Graduate Student Events

The TMS 2018 Annual Meeting & Exhibition is an ideal place for graduate students to create the professional networks essential to building a successful career. We encourage you to participate in all of the meeting’s student activities—which are designed for both graduate and undergraduate students—but we also encourage you to look to the next phase of your career by attending some of our young professional and TMS orientation activities.

Graduate and Undergraduate Student Activities

TMS2018 Materials Bowl
Date: Sunday, March 11
Elimination Rounds: Noon to 3:00 p.m.
Championship Round: 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. 
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Room 221ABC

Material Advantage chapters are invited to participate in the Materials Bowl, held each year at the TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition. Chapters select a team of two to four members to represent their school in a materials-themed knowledge and trivia competition. The team may consist of up to two graduate students. Teams compete in elimination rounds, a semi-final match, and championship game for cash prizes. Each member of the winning team receives $250, and the winning chapter receives $500. The second-place team receives $500 for their chapter. To participate in the 2018 competition, the student chapter chair or faculty advisor should submit a Materials Bowl application by December 15, 2017.

2018 TMS Technical Division Student Poster Contest
Date: Monday, March 12
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Hall CD

Students are invited to submit posters of their research related to each of the five TMS technical divisions: Extraction & Processing, Functional Materials, Light Metals, Materials Processing & Manufacturing, and Structural Materials. One winning graduate poster and one winning undergraduate poster will be selected in each technical division. Learn more about the contest rules and submit your abstract through ProgramMaster. Deadline to submit a poster abstract is December 15, 2017.

Student Career Forum
Date: Tuesday, March 13
Time: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Room 221A

"When should I start my job search?" "Should I continue to graduate school or begin my career?" "How important is networking to my career?" If you find yourself asking questions like these about your future, then you should attend the Student Career Forum. Organized by the TMS Young Professional Committee, this session will feature speakers from various stages of their careers and diverse materials science backgrounds to discuss how to navigate a successful career path in the fields of minerals, metals, and materials.

Four graduate students from Virginia Tech are organizing this special symposium, which will highlight effective leadership methods in order to enable students, as well as early-career and well-established professionals, to better pursue opportunities in leadership. Specifically, it aims to address the barriers to leadership perceived by students and early-career professionals and to equip current and future leaders with relevant tools to improve their own leadership abilities. The symposium will focus on empowering the audience with comprehensive insight into the multiple facets of leadership, allowing attendees to build their own leadership repertoires and incite change in leadership roles and techniques.

Organizers for this symposium include Emily Bautista, Mackenzie Jones, Thomas Maulbeck, and Rose Roberts of Virginia Tech.

Looking to earn some spending money during TMS2018? Consider applying to be a student monitor, where you will assist session chairs with room lighting, notify staff of audio/visual equipment problems, and take attendance.

Please Note: TMS will not be assigning sessions in advance of the meeting for TMS2018. Instead, student monitors are asked to review the list of sessions provided so that they are prepared to make their selections onsite. No assignments will be made in advance of the meeting.

The deadline to submit applications for student monitor positions in advance of the meeting has passed. However, you can still complete the application onsite to participate.

Instructions for Student Monitors

• Please review the student monitor responsibilities for TMS2018. ()

• Report to the Programming Support Desk located outside Hall E in the Phoenix Convention Center to complete the application form at 7:00 a.m. on the day you are available to monitor sessions.

• Review the TMS2018 Session List to be ready to select your session assignments onsite at TMS2018. ()

Young Professional Activities

Young Professional Workshop: Preparing a Winning Application Package to Find Your Future Job
Please note: Additional fees/registration required for this event.
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2018
Time: 8:30 a.m. to Noon
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Room 104A

In this three-hour workshop, instructors from a national laboratory, a university, and an industry will share their experiences in obtaining and/or recruiting entry-level positions (postdocs, tenure-track faculty positions, etc.). Learn more about this professional development workshop.

