Tuesday, July 21, 2009Volume 9, Issue 3
Staff Excellence Award 2009
Chris Jabco -
Skill, Creativity and Friendly Attitude Keep Machine Shop Humming
“Every day I see how professors, staff, and students drop by to ask Chris for his help,” explains Maria DiCola, who shares an office with this year’s Staff Excellence Award winner Chris Jabco, about why she thought he deserved the award. “He doesn’t mind if he is on break or having lunch; he’ll stop what he is doing to help students.”
Ooman Varghese, a postdoc in Prof. Grimes group agrees. “He is highly skilled and always ready to take up any job irrespective of whether it is simple or very challenging,” Dr. Varghese writes in his letter of recommendation.
Women in Electromagnetics - A Workshop 
The inaugural IEEE Women in Electromagnetics (WiEM) workshop was held on the University of Utah campus June 5-8, 2009. Penn State associate professor of engineering science and mechanics, Elena Semouchkina, was one of three organizers of the international workshop. She is a senior research associate in the Materials Research Institute. Dr. Semouchkina’s interests are in electromagnetic metamaterials and the development of materials integration concepts for electronic and photonic devices.
SEM, PCL, and XRD Short Courses – Registration Now Open
Want to learn about materials characterization techniques that might be applicable to your research projects and are available for your use in the Materials Characterization Lab (MCL) user facility? MCL will offer short courses August 18-20 on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Particle Characterization, and Powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD). A short course is an intensive, day-long educational opportunity for researchers to learn about characterization techniques including theory, applications, instrumentation, sample prep hints, and more. Space is limited in each course, so sign up early to guarantee a spot (but no later than the August 10th registration deadline). A special discounted registration fee applies for those who register for all three short courses.
| Scanning Electron Microscopy: Imaging, Spectroscopy, and Diffraction | Tuesday, Aug. 18 | 9:15am - 4:30pm |
| Particulate Solids: Their Properties and Means of Measurement | Wednesday, Aug. 19 | 9:15am - 4:30pm |
| Fundamentals of Powder X-ray Diffraction: Theory Instrumentation, and Sample Preparation Techniques | Thursday, Aug. 20 | 9:15am - 4:30pm |
So mark your calendars now and visit the MCL Short Courses web site for specific course details and registration instructions. For more information, contact Elaine Sanders in the MCL Administrative Office by e-mail ( Validate to view contact info ) or by phone (814-865-2328).
Seminars
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
10:00 AM - 250 MRL Building
"Crystal Chemistry and Domain Structure of Rare-Earth Doped BiFeO3 Ceramics"
Ian Reaney, University of Sheffield, UK
Thursday, October 29, 2009
10:00 AM - 102 Chemistry Building
"A Cornucopia of Particle Packings: From Hard Spheres to Ellipses and from Polymer Packings to Folded Proteins"
Corey O'Hern, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Physics, Yale
