Drexel Materials Juniors Participate in TMS Competitions

A group of Drexel Materials students attended the TMS 2015 Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Orlando, FL in March to showcase the Drexel bladesmithing team’s first sword and to participate in a “Materials Bowl” trivia competition.

Juniors David Freiberg, Ziyin Huang, Will McDonnell, Christine Palmer, and Travis Weiss, as well as pre-law junior Caelyn Palmer formed The Iron Dragons, the Drexel bladesmithing team in fall 2014, advised by Professors Richard Knight and Mitra Taheri. After several weeks of hard work, the team produced their first sword.

The Iron Dragons began their research during the fall 2014 quarter and presented on the history and science of blacksmithing in MATE 366, Processing of Metallic Materials. In January 2015, the team was trained in forging and began work on forging a sword under the supervision of Nick Iyers of Hot Metal Alliance (formerly known as the Carbon Collective). Heat treatment and characterization were performed with the help of Mark Shiber from the Drexel University Machine Shop, members of the Dynamic Characterization Group, the MAX/MXene Research Group, and the Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Group. The oil used for the quenching of the blade was generously donated by Shake Shack in University City.  The team produced a characterization report, poster, and a video (see above; video credit:  Peter Fox) showing the process that went into making the blade for the competition.

The team attended other technical sessions and student events during the conference. David Freiberg, Ziyin Huang, Will McDonnell, and Christine Palmer, members of Material Advantage, also participated in the Materials Bowl, representing Drexel Materials in the “Jeopardy”-style knowledge and trivia competition.