Friday, March 1, 2002Volume 2, Issue 4
Director's Message
This issue of eMaterials at Penn State is inaugurating a regular feature to be called "MRI Faculty Spotlight". The goal is to familiarize others on and off campus with the activities of individual faculty, and to open the door to new collaborations and programs. We hope you will find this of value.
MRI Faculty Spotlights are located at http://www.mri.psu.edu/FacultySpotlights
Regards,
Carlo Pantano
MRI Faculty Spotlight
Vin Crespi, Associate Professor of Physics, is part of a growing number of materials researchers across campus that spend virtually all of their research effort simulating new and existing materials at the atomic scale using sophisticated computer code. His current research includes three different emphases: nanotubes, metastable semiconductor alloys and 3-dimensionally confined magnetic systems. In many cases, he aims to stay one step ahead of the experimentalists, predicting new materials before they have been synthesized.
For the full story go to:
http://www.mri.psu.edu/articles/VinCrespi/
MRI Awards for Student Research
This year, MRI is initiating the "MRI Awards for Student Research" to replace the former Xerox Awards. Please take the time to nominate one of your students, whether they are (or will not be) on campus April 15.
These awards will be presented at the First Annual "Materials Day" on April 15, 2002 at the Nittany Lion Inn (10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.). All faculty and students in the Penn State Materials Community will be invited to attend. This event will include a buffet lunch and faculty research highlights. Please plan to attend.
The criteria for the awards can be found at http://www.mri.psu.edu/ematerials/v02i04/Poster.pdf
The nomination form can be found at http://www.mri.psu.edu/ematerials/v02i04/Nomination_form.pdf
Materials Simulation Center
With financial support from the Army Research Office, Penn State recently created the Materials Simulation Center (http://www.msc.psu.edu) under the direction of Dr. Jorge Sofo. MSC hardware consists of an ultra fast parallel computer with 100 nodes. Specialized software is available for use by anyone interested. The center will be dedicated to education, research, promotion, training, coordination and consulting on issues related to materials simulation. A major goal is to bring the benefits of materials simulation to experimentalists across campus.
Call for Papers on Wear & Tribology
The 39th Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science, hosted by the Engineering Science and Mechanics Department and dedicated to the understanding of wear and tribology, will be held October 14 - 16, 2002 at Penn State University, University Park, PA. As such, a Call for Papers on Wear & Tribology has been announced. The deadline for submission of abstracts is May 13, 2002.
Materials Seminars
Tuesday, March 12, 2002Location: 140 Fenske LaboratoryTuesday, March 12, 2002
Title: Novel Mechanisms in Biological Adhesion
Speaker: Deborah E. Leckband, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Location: 22 Deike BldgThursday, March 14, 2002
Title: Intriguing Issues in Soft Matter Physics: Irrational Self-Assembly and Anchoring Transitions in Liquid Crystals
Speaker: Mohan Srinivasarao - Georgia Tech
Location: S5 Osmond
Title: Supercritical Solvents, A Solute's Perspective
Speaker: Mark Maroncelli, Penn State
New Funding Opportunities
Environmental Futures Research in Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology - Environmental Protection Agency
- Environmentally Benign Manufacturing and Processing
- Remediation/Treatment
- Sensors
- Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology
