C&E News Highlights New Polymeric Anion Exchange Membrane
A new strategy for designing anion exchange membranes was reported by Michael Hickner, the Walker Faculty Fellow in Penn State's Department of Materials Science and Engineering; and Gregory N. Tew, in the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Massachussetts, Amherst; in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and highlighted in C&E News. More information>>
Inaugural Peter Thrower Award Presented
The photograph of the presentation shows, left to right, Peter Thrower, Hui-Ming Cheng (Chair, Asian Association of Carbon Groups), Wesley P. Hoffmann (Chair, American Carbon Society), Michio Inagaki, and Marc Monthioux (Chair, European Carbon Association).
Wang Research Featured in C&EN
The research of Materials Science and Engineering Associate Professor, Qing Wang, is included this month in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN). Wang and the work of his research group are included in an article titled Increasing Capacity In Energy Storage.
Congratulations to Qing and his research group!
Polymer Research Highlighted on New Journal Cover
Researchers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MATSE) at Penn State have published their work on the cover of the latest issue of ACS Macro Letters, a new journal in polymer science. Learn more>>
Peter A. Thrower
Peter A. Thrower
Professor Emeritus
Materials Science and Engineering
thrower@matse.psu.edu
The diversity of carbon materials currently available could not have been envisaged 40 years ago. As Editor-in-Chief of the major journal dealing with carbon materials, Thrower has faced developments that were simply not imagined when he started his Editorship. With recent discoveries in fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene and graphane, there appears to be no limit to the diversity of carbon materials. Although these materials undoubtedly existed before they were recognised, they have now found specific applications in adsorption processes, strong composites, energy storage and biomaterials. They have exciting prospects for electronic devices and the realisation of these applications is one of the major current research challenges faced by materials scientists.
Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Thrower received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Cambridge University, U.K. where he studied physics. He spent the first nine years of his career working at the U.K. Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell before joining the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Penn State in 1969. At Harwell he studied the effects of neutron radiation damage to graphite, mostly using transmission electron microscopy. He continued his research on carbon materials at Penn State and was later appointed as Director of Graduate Studies for the department, a position he held for 14 years. In 1972 he was appointed an Associate Editor of CARBON, an international scientific research journal, and the following year was appointed Editor-in-Chief, a position that he still holds. He also served as Editor of the monograph series “Chemistry and Physics of Carbon” from 1973 to 1998, when he retired from Penn State. Thrower has published nearly 100 papers on carbon and graphite materials, focusing on radiation damage, oxidation and mechanical properties.
In 1989 Dr. Thrower started to teach a General Education course entitled “Materials in Today’s World”. The course was eventually taught to around 1000 students each semester and a book with the same title was written for the course. A third edition of the book was published early in 2009 with Dr. T.O. Mason (Northwestern Univ.) as co-author. The course is now taught throughout the world and brings the science and importance of materials to non-science majors.
- P.A. Thrower and T.O. Mason. 2007. Materials in Today’s World, Third Edition (283 pages). McGraw-Hill.
- D.L. Fecko, L.E. Jones and P.A. Thrower. 1993. BC3: A Novel, Graphite-Like Material. Carbon 31, 637-644.
- J. Rodríguez-Mirasol, P.A. Thrower and L.R. Radovic. 1993. On the Oxidation Resistance of Carbon-Carbon Composites Obtained by Liquid Phase Impregnation/Carbonization of Different Carbon Cloths. Carbon 31, 789-799.
- J. Rodríguez-Mirasol, P. A. Thrower and L. R. Radovic. 1995. On the Oxidation Resistance of Carbon-Carbon Composites: Importance of Fiber Structure for Composite Reactivity. Carbon 33, 545-554.
- F. A. Quli, P. A. Thrower and L. R. Radovic. 1998. Effects of the Substrate on deposit Structure and Reactivity in the Chemical Vapor Deposition of Carbon. Carbon 36, 1623-1632.
- L. R. Radovic, M. Karra, K. Skokova and P. A. Thrower. 1998. On the Role of Substitutional Boron in Carbon Oxidation. Carbon 36, 1841-1854.
