Material Science and Engineering
From your toothbrush to your bicycle to your phone, why do we choose certain materials for some products but not for others?
What does it mean for a material to be strong? Durable? Flexible? How do we compare materials and determine if they’re good enough for our purpose? All this, and more, is part of the fascinating world of materials engineering that you will explore in this session. Students will conduct hands-on activities using a variety of engineering materials. We will do experiments using the actual tools and methods that materials engineers use to determine material strength and performance characteristics. Sign up to learn about how materials engineers work on topics like clean energy, electronics, space-travel, and much more.
Instructor: Alexis Gillmore
Alexis Gillmore is a Teaching Assistant Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill in the department of Applied Physical Sciences. Alexis was born and raised in Virginia and earned a B.S in chemical engineering from Virginia Tech. During undergrad, Alexis participated in an engineering living learning community (a dorm full of engineers with shared community, study resources, and professional development opportunities). Alexis participated in undergraduate research in a soil science laboratory by asking faculty to shadow in their labs until the right fit emerged. This research experience, developing accessible methods to measure and communicate about soil health, led Alexis to pursue a PhD in soil science.
In graduate school at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, another state land-grant university, Alexis dove into the world of agricultural extension and studied how biodegradable plastic mulches (sheets of plastic that prevent weed growth around valuable crops like strawberries) contribute to microplastic pollution. As a PhD student, Alexis also taught an interdisciplinary engineering capstone design course and completed a graduate certificate in engineering education – learning how best to help others learn engineering concepts.
Since 2025, Alexis now teaches engineering courses in the Applied Sciences major at UNC-CH. The Applied Sciences program is an exciting new opportunity for engineering students to participate fully in the liberal arts education offered by UNC. Studying perspectives from disciplines outside engineering is key for preparing the next generation of engineering leaders.