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Student Workshop: How to Jump Start Your MSE Career
April 5 @ 8:30 am – 10:00 am
Current MSE undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students
This event is hosted in collaboration with the NC State Career Development Center and the NC State Chapter of Material Advantage.
Continental Breakfast
8:30 am – 9:00 am
Hunt IEI, Room 4105 + 4107
Students are invited to have bagels and coffee before attending the workshop.
MSE Alumni Panel
9:00 am – 10:00 am
Hunt IEI, Room 4106
Learn from a panel of MSE alumni about the diversity of career paths in industry, academia, and research and how to jump-start your own career with an MSE degree.
Meet the Panelists
Anand Tanikella, Ph.D. (1996)
Worldwide V-P of R & D, Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions
Anand Tanikella is currently the worldwide Vice President of R&D for Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions based in Massachusetts, USA. Anand joined Saint-Gobain in 1996 as a Senior Research Engineer in Saint-Gobain’s North American R&D Center in Northborough, MA in the Boston area. He held various positions with increasing responsibilities during the past 26 years, conducting breakthrough R&D in technologies related to Ceramics, Abrasives, Plastics and various Construction materials. He is experienced in technology management, bringing out profitable innovations and passionate about influencing the impact of engineering education on industrial innovation.
Anand received a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering and Precision Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1996 and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from SRKR Engineering College, Andhra University, India and was the university gold medalist (1st Rank). Anand is also an honoree of NC State University college of engineering hall of fame. Anand has authored numerous international journal publications and holds over 18 patent families with several in process.
Steven Lofy (B.S. 2015)
Materials Engineering Corrosion and Wear Team Lead, NAVAIR-FRCE
Steven Lofy is the ‘Materials Engineering Corrosion and Wear Team Lead’ for Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE). As the Corrosion and Wear Team Lead he works with specialty coatings and coating removal technologies, including paint schemes and the use of Laser technology, respectively. While working at NAVAIR, Steven earned his Master’s degree in Systems Engineering, however, he originally graduated from North Carolina State University (Go Pack!) with a bachelor’s degree in Material Science and Engineering. Prior to his positions at NAVAIR, he started out as a Material Science and SMILE Camp Instructor at NCSU. Steven says thanks to his background in Material Science and Engineering he gets to travel the world solving corrosion and coating issues alike, while generating combat air power for America’s Marines and Naval Forces.
Jessica Nash, Ph.D (2017)
Senior Research Scientist, The Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI) at Virginia Tech University
Jessica Nash is a Senior Research Scientist at The Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI) at Virginia Tech University. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2012, followed by a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from NC State University in 2017. At MolSSI, Dr. Nash specializes in developing open-source software for molecular and materials science research. She leads the Descriptor Libraries Project in collaboration with the Center for Computer-Assisted Synthesis, aimed at enhancing access to molecular libraries for synthetic chemists. Dr. Nash also directs the Institute’s Education program, leading the development of tutorials and workshops focused on programming and software development for scientific researchers. Additionally, she is an adjunct faculty member at UC Berkeley for the Master of Molecular Science and Software Engineering (MSSE) program, where she teaches courses that blend computer programming and software engineering with molecular science applications.
Brent Neal, Ph.D. (B.S. 1996)
Regional Technical Manager, AkzoNobel – Wood Coatings North America
Brent Neal currently leads the North American R&D organization for a business unit of AkzoNobel, a leader in the coatings industry. Previously, he led the core materials characterization facility and research & development in multiple areas for Milliken and Company. Brent completed his bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University in 1996 followed by a Ph.D. in Physics from Louisiana State University in 2002.
Brent is a North Carolina-based scientist and technical leader with a focus in innovation processes, R&D organizational performance, and materials characterization. Dr. Neal has degrees in materials science and physics, but he’s worked in a variety of technical fields, including coatings chemistry and polymer science. His 20+ years of industry experience have been spread over various parts of the building, construction, and infrastructure markets as well as the specialty chemicals/materials markets. The basis of his approach starts with measurement, then builds teams to deliver innovation to the market.
James Peerless, Ph.D. (2019)
Senior AI Product Manager, Citrine Informatics
James Peerless is the Senior AI Product Manager at Citrine Informatics, driving innovation and product excellence in the rapidly evolving field of AI. With nearly a decade of experience at the nexus of AI/ML, Materials Science, and Chemistry, James combines a strong academic foundation with industry experience . He received his PhD in Materials Science from North Carolina State University, concentrating on computational methods under Dr. Yara Yingling. This strong academic foundation has been complemented by industrial experience as a Process and Applications Engineer in polymer thin films and as a Data Scientist applying machine learning techniques to chemical and materials R&D. His rich skill set encompasses machine learning, polymer chemistry, materials science, and scientific programming.