The 2012 ASTM International Graduate Scholarship has been awarded to Michael P. Manahan Jr., a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.

The objective of the ASTM scholarship program is to enhance a student’s knowledge, understanding and application of ASTM International and its standards. The ASTM Graduate Scholarship rewards graduate students (master’s or doctoral) who have demonstrated high levels of interest in or involvement with ASTM standards.

A National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program fellow, Manahan is currently completing his doctoral research in the alternative energy field (automotive and renewable energy storage) under Professor Matthew M. Mench, who recently transferred to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he is the condra chair of excellence in energy storage and conversion and a professor of mechanical and chemical engineering.

Manahan received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Grove City College, Grove City, Pa., in 2008, and his master’s in mechanical engineering from Penn State in 2010. He has been a graduate assistant in the Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion Laboratory since 2009.

A student member of ASTM International, Manahan co-wrote the peer-reviewed article, “Percent Shear Area Determination in Charpy Impact Testing,” which was published in the Journal of ASTM International in 2008. Recommendations from the paper were presented to ASTM Subcommittee E28.07 on Impact Testing, part of ASTM Committee E28 on Mechanical Testing, in 2009. 

After completion of his Ph.D., Manahan hopes to become a professor at a major research university, where he will emphasize the importance of standards. “ASTM International standards are certainly important today, but equally important is the training and education of the next generation in the use, development and application of these standards,” says Manahan. 

In addition to ASTM, Manahan is a student member of ASME and a member of the Electrochemical Society, the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society and Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society.

For more information about ASTM International’s student membership, scholarships and other academic activities, visit the Student and Professors section of the ASTM Web site (www.astm.org/studentmember).

ASTM PR Contact: Erin K. Brennan, Phone: 610-832-9602; ebrennan@astm.org

Release #9239