My name is Killian Sheriff and, as of Winter 2019, I finished my U1 year of Joint Honours in Mathematics & Physics at 缅北强奸. Even though optimized for further study in Theoretical Physics, this program provides enough background material for students to do research in other scientific areas. Having done a Summer internship last year at Mines ParisTech / PSL Research University, I discovered the field of Materials Science and fell in love with it due to its amazing power to mix knowledge from a multitude of other fields like Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science and Chemistry.
This summer I had the chance to do research at the Department of Material Science and Engineering (DMSE) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). DMSE is the home of an amazing interdisciplinary research project that tries to use science as a way to produce beneficial engineering solutions. From construction materials to virus-grown nanostructures, they seek to understand the creation, composition, structure, properties, and performance of materials 鈥� and to derive new, effective, and sustainable alternatives.
Being really intrigued by their idea of combining Scanning Electron Microscopy and Digital Image Correlation to monitor microstructural changes while at the same time studying microstructural strains, I joined a research group which has the amazing goal of developing new high resolution in-situ multi-field mapping methods in order to unravel physical mechanisms and design novel alloys with amazing properties. Becoming a member of this group really allowed me to deepen both my experimental and theoretical skills. I had the chance to work on the correlation of local strain data with phase and grain identification on a multi-field map, and to develop new software facilitating quantitative strain analysis in Dual-Phase steel 鈥� a type of metal which has been the subject of investigation for several decades due to demand from the automotive industry for sheet steels with high strength to weight ratio and formability.
Working on cutting edge research inside a group of experts in their field of expertise confirmed my plan of going into graduate school to do research in material science and engineering. I discovered the infinite potential and synergy that can be created by passionate people working together, tackling problems never yet addressed.
On a personal point of view, it was amazing to discover new work ethics by working with people from all over the world, to be exposed to a wide variety of research topics and to be immersed into the MIT culture. This whole experience was only possible thanks to the generous donors of the Schull Yang International Experience Awards. The awards allowed me to afford rent and travel expenses while at the same time allowing me to discover how beautiful Boston is with its amazing landscapes and wonderful walking trails around Charles river.
I would recommend the Schull-Yang award to anybody who wishes to do ground-breaking research abroad, it truly was an amazing experience, filled with hard work but also amazing memories!
