Thursday, August 2 , 2007Volume 7, Issue 4
Upcoming Events
MRI Annual Picnic
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Tussey Mountain Lodge
All faculty, staff, and students in the materials community are invited to the MRI annual picnic at Tussey Mountain Lodge. And this year, we have changed the schedule to make it possible to bring your family along, and encourage you to do so. Take an afternoon to relax, socialize, and enjoy burgers and barbequed chicken with all the fixin's along with friends and colleagues.
Mark Your Calendar for These Summer Faculty Get-Togethers
Take the opportunity to learn more about two exciting new Centers with materials components in August. Both Faculty Get-Togethers take place at the Nittany Lion Inn Faculty Staff Club from 4 - 6 p.m.
- Aug. 23 - "Materials Research Needs for Advanced Power Generation Systems" Join Dom Santavicca, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Center for Advanced Power Generation, to discuss these areas of materials needs: advanced combustion concepts, advanced turbine cooling concepts, advanced high temperature materials and coating, and CO2 capture.
- Aug. 30 - "Carbon Research at Penn State" Ramakrishnan Rajagopalan will lead a discussion geared to identifying research areas leading to a Carbon Center at Penn State.
Summer 2007 MCL Open Houses
MCL is hosting free open houses on Thursday mornings throughout the summer for researchers interested in learning more about materials characterization and sample analysis. Each Thursday from June 7 through August 23, a different characterization technique will be highlighted'beginning at 10:00am with a technique overview and discussion of MCL capabilities, followed by a lab tour and introduction to the instrumentation. The open house schedule for the remainder of the summer follows:
- Aug 9 - Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy (NSOM)and Confocal Raman Spectroscopy,Penn Stater Hotel
- Aug 16 - X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) Special Applications Beyond Powder, 301 Steidle Building
- Aug 23 - Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) 301 Steidle Building
Please RSVP for the open houses you wish to attend at least a week in advance. If you have questions or would like more information about the open houses, please contact Elaine Sanders in the MCL Administrative Office at (814-865-2328).
Fall 2007 Short Courses offered by MCL
Throughout the year, the Materials Characterization Lab (MCL) offers short courses aimed at educating students, faculty, post docs, staff, visitors, and industrial representatives in various materials characterization techniques. The short courses'a one- or two-day intensive learning opportunity'lay the groundwork for new users to be trained on the instruments and apply what they learn in the short course classroom to their research efforts. Plans are underway for a number of Fall 2007 short courses including:
- High Resolution X-ray Scattering Methods for Thin Film Materials Analysis - confirmed for August 17, 2007
- Workshop on Modern Methods of Powder Diffraction (date to be announced)
- Thermal Analysis (date to be announced)
- Particle Characterization (date to be announced)
- Auger Electron Spectroscopy and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (date to be announced)
Research Recognition
Materials Research Group Highly Cited
For the second year in a row, a team of Penn State researchers led by Prof. Craig Grimes has landed a paper among the top 5 most cited articles in the premier journal in the field of nanotechnology, Nano Letters.
Their article, "Enhanced Photocleavage of Water Using Titania Nanotube Arrays," was ranked #5 on the 2005 list. Titanium dioxide (also known as titania) is a common material with characteristics that make it of interest to researchers in the fields of energy, biomedicine, optics, and electronics. Titania is also used in the manufacture of sunscreens and paint. The 2005 paper describes a method of controlling the architecture of titania at the nanoscale, using a simple and easily scalable anodization process from a starting titanium film. This study suggests that controlling the nanoscale architecture of titania can greatly increase the photocleavage of water into hydrogen and oxygen gas under ultraviolet light. The ability to create hydrogen by cheap and nonpolluting methods is one of the cornerstones of the proposed hydrogen economy.
MRI Researchers Win R&D 100 Award
A new device to make laser-to-fiber and fiber-to-fiber connections within optical fiber packages has been named one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the market in 2006 by R & D Magazine. The device, based on research by faculty and graduate students in Penn State's International Center for Actuators and Transducers in the Materials Research Institute, offers an economically viable method of aligning and realigning optical fibers.
The optical fiber infrastructure that allows the high-speed transmission of data in modern communications relies on the precise connection of lasers to fiber, as well as the multiple connections of fiber to fiber across tens of thousands of miles of transmission lines. The expense of connecting high speed optical fiber for the potential millions of individual users, the so-called "last mile" problem, has slowed the spread of high speed optical transmission to the home computer, especially in the U.S. market.
Faculty Spotlight
Mary Beth Williams, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Creating Systems that Mimic Nature
"Ultimately, we want to mimic biology's ability to do things," says Mary Beth Williams, associate professor of chemistry, about the work that won her the 2007 Young Investigator Award from The Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry. The award recognized her research in "electrochemistry at the interface of nanoscience, and for the development of novel materials."
One thing that biology does that might be of tremendous value if we could learn how to do it as well as nature, is to turn sunlight into chemical energy. Williams and a group of her students are working to unlock some of the mysteries of artificial photosynthesis. Using a technique called metal coordination chemistry, they create molecules that look like small chains of DNA, but instead of DNA's double strands linked by hydrogen atoms, these bonds are formed with metal atoms. The result is a material that is more rigid and stable, and can support electron transfer and catalysis. These structures can be used to transfer electrons down a chain to do work, or be coupled to nearby strands magnetically.
