Wednesday, February 2, 2005Volume 5, Issue 1
4th Annual Materials Day
Wednesday, April 13, 2005, 4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.IST Building & ARL Building.
Thursday, April 14, 2005, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
HUB - Robeson
Wednesday Evening:
An industry oriented table-top exhibition, reception and a Keynote Speaker. A wide variety of companies will be invited to participate in the table-top exhibition
Thursday:
Plenary lectures from federal government & industry leaders on future material needs
Interactive poster session on PSU research programs
Buffet Lunch
Student & Post-Doctorate Research Awards
For more information visit mri.psu.edu/events/materialsday
Poster Research Awards
The MRI Student and Post-Doc Awards for outstanding accomplishments based on a published paper or thesis will be given out during the Materials Day Program on April 14th, 2005. Please take a moment to reflect on the students and post-docs in your area who might qualify. Poster awards are sponsored by industrial participation at Materials Day.
Nomination submission deadline for MRI Student and Post-Doc Awards is March 18, 2005
The criteria, eligibility requirements can be found at:
http://www.mri.psu.edu/ematerials/v05i01/Criteria.pdf
The nomination form can be found at:
http://www.mri.psu.edu/ematerials/v05i01/Nomination_form.pdf
NOW, is the right time to take a look and begin to put the package together.
Special Announcement to the Materials Research Community
By now, I'm sure that all of you have heard the news that Governor Rendell has committed $40 million toward the construction of a new Materials Building at the University Park Campus. These funds from the Commonwealth will be matched with $40 million of University capital funds to construct an $80 million facility.
Governor Rendell indicated in his letter of commitment that funds would be released to us for the Materials Building over the next 4-5 years. Although that may appear to be a long timeline, the design and construction of such a building does not happen overnight. The new Materials Building will be the single most expensive academic building ever constructed at University Park, and among the very largest academic buildings; the planning, site preparation, and actual construction represents a huge project. I expect to appoint a program committee in the 2005-06 academic year that will be charged with developing the program requirements for the building. After that initial program planning process is completed and the building requirements are approved by the Facilities Resources Committee, the Board of Trustees will appoint an architect. We expect that design will take a year, and that the actual construction of the building will take at least two years. I should also add that no decision has yet been made regarding the site for the building, although our intent is to locate the facility on a core campus site that will be highly accessible to members of the Materials community who are spread among several academic colleges and research labs.
I want to give special thanks and recognition to Eva Pell, Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, who has been a tireless advocate for the new Materials Building over the past five years, both within the University Administration and among numerous external organizations.
I'm confident that this new building will help to keep Penn State on the cutting edge of Materials Research and Education, and I look forward with you to the day when we will occupy this new state-of-the-art facility.
Rod Erickson
Executive Vice President and Provost
Faculty Spotlight
Dr. Nicole Brown, Assistant Professor of wood chemistry, studies the mechanical properties of wood adhesives and wood composites at the molecular level, as well as the chemistry of wood biopolymers and wood treatments. While adhesives are widely used with wood products, their function is not well understood at the molecular level. Brown's group uses a wide range of analytical tools, including solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), infrared spectroscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis to investigate the function of both the adhesive and the wood itself in bonding.
One major focus of her research is the performance of polyvinyl acetate latex adhesives, commonly available as household wood glues. The goal of this project is to develop a greater understanding of the molecular aspects of adhesive bonding and performance. Many secondary manufacturing operations use crosslinking polyvinyl acetate adhesives to join small clear sections of wood, yet relatively little information is available about these systems. These adhesives are typically made by copolymerizing vinyl acetate with a small amount--less than 5% by weight--of a multifunctional co-monomer. Crosslinking reactions of the co-monomer are thought to provide greater durability to the adhesive. The main objectives of the project are to determine the distribution of N-methylolacrylamide (NMA), the multifunctional comonomer, in the latex and to determine how NMA distribution in the latex correlates with the durability of the adhesive. Among other variables, the research will determine whether there is a performance difference based on placement of the crosslinks at the surface, inside particles, or in solution.
For the full story go to:
http://www.mri.psu.edu/NicoleBrown/
Contracts and Grants
Materials research accounted for more than $16 million in contracts and grants for the months of November, December and January! The largest of these contracts and grants (those greater than $200K) are listed below, along with a link to the complete list of contracts and grants. These data are provided by OSPs Strategic Information Management System.