Meet a Mentor
Date: Monday, March 12
Time: 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Room 105C

Seasoned professionals representing a combination of academic, government and industry career backgrounds will lead small discussion groups of young professionals and students as they plan and embark on their professional materials science careers. Mentors from a variety of technical, career, and social backgrounds will be on hand to answer questions and provide guidance and advice to mentees. Each mentee may select three discussion groups to join during this 90-minute program. Sign up and make connections with mentors that will last beyond your time in Phoenix.

General topics to be discussed include:

• Transitioning from academia to career
• Finding a work and life balance
• Workplace communication
• Working in a new city or country
• Challenges for non-US citizens moving to/working in the US
• Benefits of professional membership

These are general topics that will be used in guiding the mentor discussion during the event. Mentees will also have ample opportunity to ask questions and seek guidance. 

If you would like to share your experience with early career professionals as a mentor at this event, please complete the Mentor Volunteer Sign-Up Form. If you are a graduate student or early career professional who would like to participate in this event as a mentee, please complete the Mentee Enrollment Form. Be sure to indicate which topic areas you would be most interested in discussing.

Young Professional Committee Meeting
Date: Tuesday, March 13
Time: 8:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.
Location: Sheraton Grand Phoenix, Encanto B

The mission of the Young Professionals Committee is to create opportunities and provide avenues for young professionals to increase their involvement in The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. This committee meeting is open to all TMS members, age 40 or younger, who have graduated or are currently pursuing advanced degrees.

Scientific Publishing Workshop: Excelling as an Author, Reviewer, or Editor
Date: Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Time: 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 105BC

Many scientists and engineers are expected to publish papers and contribute to the literature of their field as part of their careers. This session will begin by providing tips for developing and submitting publishable content to technical journals. For those who wish to dive a little deeper into the publishing process, this session will also look at the activities of serving as a reviewer and editor for technical journals. The session will conclude with a panel discussion that offers participants the opportunity to ask questions of a broad range of professionals active in scientific publishing. This comprehensive overview of the publishing process will benefit anyone who aspires to write for, review for, or edit a technical journal, as well as anyone already active in these roles.

This workshop is open to all TMS2018 attendees. There is no charge to attend.

Learn more.

TMS Orientation Activities

TMS101: Fundamentals of TMS
Date: Sunday, March 11 
Time: 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. 
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Room 121B
Speakers: Megan Cordill, Erich Schmid Institute; Jeffery Fergus, Auburn University; James C. Foley, Los Alamos National Laboratory and incoming TMS Vice President; Clarissa Yablinsky, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Want to get more involved in TMS, but don’t know where to start? Attend TMS 101: Fundamentals of TMS. This one-hour presentation will provide a brief overview of how TMS works and a concise, practical explanation of how you can get more involved in the society’s activities. Led by experienced TMS volunteers, TMS 101 will help you to take advantage of the many networking and professional development opportunities within the organization. This session is open to all TMS2018 attendees but will be especially valuable to new members, international members, and graduate students.

Attend a TMS Technical Committee Meeting
If you are interested in networking with professionals who work in your particular area of study, attending a TMS technical committee meeting is an excellent way to meet others with similar technical interests, while helping you to better understand TMS, how it works, and how it can benefit your career. More than 30 TMS technical committees from all five TMS technical divisions will hold committee meetings during TMS2018. These meetings are open to all meeting attendees. You do not have to RSVP to participate. A preliminary schedule of committee meetings can be found in the TMS2018 Attendee Toolbox. Find the one that best suits your technical interests and add it to your meeting calendar.

Don’t Forget Your Student ID!

Every student who registers for the TMS 2018 Annual Meeting & Exhibition at the student rate will be asked to show a valid student ID when they pick up their badges at the registration desk. This is the only way to make sure you receive the deeply discounted student attendee rate on the conference. So please—when you pack your bags for Phoenix, don’t forget to bring your student ID!