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eMaterials Newsletters

 

Wednesday, August 31, 2005Volume 5, Issue 5

 

Director's Message

It is the beginning of another school year, and I would like to briefly update you on a couple of topics.

 

First, the new materials building. You all know that in January 2005, the University committed to the construction of an $80M interdisciplinary research building for materials, and in May 2005 Governor Rendell committed $40M in state funding towards this project. At the same time, the cost of construction has increased by 25%, so the building that we originally envisioned as being ~200,000 gross square feet is now slated to be ~155,000 gross square feet. The various colleges whose faculty will occupy this building are working together to seek additional funds for financing a larger building. Although the building may be smaller (at least initially) than we had originally hoped, the goal to build it on central campus where we can co-locate shared facilities and clusters of faculty remains priority one. There is currently an opportunity to locate the building in the science core near the new chemistry and life science buildings (the Eisenhower side of Pollock field where there is space for a materials research building well over 200,000 gsf, so future expansion is possible). This would accelerate the project by 1-2 years (and limit further erosion of the space we will get for $80M), and would save some engineering and construction costs by combining this project with the construction of LSII. This location would also greatly enhance our Strategic Goal to strengthen research activities at the materials science-life science interface including: materials and devices for biomedical imaging; biomaterials for implants and regenerative medicine; integrated nano/micro-electronic and -photonic devices for sensors, lab on a chip, drug delivery and surgery; and all the core competencies in synthesis, characterization, biomolecular science, engineering design and modeling necessary to support such interdisciplinary themes. The final decision on this awaits the next Board of Trustees meeting on 9/9/05. In the meantime, a Programming Committee for the building is being formulated, and once established, they will be soliciting your ideas and proposals for facilities and faculty clusters.

 

Second, I would like to inform everyone again that funding and related cost-matching requests to MRI are to be submitted electronically at http://www.mri.psu.edu/FundingRequests. The system is very easy to use, and will ensure that when acted upon, the requested proposal or budget allocations will be approved and communicated to the relevant offices. If you have questions about this web based request service, please contact Bob Cornwall.

 

Finally, I remind you that this is the time to update your listing in the MRI Directory. There is a simple on-line form that will serve two purposes: to update our directory AND to update your one-page research profile on the MRI web site. Please visit the MRI web site at www.mri.psu.edu and click on the "Directory" link in the menu bar. You can browse for your one-page research profile or, to get an idea as to what your colleagues have written, view the profiles of other faculty members. Once you are ready to complete the form, return to the "Directory" page and click on the link "Update Your Profile." You can login using your Penn State User ID and Password to complete the form. This will not take much time, and is an important aspect of your MRI affiliation. These profiles are intended to help us market you and your research, as well as to assemble new interdisciplinary research teams.

 

Best Wishes for the 05-06 Academic Year,
Carlo

MRI Annual Picnic

Nearly 200 faculty, staff, and students took a break on a hazy August afternoon for food, relaxation, and a variety of recreational activity at the 5th annual MRI picnic, held at Tussey Mountain lodge and sports center in Boalsburg. Barefoot professors played in the sand on the beach volleyball court, while staff and scientists were lectured on "too much contact" on the go-cart track. Good conversation, great food, and the chance to kick back before the start of fall classes made this year's MRI picnic a resounding success.

 

picnic photopicnic photo

 

picnic photopicnic photo

 

Summer Get-Togethers Wrap-Up

The Thursday afternoon wine-and-cheese Summer Get-Togethers provided the opportunity to explore new centers for materials research. Interested parties pitched collaborative programs for new research initiatives and discussed team formation and funding opportunities. Research initiatives are in the formative stages and we welcome your interest in and contribution to these ongoing efforts! The Get-Togethers are held in the summer months - a somewhat less hectic time of year- but if you missed any, you can contact the speakers/discussion leaders directly for their PowerPoint presentation or to talk with them about their initiative.

 

Nanoscale Science
Paul Weiss
July 14

 

Bolometers and IR Sensor Materials
Mark Horn and Susan Trolier-McKinstry
July 21

 

Carbon
Ram Rajagopalan, Hank Foley and Tony Perrotta
July 28

 

Room Temperature Ice-Like Water at Interfaces
Mike Grutzeck and Alan J Benesi
August 25

Faculty Spotlight

Peter Eklund's office occupies a historic piece of real estate: the lab space where Erwin Mueller, the inventor of the field ion microscope and the first man to "see" atoms, developed the atom-probe field ion microscope, which allowed scientists to identify single atoms and distinguish the isotopes of elements.

 

Next to his office, Prof. Eklund's group of graduate students and post doctoral researchers work to measure and predict the physical properties of nanomaterials as they cross from the large scale — at around 20 nm - to 2 or 3 nm, approaching the size of DNA. "I'm very hands-on with my students," Eklund says. "They're really capable, it's hard to guess what results they're going to get. I don't just give them a topic and wait for their Ph. D. theses to arrive on my desk." Evaluating the results of that many talented researchers takes a great deal of time and some hard thought. Eklund explains that "Sometimes we hold off on publishing our research for several months. We don't want to publish just the data; we like to publish explanations."

