TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Cherqueta R. Claiborn, a graduate student at The University of Alabama in metallurgical and materials engineering, recently received the 2004 Mary R. Norton Memorial Scholarship for Women Award from ASTM International. Claiborn is the first UA student and the first woman in the state of Alabama to receive this international honor.

Claiborn, a native of Hope Hull, is researching how welding parameters affect the microstructure and properties of resistance spot welded galvannealed steel. Her thesis is under the supervision of Dr. Viola L. Acoff, professor of metallurgical and materials engineering.

“Cherqueta deserved this award because of the hard work and dedication she has shown in her first year of graduate school. I nominated her for this award because I know that she will continue to make valuable contributions to the field of metallurgical and materials engineering,” said Acoff.

The award was established in 1975 by ASTM International to encourage women, college seniors, and first-year graduate students to pursue the study of physical metallurgy or materials science. ASTM International was founded in 1898 and is one of the largest voluntary standards development organizations in the world.

In 1837, UA became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering, with about 1,900 students and more than 95 faculty, is one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country and has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.