Wednesday, October 17, 2007Volume 7, Issue 5
Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award
The Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award honors interdisciplinary materials research at Penn State which yields valuable, unexpected results and recognizes genuine innovation not previously achieved.
The award was created by a generous gift from Professors Rustum and Della Roy, both graduate alumni of Penn State. Competition for the award is open to full-time graduate students and postdoctoral researchers or junior faculty members conducting interdisciplinary materials research at Penn State.
Application forms are available online http://forms.gradsch.psu.edu/fellow/roymatres_app.pdf
Nomination Deadline is November 1, 2007.
Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award Recipients
For more information please contact Validate to view address - Send Email via form
Upcoming Events
Materials Simulation Short CourseIntroduction to the Gaussian 03 Quantum Chemistry Package
Presented by Materials Simulation Center
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
216 Osmond Lab, Penn State, University Park, PA
Cost: Free (only 16 seats available)
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Faculty Spotlight: Erin Sheets, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Charting the Incredible Complexity of Cells
Cells are good examples of nature's ability to build complex machinery at the micro and nanoscale. In fact, it is only recently that researchers have begun to get a glimpse into the mechanisms that control the complex interactions of cells with the outside world. Using advanced optical imaging tools that can trap molecules in cages of light, Erin Sheets and her students in Penn State's Department of Chemistry measure, manipulate, and image the molecular interactions of nanostructured lipid membranes in living cells and model cell systems.
The cell membrane is a semiliquid membrane in which proteins and dense areas of cholesterol, called lipid rafts, float. These raft structures are believed to be involved with cell signaling, the communication that takes place between the cell and its environment through a variety of pathways. The significance of cell signaling lies in the likelihood that errors in signaling are responsible for any number of diseases, from cancer to the many autoimmune disorders to diabetes.
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Equipment Update:
EOC Extends Characterization Capabilities for Advanced Wide Band-Gap Materials and Devices
Joshua A. Robinson, Research Associate, EOC Materials Division
Semiconductor device performance is largely based on the ability to produce and tailor ultra-pure starting materials. Silicon carbide (SiC) and related semiconductors exhibit material properties that are advantageous for high power, high temperature applications. Their wide band-gap, thermal conductivity, high electron-hole pair creation and displacement energies are all necessary for long-term operation in harsh environments that may include high temperatures, intense radiation, or continuous high voltage electrical stressing. However, current SiC material quality has limited its wide spread implementation. In particular, crystal defects are considered to be a major factor in blocking large area devices used in today's high power technology. Micropipes, screw dislocations, and morphological defects are just some of the material properties that reduce crystalline quality and decrease carrier lifetime in a semiconductor material, which means theoretical performance predictions may not be achieved.
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Meeting Results:
Polymer Research is the Theme at the 2007 Nelson W. Taylor Lecture
The five talks at this year's Taylor Lecture, presented by the Penn State Department of Materials Science and Engineering in memory of Nelson W. Taylor, the former head of the Penn State Department of Ceramics, were tributes to the importance of polymers and polymer research.
The opening talks are traditionally given by Penn State faculty members, followed by the Taylor Lecture, presented by a distinguished invited guest. This year's faculty speakers were Ralph Colby and Qing Wang of Materials Science and Engineering, David Allara of Chemistry, and Scott Milner, an incoming member of the Chemical Engineering faculty recruited from ExxonMobil. The Taylor Lecture was delivered by Distinguished McKnight University Professor Timothy Lodge of the University of Minnesota.
Polymer in both their natural and synthetic forms are part of every facet of our daily lives - a short list includes rubber, plastics, paints, even biological polymers such as proteins and DNA. Polymers are formed from long chains of repeating units called monomers, single molecules that can combine with similar or identical molecules. Polymer research is one of four main fields of materials study in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, along with ceramics, metals, and electronic and photonic materials.
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Contracts and Grants
Materials research accounted for more than $12.3 million in contracts and grants for the months of August through September! 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.
Badding, John V; Allara, David L; Swanson, David C; Tumlinson, James H; Baker, Thomas C; Biologically Inspired Microstructured Optical Fiber Sensors; Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Berlyand, Leonid V; Homogenization of Ginzburg-Landau and Elasticity Problems and Related Questions; National Science Foundation
Castleman, JR, Albert W; Solvated Salts and Acids: Contributions to Basic Understanding of Nucleation, Particle Growth and Aerosol Chemistry; National Science Foundation
Catchmark, Jeffrey M; Brown, Nicole R; Tien, Ming; Kubicki, James D; Archibald, Douglas D; Komarneni, Sridhar; Improved Sustainable Cellulosic Materials Assembled Using Engineered Molecular Linkers; U.S. Department of Agriculture
Colby, Ralph H; Runt, James P; Maranas, Janna K; Mueller, Karl T; Conduction Mechanisms and Structure of Ionomeric Single-Ion Conductors; U.S. Department of Energy
Dillon, Gregory P; Application of Pultruded Composites to Ground Combat Vehicles; U.S. Department of the Navy
Dong, Cheng; Development of an Interdisciplinary Program in Transforming Computational Science and Engineering Tools for Cancer Research; National Science Foundation
Donnellan, Thomas M; USP Partnership Process Implementation; Strategic Planning and Innovative Research Fund; Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Du, Qiang; Analysis, Algorithms and Computation of Some Model Problems in Interface and Defect Dynamics; National Science Foundation
Eden, Timothy J; Lightweight Fuel Cells for UAV Applications; U.S. Department of the Navy
Fichthorn, Kristen A; Borhan, Ali; Multi-Scale Simulation of Droplets on Solid Surfaces: Superhydrophobicity and Superspreading; National Science Foundation
Hahm, Jong-in; Newly Engineered ZnO Nanoplatforms and Their Initial Evaluation in Ultrasensitive Biomedical Marker Detection; National Science Foundation
Mayer, Theresa S; Fonash, Stephen J; NNIN: National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network; Cornell University
Messing, Gary L; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Sintering, Solid State Conversion, and Performance of Laser Host Ceramics; National Science Foundation
Mockensturm, Eric M; Crespi, Vincent H; Using and Extending Two Newly Developed Multi-scale Modeling Methods to Study Novel Nano-Device Operation; National Science Foundation
Runt, James P; Ziegler, Gregory R; Starch-based Polymer Electrolytes for Environmentally-Friendly Li Ion Battery Membranes (Revised Budget); U.S. Department of Agriculture
Snyder, David W; Bulk ZrB2 Crystal Growth; U.S. Department of the Navy
Velegol, Darrell; Fichthorn, Kristen A; Cole, Milton W; Nanocolloid Forces for Dispersion and Crystallization; U.S. Department of Energy
Wang, Chao-Yang; Advanced Diagnostics and Simulation of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells - II; Industry
Weiss, Paul S; Measurements and Optimization of the Function of Single Molecules and Suprameolecular Assemblies; National Science Foundation
Xu, Jian; Ruzyllo, Jerzy; GOALI: Mist-Deposition Based Manufacturing of Matrix Displays from Solution-Processed Semiconductor Quantum Dots; National Science Foundation
Ziegler, Gregory R; Impact of Non-equilibrium and Non-quiescent Conditions on the Processing of Biopolymer Mixtures; U.S. Department of Agriculture
