Materials science and engineering faculty Marcus Young, assistant professor, and Rick Reidy, professor, are leading a team of College of Engineering student researchers to identify variations in superconductive wire processing.

The team is collaborating with Superconductor Technologies Inc., TECO-Westinghouse Motor Co. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Plasma Science and Fusion Center on a $4.5 million Department of Energy-funded project. The goal is to improve the manufacturing process of superconductive wires — therefore improving performance and reducing costs.