2026 Student Night CWBA & AWS Joint Meeting

Join us for CWBA and AWS Student Night featuring dinner, student awards, technical presentations, and industry networking. Join the CWBA & AWS for Student Night, an evening of dinner, networking, student awards, and technical presentations showcasing emerging research in welding and materials engineering. Hear presentations from student researchers, celebrate student achievement, and connect with industry professionals, educators, and members of Alberta's welding community. Whether you are a student, engineer, technologist, inspector, fabricator, or welding professional, this event offers an opportunity to learn about current research, support emerging talent, and expand your professional network. This event is proudly co-hosted with our friends from the American Welding Society Alberta Section. -All Students qualify for the door prize. -University of Alberta Main Campus ECERF W2-090/110 • Reception at 5:30 pm • Dinner at 6:00 pm • Presentations at 6:30 pm -Presentations regarding Student Membership opportunities from both AWS and CWBA. The cost is $20.00 for Members, $25.00 for Non-Members, and $10 for Students. All members of ASM, ASME, AWS, CWA, NACE, and SME will be charged as members. Presentation Topic: Assessment of phase transformation temperatures for modeling of Welding and Additive Manufacturing Presented By: Nitheesh Kumar Bio: Nitheesh Kumar is an MSc student in Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta (UofA), working with the Canadian Centre for Welding and Joining (CCWJ). He holds an undergraduate degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. He is also the president of the University of Alberta CWBA/AWS student chapter. Nitheesh’s master’s research focuses on characterizing the uncertainty in thermophysical properties for modeling welding and additive manufacturing. He was also actively engaged in research at the CCWJ Laser Cladding facility. Nitheesh has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed publications on electrochemical analysis and modeling of welding, laser beam characterization, and mechanism of hot cracking. Apart from academics, Nitheesh is a FIDE rated chess player and enjoys playing cricket. Presentation Topic: Measurement of Flux Mass in Flux-Cored Welding Wires by Two Methods Presented By: Samson Nellickappillil Samson Nellickappillil is a fourth-year Chemical Engineering student at the University of Alberta. He joined the Canadian Centre for Welding and Joining (CCWJ) in the summer of 2025. His current research quantifies the flux content of commercial flux-cored wire, comparing direct mass measurement with cross-section image analysis to determine the flux mass fraction needed for flux-cored arc welding mass and energy balances. He is also actively engaged in research on Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) within the CCWJ and is the current treasurer for the 2026 Student Chapter. Outside of academics, Samson enjoys staying active through running, hiking, and playing soccer.