With nearly 40 sections worldwide, the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) now has a home at Texas A&M University. The idea came to light when students working with faculty members in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering began meeting on a regular basis.
“The research groups working with Dr. Homero Castaneda and Dr. Raymundo Case met weekly to discuss technical corrosion research and developments,” said Arash Shadravan, president and founder and graduate student in materials science and engineering. “We also attended the 2017 NACE annual meeting which motivated us to start a chapter of this organization on our campus.”
At the meeting, Reece Goldsberry, member and chapter officer, competed in the undergraduate poster competition and earned the top spot out of 160 accepted posters.
“It was so exciting to attend the NACE annual meeting and have one of our members receive the best undergraduate poster award,” said Shadravan. “This was the largest turnout ever and even more exciting, was to have an Aggie earn the award during such a competitive contest.”
The mission of NACE at Texas A&M is to be the preeminent community for disseminating knowledge, enhancing skills and expanding the professional networks of corrosion control and asset protection of future professionals.
“We provide our members with the seed for research ideas and prepare them to work at various industries and academia to reduce the cost of corrosion estimated by NACE as 2.5 trillion dollars annually worldwide,” said Shadravan. “Last spring, we extended our efforts to the Bryan/College Station community to raise awareness of the value of corrosion research.”
NACE international offers opportunity for members at all levels to build the foundation for success in their future careers, receive educational resources and remain up-to-date with the latest news in the industry. Members may also connect with peers, industry professionals and potential employers at trainings, annual meetings and other events.
“A couple weeks ago, our chapter organized a Career Fair Preparation Workshop involving six departments and more than 46 Ph.D. students,” said Shadravan. “It was so exciting to see peers from the College of Engineering and the College of Science come together to learn about taking control of their future careers.”