CGIF News

CGIF kit grant recipient has “concrete” project ideas

October 17, 2022

Students watch with glee as their homemade concrete pucks fall to their fateful end on the ground below. Some of the pucks survive in one piece; others are not so lucky. But it’s all a part of the lesson today. Steve Smith, 11th grade chemistry teacher at Animas High School in Durango, Colorado, looks on…

Read More

ScholarSHPE recipient builds his future as a civil engineer

October 5, 2022

It’s the last evening of Jose Tabarez’s three-week study abroad trip to Peru, yet he joins our Zoom call with punctuality and an air of professionalism. As a first generation honors college student and recent CGIF and ACerS scholarship recipient, Tabarez approaches his education with a passion that drives him to seize as many opportunities…

Read More

ScholarSHPE recipient is making her medical research dreams come true

October 5, 2022

While many children with an itch for hands-on activity reach for LEGOs or Lincoln Logs, a young Lilly Garcia often opted for building IKEA furniture, according to her mom Chris Garcia. Originally from Arizona, Lilly grew up with a competitive spirit and a high-performance mindset—which could be why she grew up building furniture instead of…

Read More

CGIF funds international outreach in Brazil

September 26, 2022

Tucked between sloping hills in a rural, southeast sector of Brazil, children in the municipal Maripá de Minas dream of becoming veterinarians and farmers. Many don’t think of pursuing a higher education, likely because they don’t know what opportunities await them in Brazil or beyond.  Isabella Loureiro Muller Costa, a third year Ph.D. candidate in…

Read More

Registration for Winter Workshop 2023 Now Open!

September 20, 2022

Winter Workshop is back in-person for 2023, and they event has been re-imagined to make it even more affordable for students! The Winter Workshop will take place January 20 – 22 January 2023 at Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, USA. This event is sponsored by The American Ceramic Society and…

Read More

CGIF scholarship recipient doesn’t give up on his goals — or his family

August 29, 2022

Beaming in front of a royal blue curtain on the Zoom call, one can’t help but think of a magician when speaking with CGIF scholarship recipient Devon Woodfine. A quick glance upon his impressive email signature implies that he really is a magician, or perhaps Woodfine has simply mastered the art of being the hardest…

Read More

CGIF board member invests in the younger generation

July 28, 2022

To many, a sign that reads ‘Refractories are the nucleus of industry’, doesn’t mean much, but to Bryn Snow, Director of application technology at refractories supplier HarbisonWalker International, it represents the importance of materials science for future generations.  “It is a powerful statement. Often we also say that refractories are the hidden industry and refractories…

Read More

CGIF’s Immediate Past Chair demonstrates how giving is good for others – but also yourself

July 28, 2022

Giving is good. Societally we have high expectations for those who are well off. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Daddy Warbucks. We tend to imagine that giving should be left to people with more than most — important people in grand offices, wearing fancy suits, and driving expensive cars. Dr. Mary Stevenson would be the first…

Read More

CGIF Kit Grant recipients help increase diversity in STEM

July 25, 2022

Students patiently wait their turn to try out the pyrometer in the lab at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMN). It’s not every day they get to learn about hot temperatures with a radiation tool that looks like a laser gun. Later on during the field trip, they’ll also get to witness the unfurling…

Read More

Physics professor uses CGIF kit to inspire students

July 7, 2022

It’s summer vacation and you’re 15 years old, excited to take a break from school and go to a sports camp with your friends. But mom has different plans and sends you to a science camp at a local college. Moping around on your phone, daydreaming about sports camp—until the sound of breaking glass catches…

Read More