Ethan Frey is a fourth-year undergraduate senior majoring in materials science and engineering.
Tell us what drew you to MSE. Did you initially have a different path in mind and changed to MSE, or was MSE your first pick from the start?
During my junior year of high school, I took AP Chemistry with Dr. Kat Cooper. In the lab, we used a bunsen burner to create a flame and tested putting different salts before the flame. Upon heating, the electrons in atoms would be excited to a higher energy state and, upon relaxation, emit a different wavelength of light depending on the atom. Some salts would change the flame to blue, while others would change it to bright pink. Using different salts to change a flame’s color fascinated me; we could use science to directly change the physical world before us. The extent to which we can change our physical world is limited only by our creativity and cleverness. This motivated me to take many other chemistry courses offered at my high school: Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, and Polymer Chemistry. I also took a class called “Research in Chemistry” with Dr. Michael Bruno, where I had the freedom to plan and execute a fully independent research project developing novel membranes for redox flow batteries.
These experiences made it clear to me that I wanted chemistry to be an integral part of my career. However, I also wanted to have a direct impact on the lives of others. I didn’t want to study a niche fundamental chemistry topic that was interesting to me but useless to anyone else. Materials science and engineering seemed like the perfect career path for me because it would allow me to both explore the interesting science fundamentals that fascinated me as well as how these fundamentals could be used to engineer functional devices that directly impact society.
“MSE seemed like the perfect career path for me because I could explore science fundamentals that fascinated me and learn how they engineer functional devices that directly impact society.”
Ethan Frey
Describe your time in MSE. Include favorite projects, classes, professors, and advisors.
My favorite part of MSE at NC State has been undergraduate research. I have worked in the Dickey research group for nearly four years, starting the summer before my freshman year at NC State. I joined the group because it is centered around one highly unique material, eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn). EGaIn, unlike most metals we observe in daily life, is liquid at room temperature. This gives it compelling applications in stretchable electronics, soft robotics, and many other fields, some of which are still yet to be explored. My main project has been working on using a laser to fabricate patterns of a liquid metal-graphene composite that has potential applications in stretchable electronics or as a porous electrode. This project and the others I have worked on in the Dickey group have repeatedly tested my knowledge of scientific concepts, helping me grow as a materials science engineer in unimaginable ways. I often think I fully understand a topic in the classroom but quickly notice gaps in my understanding when testing those concepts in the lab. Dr. Michael Dickey and Sooik Im, the graduate student I work with, have been incredibly supportive throughout my undergraduate research experience, offering valuable mentorship and showing me the excitement of research.
Outside of research, I have deeply enjoyed my senior design project on additive manufacturing as, similar to undergraduate research, it gives a hands-on experience that you simply cannot capture in a classroom. Prior to the project, I had very little knowledge about additive manufacturing. However, I am now beginning to grasp basic concepts, such as the effect of powder properties and laser parameters on printed part quality, and learn widely applicable skills regarding characterization techniques.
Dr. Franky So’s elective on microelectronic materials (taught by his post-doc) was my favorite MSE class. Fabricating structures on the micro or nanoscale is deeply intriguing to me. It is quite simple to build complex structures with our hands in the macro world, but building them on the nanoscale is an entirely new challenge. I am interested in exploring this field further in graduate school.
Describe how you anticipate incorporating MSE in your future (job, hobbies, volunteer work, mentoring, research, publications, graduate school, etc.)
After graduation, I plan to pursue my Ph.D. in MSE, continuing my research on soft materials or exploring a new field related to batteries or innovative nanomanufacturing techniques. I believe these fields will make significant breakthroughs in the coming years, and I would love to play a part in them. Beyond graduate school, I am interested in working in industry where I can help develop a technology that reaches the hands of everyday people.
Describe the accomplishment you are most proud of.
My proudest accomplishment would be publishing my research project on the laser fabrication of a liquid metal-graphene composite as a co-first author. I have worked tirelessly on this project for the past year and learned countless lessons about the research process along the way. Prior to this project, I would get quite frustrated if an experiment didn’t go as expected. However, I have since learned to find the successes in the failures. Almost every time an experiment fails, that failure demonstrates a new direction the project can be taken or offers an insight into better understanding your system. Science is science; an experiment doesn’t fail because the science isn’t working. More than likely, it fails because your understanding of the science was incorrect, and you need to learn to adapt your understanding. Publishing this research would be really special to me both because of the work I personally have put into it and all the help I have received along the way from my graduate student mentor Sooik, PI Dr. Dickey, and lab mates.
What is your favorite or the coolest thing about MSE?
The coolest thing about MSE to me is how widely applicable it is. Everything is made of a material, whether it be your shirt, toilet paper, or phone. Often, the technology’s functionality and durability are limited by the material from which it is made. As a result, engineering a new material can simultaneously advance numerous technologies. The idea that the material I develop in the lab has the potential to impact the lives of everyday people, limited only by my creativity and work ethic, is inspiring and uplifting. This is what has driven my passion for MSE since high school.
Share a fun fact or your favorite memory at NC State. Feel free to include your extracurricular activities. Be creative! This is your space to shine.
My favorite memory was in April of 2022, when Liquid Rocketry Lab, a non-profit organization I am a part of, completed a successful cold flow of their test stand. Liquid Rocketry Lab’s pilot project is to be the first collegiate team to launch a liquid-fueled rocket past the Karman line, the well-regarded boundary between earth’s atmosphere and outer space (100 km in altitude). To achieve this goal, the first step is to build a test stand for testing our rocket engine and ensure we can achieve stable combustion and sufficient force output. In April 2022, the team successfully built half of this test stand and performed a cold flow, running water (instead of fuel) through the test stand at 1000 psi to ensure it operated as intended. At the time, I had just joined the team and, to be honest, did not even know what a cold flow was at first. However, seeing multiple valves be remotely opened and closed to control the flow of 1000 psi of nitrogen was a massive engineering feat that was amazing to witness. I have since become fascinated with rockets and space travel, working on these topics through LRL and the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) club. I hope to play some role in the aerospace industry in my future career path.
Thanks so much for your time! If someone wants to stay in touch, how can they reach you?
You’re so welcome! Thank you for your time, and if anyone wants to reach me after graduation, they can email me at ethanfrey729@gmail.com.
