Tim and Steve talked with Dr. Paul Krajewski, the Director of Materials and Manufacturing Research at the General Motors Global Research and Development Center, about sustainability at GM, his work, what he looks for in hiring, and much more. He even talks to us about his STEAM interests and the books he has written for kids.

BIO

Dr. Paul E. Krajewski is the Director of Materials and Manufacturing Research at the General Motors Global Research and Development Center. Paul also represents GM as the USCAR Council Member and as the Technical Director for HRL Laboratories. Dr. Krajewski is a global expert in vehicle lightweighting and lightweight materials and manufacturing. He received his Bachelors and Doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan. He has led production implementations with aluminum, magnesium, and carbon fiber composites including body panels on the 2014 Corvette Stingray. Dr. Krajewski has 80 publications and has been awarded 81 US Patents. He has been recognized by Fortune Magazine (40 under 40) and MIT’s Technology Review (TR100) as a leading innovator, and is a Fellow of ASM International. He has appeared as a subject matter expert on the History Channel's Modern Marvels Aluminum Program and won numerous automotive industry innovation awards. He was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2020. Paul has also published three children’s STEM / STEAM books entitled “What's In Your Car”, " What's In Your Body", and "What's In Your Plane".

Book Website - https://periodictablebooks.com/

Link to GMR&D’s website https://www.gm.com/research

Link to job openings at GM https://search-careers.gm.com/en/jobs/

The YouTube video can be found here:
https://youtu.be/y75UqJXN1ds

Our YouTube channel can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials

This episode is sponsored by the TMS Foundation and the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Steve and Tim talk with Professor Rob Beck at the University of Michigan. Rob and Steve teach a joint course combining MSE with Archaeology & Anthropology to teach materials engineering students about the humanities and to teach humanities students about engineering. The course is called "Making Things: Three Million Years of Materials and Culture". It is based on work that Kevin Jones (see podcast episode S1E8) did in his Impact of Materials on Society project. This version was reworked with Archaeology instead of the Sociology. We discuss all aspects of the course, including many tangents into the wild world of materials history and culture!

You can find our more about Rob here:
https://lsa.umich.edu/anthro/people/faculty/archaeological-faculty/rabeck.html

The article about Rob's work in Cahokia that he talks about at the end of the podcast can be found here (highly recommended reading):
https://lsa.umich.edu/lsa/news-events/lsa-magazine/lsa-magazine-archive/spring-2025/notes-from-underground.html

Rob is also Curator of the UM Museum of Anthropological Archaeology: https://lsa.umich.edu/ummaa

You can find a video where Rob and Steve talk about the course for a virtual talk they presented on the meaning of social learning here:
https://youtu.be/osBdpU5VA_s

A video introducing the course from a few years ago can be found here:
https://youtu.be/e82iosMorBo

The YouTube video can be found here:
https://youtu.be/nxeVc67cLkk

Our YouTube channel can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials

This episode is sponsored by the TMS Foundation and the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).

Tim and Steve interview Dr. Tricia Nguyen about her career in textiles that evolved from her degrees in Materials Science & Engineering. She currently owns and operates a historical embroidery company, Thistle Threads: https://thistle-threads.myshopify.com/pages/about-us . If you're interested in learning more, you can even take classes in historical needlework projects at her online university! https://thistle-threads.thinkific.com/ . We also discuss the implications of her research for STEM education and how we can engage more women in STEM careers.

The YouTube video can be found here:
https://youtu.be/BkTVetZBhv0

Our YouTube channel can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/@Undercooled.Materials

This episode is sponsored by the University of Michigan Materials Science and Engineering department (https://mse.engin.umich.edu).