MSE Ambassadors are current undergraduate students who assist with recruitment events, plan fun activities for students, and lead department tours. During a visit to campus, they are available to answer questions about their experiences with MSE.
Grace Chrisman
Hometown: Oak Ridge, TN
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2027
Reason I chose MSE: I chose MSE because I took a pottery class and a chemistry class at the same time, and it made me really curious about where they overlap. I asked enough questions to eventually lead to the field of materials science and engineering.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Materials Advantage Volunteer Chair
- Intern at Safire Technology Group
- Research in hybrid inorganic-organic perovskites under Dr. Bin Hu
Randi Gill
Hometown: Fort Lee, NJ
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2028
Reason I chose MSE: I chose MSE because materials are the foundation of our world. Materials science and engineering provide a really good mix of physics, chemistry, and engineering, as well as the hands-on aspect that I really enjoy.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Research in High-Entropy Steels under Dr. Eric Lass
- NSF IRES 2026: Food Science Research Program throughout 2026 under Dr. Michael Danquah
- Material Advantage Member
Camdyn Hamlin
Hometown: Ashland City, TN
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2029
Reason I chose MSE: After meeting a mentor who was a UT MSE alumnus at Governor’s School and learning more about the field, I became more interested by its blend of physics, chemistry, and real-world application. The people, the research, and the sense of possibility made it clear: MSE wasn’t just interesting, it was where I wanted to be.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Society of Women Engineers
- Material Advantage Member
- Chancellor’s Honors Program and Cooke Grand Challenge Program
Vincent Hefferen
Hometown: Gatlinburg, TN
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2029
Reason I chose MSE: I chose MSE after attending the Governor’s School for MSE in high school, where I discovered a love for the program.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Research in lost foam casting with Dr. Gilmer
Owen Hollis
Hometown: Columbia, TN
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2028
Reason I chose MSE: I enjoy learning about why things behave in certain ways, I like solving problems/helping people, and I wanted something interdisciplinary that allowed me a lot of options and opportunities in the world.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Pride of the Southland Marching Band
- Gift of Life campus ambassador
Callie Jee
Hometown: Whitinsville, MA
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2028
Reason I chose MSE: I chose MSE because of how applicable it is in real life, the chemistry components, and the hands-on experiences.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Material Advantage President
- Research in biodegradable polymer composites at the Center for Renewable Carbon at the Institute of Agriculture
- Society of Women Engineers member
Julia Jirka
Hometown: Mt. Juliet, TN
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2029
Reason I chose MSE: After attending Governor’s School for the Sciences and Engineering program at UT, I realized that materials science can apply to many different disciplines, but is more tailored to the ‘how’ and ‘why’ materials behave the way that they do. I ended up choosing MSE because it provided me flexibility in my future career and meets my interest in where science meets reality.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Army ROTC
- Tennessee Dragoons (ROTC Drill)
Kate Klemenswicz
Hometown: Bloomingdale, IL
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2028
Reason I chose MSE: I appreciate how many opportunities and different paths that you can go after graduation The entire department is also closeknit and helps your prepare for life after college.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Society of Women Engineers
- Materials Advantage Member
- EF Teaching Assistant
Will Locke
Hometown: Franklin, TN
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2028
Reason I chose MSE: I chose MSE because of its interdisciplinary nature and closeness to both pure research and practical engineering.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Materials Characterization Research
- Theta Tau member
Kathryn Prickett
Hometown: Lexington, SC
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2029
Reason I chose MSE: I chose MSE as my major because I have always been creative and I admire how this major encourages creativity and hands on work. I find the fact that there are different types of glues that serve different purposes extremely fascinating.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Pi Beta Phi member
Mary Redmore
Hometown: Binghamton, NY
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2028
Reason I chose MSE: I chose MSE because of its widespread application and how it blends many fields of engineering together!
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Alpha Omicron Pi member
- Theta Tau member
- Research in molecular dynamics simulations of deformation in high-entropy alloys under Dr. Zaeem
Findley Thomas
Hometown: Greensboro, NC
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2027
Reason I chose MSE: I chose MSE at UT for the great number of opportunities for research and resources available to me, even from my first year.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Undergraduate Research Assistant to Dr. Xu
Luke Wathen
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2026
Reason I chose MSE: I chose MSE because of a mentor from high school telling me that it was the best place to go because of my interest in metals and advanced material.
Extracurricular & Research Activities:
- Blacksmithing Club
- Intramural Tennis
Ambassador Alumni
Marlena Alexander (’26)
Fulbright in Stuttgart, Germany followed by PhD at Northwestern
Megan Gillespie (’26)
PhD at University of Wisconsin – Madison