Thompson named international scholar

Gregory Thompson, a UA assistant professor of metallurgical and materials engineering, has been chosen as the 2008 Minerals, Metals and Materials Society Young Leaders International Scholar.

As an International Scholar for the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, known as the TMS, Thompson will travel to Japan to speak at the Japanese Institute of Metals. There, Thompson said he will speak about the research being done at the UA Center for Materials for Information Technology using magnetic nanoparticles.

Thompson said he is very excited to be able to travel to Japan.

"Along with being able to present my research, I am also going to get to see the sights around Japan," Thompson said.

Thompson said he will be presenting his paper, "Mechanistic Formation and Composition Distribution in FePt Nanoparticles" at the Japanese Institute of Metals.

The Center for Materials for Information Technology is home to scientists, engineers and students who research various topics.

The Young Leaders Committee was formed by the TMS to promote international relations between the Japanese Institute of Metals and the TMS.

The committee was also formed to encourage younger members of the society to become involved. The honor is awarded to accomplished members of the TMS age 35 and younger.

"It is great how the program is geared towards helping younger members of the society with their careers, while also fostering international relations. We can get active in the society by going beyond just TMS," Thompson said.

The conference will last three days, and two additional days are set aside for the speakers to visit other laboratories, Thompson said. Thompson will be giving a seminar at one the laboratories he will be visiting, the National Institute for Material Sciences in Japan.

Thompson has also been awarded the TMS Young Leader Internship Award in 2005 and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award for $500,000 in 2006.

"I am very excited to be selected and to share the work done here at the University of Alabama," Thompson said.