Scholar Profiles

SoLII Scholar Spotlight - Patrick Lynch, Fall 2023
Alfred University, Glass Engineering

Growing up, Patrick was interested in electronics, and experimenting and creating things like circuits and solar grids. Today he is turning that passion for engineering into his future, and is currently a senior at Alfred University where he is studying glass engineering.  

Since accepting the full-tuition Stay on Long Island Initiative (SoLII) Scholarship to Alfred University in 2023, Patrick has excelled at his new institution, being named the winner of the 2024 Alfred R. Cooper Young Scholars Award, given by the Glass and Optical Materials Division of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS). He was chosen for the award based on his work on accelerated structural relaxation of chalcogenide glasses.  

He intends to take his experience in infrared optical materials to the semiconductor industry, and is already in talks with a potential employer here on Long Island for a position after he graduates in May of 2025. He also plans on furthering his education with a graduate degree in material science and engineering from Stony Brook University.  

While at Suffolk County Community College, Patrick was a Get There From Here scholar where he volunteered at Unity Day, the Robert Moses Beach Clean-Up, and as a tour guide at the College’s Open House. 

“I’m very thankful for the opportunity SCCC provided to me, nothing I have accomplished would’ve been possible without it. My experience at Alfred University has been above and beyond anything I could’ve imagined. Everyone from my professors up to the president of the school are very involved in the student body. As an engineering student, I know that hands on experience is very valuable to employers. At Alfred, everyone gets training on multiple different analysis techniques and instruments with the option to use the equipment whenever you’d like. Personally, I have been involved in professor Myungkoo Kang’s advanced optical ceramics group, where we have published two peer-reviewed scientific papers with a third under review.” 

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