Agrawal, Dinesh K; Cheng, Jiping; Development of Microwave Melting Technology for Metallic Materials, Industry
Boehman, Andre L; Equipment gift in kind-laboratory equipment, Industry
Cook, Robert B; Institute for Manufacturing and Sustainment Technologies (iMAST), U.S. Department of the Navy
Ewing, Andrew G; Electrochemical Measurements at Liposomes and Lipid Nanotubes, National Science Foundation
Foley, Henry C; Mc Grath, Robert T; Mallouk, Thomas E; Pantano, Carlo G; Penn State Nanotechnology Research and Commercialization Program, COP: Department of Community and Economic Development
Messing, Gary L; Ceramics for Next Generation Tactical Laser Systems
Shrout, Thomas R; Cao, Wenwu; Tutwiler, Richard L; Stitt, Joseph P; A Resource on Medical Ultrasonic Transducer Technology, University of Southern California
Siedlecki, Christopher A; Snyder, Alan J; Milner, Keith; Nanotextured Polyurethanes for Reduced Platelet Adhesion, Industry
Tressler, Richard E; Engineering Development of Ceramic Membrane Reaction System for Converting Natural Gas..., Industry
Williams, Mary E; CAREER: Selective Patterning and Transport of Functionalized Inorganic Nanoparticles, National Science Foundation
Winograd, Nicholas; Ewing, Andrew G; Molecular Imaging of Biomaterials - Single Cells, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Winograd, Nicholas; Surface Chemistry Studies with Ion Beams and Lasers, National Science Foundation
Yetter, Richard A; Kuo, Kenneth K; Yang, Vigor; Allara, David L; A Unified Multiscale Approach for Nano-Engineered Energetic Materials, U.S. Department of the Army
For a complete list of the contracts and grants for November, December and January go to:
http://www.mri.psu.edu/awards.asp?awardperiod=0501
U.S. Innovation Hurt by Restrictions on Foreign Grad Students
Study shows tight restrictions on student visas for foreign graduate students will hasten the erosion of America's global dominance in innovation, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder study.
The study, conducted by Economics Professor Keith Maskus and Gnanaraj Chellaraj and Aaditya Mattoo of the World Bank, provides economic results about the contributions of foreign graduate students and skilled immigrants to U.S. innovation and technological change.
The study finds that strict enforcement of restrictions on student visas could deteriorate much of the innovative activity sparked by the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which allows U.S. universities to commercialize research results. Fewer foreign graduate students have entered U.S. universities since 9-11, based on recent survey data, the study observes.
Guidance, Flexibility Offered for Coping with S & T Convergence
Universities encouraged to reform interdisciplinary, multi-institution approaches.
On the heels of a report from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) urging reform for interdisciplinary research, Congress gave its final approval of a bill designed to effectively promote collaborative research among universities and the public and private sectors. The Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) Act of 2004 would allow the government to approve patent applications of inventions that have been made collaboratively among multiple organizations (see the June 28, 2004 issue of the Digest). The bill currently awaits the signature of President Bush.
The NAS report, Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research, states that hiring policies, promotion, tenure and resource allocation that favor traditional disciplines all impede interdisciplinary research at many institutions. The report identifies steps individuals and institutions can take to enable interdisciplinary programs to be conducted and evaluated more effectively.
http://www.mri.psu.edu/ematerials/v05i01/Guidance.html
Battelle Releases R&D Funding Forecast For 2005
Total research and development funding in the U.S. will increase by approximately 3.6% to $312 billion in 2005, over the $301 billion estimated for 2004, according to the Battelle-"R&D Magazine" annual funding forecast. The principal driving force will be expenditures by the federal government, estimated to increase by almost 6% to $98 billion, over the $92 billion in 2004. This increase is primarily influenced by increases in spending by the Department of Defense (DOD). Private industry will continue to be the principal funder of R&D, but the increase for 2005 is expected to be a little less than 2%, Representing basically no change in real dollar outlay. Private industry is expected to fund $191 billion in R&D, over the $187 billion estimated for 2004, continuing a trend of flat funding that has been in effect for about the past four years.
For more information, call (410) 306-8638 or e-mail delaneyk@battelle.org
Funding Opportunities
- DOE - Graduate Automotive TechnologyEducation (GATE) Centers of Excellence - Deadline: 3/10/2005
- DOE - Advanced Fuel Formulations - Deadline: 3/10/2005
- DOE - Technologies to Enhance Engine Efficiency - Deadline: 3/10/2005
- DOE - Emission Control Devices - Deadline: 3/10/2005
- DOE - Low Temperature Combustion - Deadline: 3/10/2005
Materials Seminars
Monday, February 07, 200511:00 AM - S5 Osmond Lab
"Is a multi walled nanotube one-dimensional?"
Mikhail Zamkov, Kansas State University
Series - Center for Nanoscale Science
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
2:30 PM - 108 Tyson Laboratory
"Atomic force microscopy studies of simultaneous application of chemical agents and mechanical stress"
Thomas Dickinson, Washington State University
Series - Chemical Engineering seminar
Monday, February 14, 2005
12:00 PM - S5 Osmond Lab
"Processing and properties of high aspect ratio complex oxides"
Srowthi SN Bharadwaja, Penn State University
Series - Center for Nanoscale Science
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
2:30 PM - 108 Tyson Laboratory
"to be announced"
Anne Robinson, University of Delaware
Series - Chemical Engineering seminar
