science and engineering from Case Western. He has participated on ASTM Committees E08 on Fatigue and Fracture and F42 on Additive Manufacturing since 2013, and is an active promoter of the ASTM Student Membership Program. Seifi also received an ASTM Graduate Scholarship in 2014.

Undergraduate and graduate student members of ASTM receive a front-row seat to the standards development process. ASTM’s free student membership gives them the chance to network with technical experts and join in standards development discussions. Many students become full participating ASTM members after graduation.

For more information on ASTM’s student membership and academic outreach activities, visit www.astm.org/studentmember or contact Jim Olshefsky (tel +1.610.832.9714; jolshefs@astm.org).

Media Inquiries: Nathan Osburn, tel +1.610.832.9603; nosburn@astm.org
ASTM Staff Contact: Jim Olshefsky, tel +1.610.832.9714; jolshefsky@astm.org

Release #9894