It’s a day like any other. Your classmate turns to you and asks “Do you want to make a sword?”
For materials science and engineering majors Brian Ridenour, Quinlin Meyer, Julia Greteman and Carsen Cartledge, the answer is an enthusiastic yes.
Brian Ridenour, the team’s leader and a junior in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, discovered the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society’s Bladesmithing competition just months before it set to take place. The competition is held every other year to allow students as much time as possible to develop their blades, which can be a lengthy process.
The team was the first from ASU to compete, which caught the attention of their advisor, Associate Professor Sefaattin Tongay, chair of the undergraduate materials science and engineering program in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, one of the seven Fulton Schools at ASU.