...Read more
News of Note
New Joint Venture Company is Based on Penn State Nano Research
The progress of nanotechnology from university laboratory to the manufacturing floor has taken another step forward with an agreement to form a new development venture between Keystone Nano, a State College nanotechnology development company, and Nalco Company, a multibillion-dollar firm specializing in water treatment and process improvement services based in Napier, Illinois.
The joint venture company, called NanoSpecialties, LLC, will conduct research and development of licensed nanotechnologies to improve various Nalco water and process treatments, as well as developing other new nano products for industrial specialty chemical applications.
Science and Engineering Graduate Students by State, 2001-2005
Every year, the National Science Foundation releases Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in S&E, a report filled with detailed statistics about the characteristics of science and engineering graduates enrolled at U.S. institutions. Using the annual report, SSTI has prepared a table showing the total number of graduate students for each year from 2001 to 2005 in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Additionally, each state is ranked by the percent change in science and engineering graduate enrollment from 2001 to 2005.
For the U.S. as a whole, the country's science and engineering graduate population increased by 11.5 percent over the five years. Among states, Minnesota experienced the largest increase at 61.8 percent, rising from 6,602 students in 2001 to 10,685 in 2005. North Dakota, Alaska, Idaho and Hawaii rounded out the states with the largest percent increase, all over 30 percent.
Industry Financed R&D at Colleges and Universities by State, FY 2001-2005
Every year, the National Science Foundation releases its Academic R&D Expenditures report, filled with statistics concerning the characteristics of research and development at U.S. colleges and universities. Using these reports, SSTI has prepared two tables detailing the funds provided by industry from 2001 to 2005 for institutions of higher education in each state and the District of Columbia.
The first table displays the amount of R&D funds provided by industry for each year from 2001 to 2005, the percent change over the years, and each state's ranking by this percent change. Over the five years, industry's contribution to academic R&D increased by 184 percent in Rhode Island, growing from $2.28 million in 2001 to $6.34 million in 2005. South Dakota, Hawaii, Indiana, and Ohio rounded out the states with the largest increases, while 26 states witnessed decreases in funding over the five-year period. For the U.S. as whole, total R&D funding from industry to academia increased by 3.3 percent.
Contracts and Grants
Materials research accounted for more than $18.6 million in contracts and grants for the months of April through 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 OSP's Strategic Information Management System.
Agrawal, Dinesh K; Roy, Rustum; Microwave-Assisted Technology in Materials Processing Phase II: WC/Co Drill Bits, Pretreatment of Coal, W Heavy Alloys and Phase Manipulation by E&H Fields; Industry
Brantley, Susan; Mueller, Karl T; Kubicki, James D; Burgos, William D; Tien, Ming; Martinez, Carmen E; Heaney, Peter J;
Maroto-Valer, M. Mercedes; Logan, Bruce E; Dempsey, Brian A; Center for Environmental Kinetics Synthesis; National Science Foundation
Dillon, Gregory P; Koudela, Kevin L; Composite Manufacturing Technology for Reduced Cost Impeller; Industry
Eklund, Peter C; Foley, Henry C; Chung, T C; Advanced Boron and Metal Loaded High Porosity Carbons; U.S. Department of Energy
Fonash, Stephen J; Hallacher, Paul M; Mark, Melvin M; ATE Regional Center for Nanofabrication Manufacturing Education; National Science Foundation
Grimes, Craig A; Endotoxin Quantification in Aqueous Media; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Khoo, Iam-Choon; Molecular Photonics: High-Speed Materials for Optical Signal Processing; Georgia Institute of Technology
Koudela, Kevin L; Two-Part Modular Helmet System; Industry
Mallouk, Thomas E; Crespi, Vincent H; Weiss, Paul S; Chan, Moses H; MRSEC: Center for Molecular Nanofabrication and Devices; National Science Foundation
Mallouk, Thomas E; Redwing, Joan M; Photoelectrochemistry of Semiconductor Nanowire Arrays; U.S. Department of Energy
Messing, Gary L; Engineering and Materials Devlopment of Ceramics for Next Generation, High Power, Bulk Solid State Laser Systems; Industry
Mueller, Karl T; Garrison, Barbara J; Mitra, Prasenjit; Giles, Clyde L; Kubicki, James D; Cyberinfrastructure and research facilites: developing collaboratory tools to facilitate multi-disciplinary multi scale research in environmental molecular sciences; National Science Foundation
Randall, Clive A; Development of High Silver (Ag/Pd) and Copper Pastes and Thermal Processes for Advanced Piezoelectric Actuators for Fuel Injectors; Industry
Smid, Ivica; TCHP Development Program Task - Renewal Period; Industry
For a complete list of the contracts and grants for April through July go to: http://www.mri.psu.edu/awards.asp?awardperiod=0707
Materials Seminars
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
12:00 PM - 250 MRL Building
"TEM Study of Silicidation of Silicon Nanowires by Platinum and Nickel"
Dr. Bangzhi Liu
Notes - TEM Summer Lunch Series
For a complete list of upcoming materials-related seminars go to: http://www.mri.psu.edu/seminars.asp
