Skip to content
Cal Poly logo reverse
Twitter Facebook-f Instagram Vimeo

Corrosion Research Fuels Growing Club on Campus

AMPP adviser and Materials Engineering Department lecturer Ryan Smith introduced club members to the potentiostat, a powerful tool to analyze corrosion, during a recent meeting. Above, he sets up the hardware to run the machine, observed by MATE students, from left, Josh Venz, Nick Amarasinghe, Marcus Hawley and Jacob Reed.

One club in the College of Engineering is all about corrosion, and industry professionals couldn’t be happier.

Materials engineering graduate Kiran Lochun served as president of the Association for Materials Protection and Performance last year. During his term, he helped the club grow exponentially.

“There are a lot of jobs in corrosion, and companies have a vested interest in making sure materials engineering students at Cal Poly graduate with a knowledge of corrosion,” said Kiran Lochun, materials engineering graduate and past president of the Association for Materials Protection and Performance.

Cal Poly’s student chapter is one of the oldest in the worldwide organization, formerly known as the National Association of Corrosion Engineers. Members gather weekly, host experts in the field and undertake research projects, with a healthy budget that’s been bolstered by companies eager for data on corrosion control.

“Nearly all metals and some composites – including reinforced concrete, one of the most widely used materials in the world – undergo corrosion,” said Lochun, noting companies spend colossal sums on maintenance and repair due to corrosion.

The projects serve as an intermediate step between a MATE lab class and senior project, and they offer students a chance to ask and explore open-ended questions.

“We start with a problem we need to investigate or solve, then research the literature and set up an experiment using MATE knowledge,” Lochun explained.