University of Tennessee
Materials Science & Engineering Department


α-Fe BCC Iron Man
Knoxville, TN, October 17, 2024



Prof. Kate Page invites the students in her Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering class in the MSE department at the University of Tennessee to combine their creativity with their scientific education. Students respond to this invitation with a wide variety of creative expressions ranging from poetry to sculpture. Here we focus on a sculpture by MSE undergraduate, Baylor Younker, incorporating the element iron (Fe) in three different ways. First, the body-centered cubic (BCC) crystallographic structure of Fe is showcased at the top of the sculpture.


Second, the sculpture is constructed of steel bolts, the vast majority of which is iron. Third, the figure in the sculpture takes the form of an athlete hosting a trophy and calls to mind the triumph of completing an Ironman triathalon.


As a finishing touch, Baylor added a plate that invokes the Processing-Structure-Property-Performance (PSPP) relationship, the paradigm for discovery in Materials Science & Engineering.

  • How a material is processed changes its atomic and microscale structure.
  • The structure of a material dictates its mechanical and electronic properties.
  • Material properties give rise to device or component performance.


More photos on the Keffer research group site.