Marybeth Parker (BS/MSE, ’11) took a less traditional route after she graduated from the University of Tennessee with her bachelor’s degree in materials science. Instead of heading straight to graduate school, Parker asked UT advisors if it was possible to do a cooperative education (co-op) experience with a company to gain more clarity about what topic area she wanted to pursue in grad school.
Parker spent five months working as an intern at Eastman Chemical Company in the pipes and vessels materials group.
“That’s where I discovered that corrosion science was a really good fit for me,” Parker said. “I had a fantastic mentor there who connected me with the professor I ended up choosing for my PhD advisor at the University of Virginia. I discovered that studying corrosion and electrochemistry joined my strong interest in chemistry with my educational background in materials science.”
The opportunity set Parker on the path to become a materials research engineer at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Center for Corrosion Science and Engineering, where Parker specializes in advanced materials, galvanic compatibility, and the many ways corrosion directly impacts Navy asset design, availability, and sustainability.
In January, Parker was among 400 scientists and engineers to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for her research on the ways corrosion directly impacts Navy assets. The PECASE is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers.
“It’s an incredible honor. It’s not something that I was expecting or working towards. It’s not something that I had been actively pursuing. The award came as a surprise, a very nice surprise,” Parker said. “It was exciting to be able to represent my team at NRL and my field of work at this level.”
Parker’s joy was amplified by the support of her colleagues, especially several early career colleagues in her branch who came by her office to congratulate her.
“Corrosion isn’t a flashy topic and doesn’t often get attention on the national stage,” Parker said. “It was really rewarding to see young people in our group be inspired by that and see that the work we do is worthy of recognition at this level.”
Impactful research
Parker was a critical member of an NRL team that conducted the most substantial assessment of marine corrosion alloy behavior since the 1980s. She analyzed 33 alloys over multi-year experiments to address longstanding technical gaps in corrosion science, material performance, and material compatibility. Notably, she assessed the impact of cathodic ennoblement on crevice corrosion initiation in many highly alloyed corrosion resistant materials. Her findings were in direct contrast to conventionally assumed immunity for these alloys in seawater.
In her work on galvanic compatibility of marine materials, Parker provided the foundational data used to quantify material interactions as well as design guidance to prevent deleterious effects. The data has since been called upon by several naval ship construction programs to evaluate designs and provide the basis for specification requirements for future designs of Navy ships.
“I enjoy working at NRL because I get to solve challenging and impactful problems, but the best part is definitely the team of scientists and engineers I get to work with every day,” Parker said. “My group at NRL is an incredibly effective and supportive team and working here has made me a stronger researcher and a stronger person.”
Strong Volunteer background
Raised in Greeneville, Tennessee, Parker seemed destined to study engineering and attend UT. Her grandfather did his masters work at the UT Space Institute and her parents graduated from UT with engineering degrees.
Parker was enrolled in the Cook Grand Challenge Honors Program within TCE and took a piece of advice she received during one of her freshman classes to heart.
“Our professor told us that our experience at UT would be as good as we wanted to make it,” Parker said. “He told us that we had so many resources available to us, and that the more we put into our education and our experience, the more we would get out of our time at UT. I found that to be really true.”
Outside of the classroom at UT, Parker took part in internships and undergraduate research to find out what sparked her passion. She still keeps several UT textbooks in her office and draws on things she learned in her classes in her everyday work.
Professors, faculty, and advisors like MSE Professor Claudia Rawn taught Parker how to be a researcher with integrity and how to respectfully interact with colleagues.
“I had great role models at UT to show me how to be an effective researcher and a good mentor, and that’s something that I still lean on today,” Parker said. “It makes me want to approach mentorship with the same generosity I was given as I help guide young scientists and engineers now.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, [email protected])