 

The major focus of Prof. Eklund's research involves the growth and study of nanowires and carbon nanotubes, hollow single sheets of carbon atoms rolled into tubes with a shape like a soda straw. "We work on fundamental science issues as well as applications, such as chemical sensors, using nanowires as transistors, and trying to solve the hydrogen fuel storage problem for automobiles," he says. The posters lining the walls outside his second floor office and the lab one floor above illustrate the wide range of research he is engaged in, both with his students and across departments. In one poster outside his lab, the scattering effect of confined phonons in silicon nanowires is described, in a collaboration between Eklund and Kofi Adu, a postdoctoral researcher in his group. Confined quantum structures can have unusual optical, electrical, and thermal characteristics, which could be used to develop novel thermoelectric and optical electronic devices. "This is a scientific gut check," Eklund says about their research into basic properties of nanoscale materials. "Will phonon confinement increase or decrease scattering? Do we know how phonons work?"

 

For the full story go to:
www.mri.psu.edu/articles/PaulEklund/

NSF Finds Substantial Increase in University Research Space

Increasing and modernizing university research capacity is a priority for many states. Contrary to programmatic or operational appropriations being required annually, funding for such construction projects can be phased over decades as part of a state's larger capital budget/bond programs. Recent research from the National Science Foundation (NSF) documents the results of the increased importance placed in university research building programs.

 

During fiscal years 2001-03, research-performing colleges and universities increased their research space by 11 percent, a substantially higher rate than any previous two-year period since 1988, a new NSF InfoBrief states.

 

NSF obtained data from a census of 465 science and engineering degree-granting universities that expended at least $1 million in R&D funds during FY 2002. The survey collected information on traditional bricks and mortar research space in addition to computing and networking infrastructure, which is playing an increasingly important role in the conduct of scientific research, the InfoBrief states.

 

All fields within S&E reported increased research space except for agricultural sciences, which reported a slight decline. Mathematics experienced the largest increase followed by computer science, medical sciences, and social sciences. Biological sciences and medical sciences, however, remained the fields with the largest total amount of space. Other findings from the survey include:

 

 

The InfoBrief also states that 67 percent of institutions reported 20 percent or less of their building areas are wireless. However, by the end of FY 2004, institutions indicate that their wireless coverage will extend substantially.

 

Academic institutions spent at least $7.6 billion for construction of new space during FY 2002-03, and plans for FY 2004-05 include an additional 19 million NASF at a cost of $9.1 billion, according to the survey. Engineering, biological, and medical sciences account for 72 percent of the planned FY 2004-05 construction. The InfoBrief is available in full from NSF at: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf05314/

Contracts and Grants

Materials research accounted for more than $5.6 million in contracts and grants for the month of July! 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.

 

Colby, Ralph H; Real Space Imaging of Phase Separated Blends and Biocompatible Scaffold Materials by Confocal Microscopy and Optical Coherence Tomography, U.S. Department of Commerce

 

Fonash, Stephen J; Catchmark, Jeffrey M; NNIN, Cornell University

 

Grimes, Craig A; Pishko, Michael V; Remote Query Measurement of Transcutaneous Glucose, U.S. Department of the Army

 

Koudela, Kevin L; Large Marine Composite-to-Steel, Industry

 

Messing, Gary L; Pantano, Carlo G; Science and Technology Graduate Fellowship Fund, Industry

 

Schlom, Darrell G; Quantum Information Processing with Ferroelectrically Coupled Quantum Dots, Pittsburgh, University of

 

Sen, Ayusman; Mallouk, Thomas E; Crespi, Vincent H; Catchmark, Jeffrey M; NIRT: Nanoscale Motors Powered by Catalytic Reactions, National Science Foundation

 

Shaw, Barbara A; Corrosion Measurement and Control Subtasks, U.S. Department of the Army

 

Tittmann, Bernhard R; Development of Techniques to Precisely Measuring Flowing Gas Pressure in High Temperature Pressurized Pipes and Vessels, Industry

 

Tittmann, Bernhard R; The Development of an Ultra-High Temperature Ultrasonic Transducer, Industry

 

For a complete list of the contracts and grants for July go to:
http://www.mri.psu.edu/awards.asp?awardperiod=0507

Funding Opportunities

Materials Seminars

Eric G. Lundquist
Emerging Technologies
Rohm and Haas Company
Spring House, PA

September 8, 2005
12:30 p.m.
102 Chemistry Building

Title: Emerging Technologies at Rohm and Haas

Abstract: Rohm and Haas is a global, $7 B/yr specialty materials company based in the Philadelphia region. Rohm and Haas produces a variety of materials useful in diverse applications including microelectronics, coatings, adhesives and water purification. The Emerging Technologies group within Rohm and Haas is charged with identifying and developing new technologies for emerging markets. Two examples of such programs that will be discussed involve the development of polymeric supports for metallocene polyolefin catalysts and carbons for energy storage (ultracapacitor) applications.

Hosts: Dr. Carlo Pantano and Dr. Karl Mueller