Roman Engel-Herbert
Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Mc Farlane Career Professor
N-232 Millennium Science Complex
(814) 867-4325
rue2@psu.edu
Roman Engel-Herbert received a Diploma in Physics from the Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Germany. He later joined the Paul-Drude-Institute for Solid State Electronics for his graduate studies under the direction of Klaus H. Ploog and Thorsten Hesjedal and received a Ph.D. degree in Experimental Physics from the Humboldt University Berlin. He then followed an invitation to the University of Waterloo in Canada before he accepted a postdoc position in the Materials Department at the University of California Santa Barbara. Dr. Engel-Herbert joined the faculty of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State University in 2010. His current research interests are the growth of binary and complex oxides using thin film deposition techniques and their integration with conventional semiconductors as well as the analysis of magnetic domain structures.
- Growth of oxide thin films by molecular beam epitaxy
- Interface related phenomena of heteroepitaxial oxide thin films
- Integration of oxides with conventional semiconductors
- Imaging and simulation of magnetic domain structures
Research efforts are focused on the growth and characterization of oxide thin films. This class of materials has an unparalleled spectrum of physical properties which makes them very interesting for a variety of applications ranging from energy generation, sensors and actuators to memory and logic device concepts. The monolithic integration of oxide thin films to cross-couple different functionalities, novel interface phenomena, epitaxial stabilization of unfavorable phases and strain engineering provide additional degrees of freedom that are largely unexplored, which further extend the opportunities to tailor material properties. Although oxide films can be grown with high structural perfection, intrinsic material properties might be obscured by a high level of unintentional defects.
Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is the main synthesis method employed by this group. The system design facilitates the deposition of metal organic molecules and thus combines low energetic deposition techniques in a unique way, dubbed "Hybrid MBE". Stoichiometric control and suppression of defect formation during growth as well as doping strategies are addressed. Structural characterization methods encompass X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Hall measurements and admittance spectroscopy are used for electrical characterization.
Another research area are magnetic domain structures in confined geometries with nanoscale dimensions. Domain arrangements, their formation and stability in the presence of an external magnetic field are studied by magnetic force microscopy. Current induced magnetization dynamics, such as spin transfer torque magnetization reversal and domain wall motion, are investigated using micromagnetic simulation. Magnetic nanostructures are building blocks of spin-electronic devices and the study of these phenomena is imperative for their successful application in the area of information technology.
- Power generation and energy harvesting technology (thermoelectrics, photovoltaics)
- Information technologies (nonvolatile memories, logic devices)
- "Epitaxial SrTiO3 films with electron mobilities exceeding 30,000 cm2V-1s-1," J. Son, P. Moetakef, B. Jalan, O. Bierwagen, N.J. Wright, R. Engel-Herbert, S. Stemmer, Nature Materials, 9 482 (2010).
- "Growth of high-quality SrTiO3 films using a hybrid molecular beam epitaxy approach," B. Jalan, R. Engel-Herbert, N.J. Wright, S. Stemmer, Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A, 27 (2) 461-464 (2009).
- "Metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors with ZrO2 dielectrics grown on In0.53Ga0.47As by chemical beam deposition" R. Engel-Herbert, Y. Hwang, J. Cagnon, S. Stemmer, Applied Physics Letters, 95 (6) 062908 (2010).
- "Three-dimensional micromagnetic domain structure of MnAs films on GaAs(001): Experimental imaging and simulation," R. Engel-Herbert, T. Hesjedal , D. M. Schaadt, Physical Review B, 75 094430 (2007).
- "Field-dependence of micromagnetic domain patterns in MnAs films," R. Engel-Herbert, T. Hesjedal, J. Mohanty, D.M. Schaadt, K.H. Ploog, Journal of Applied Physics, 98 (6), 063909 (2005).
Hasso Weiland
Hasso Weiland
Technical Fellow, Materials Research
Alcoa Technical Center;
Adjunct Professor of Materials Science and Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University
hasso.weiland@alcoa.com
- Recrystallization of aluminum alloys
- Mesoscale plasticity
- Phase transformations
- Alloy design
- Microstructure Characterization
- H. Weiland, Industrial Application of Recrystallization Control in Aluminum Products, Proc. 2nd Intl. Conf. on Recrystallization and Grain Growth, Materials Science Forum, 349-356, pp. 997-1002 (2004).
- Michael V. Glazov, Frédéric Barlat and Hasso Weiland, Continuum Physics of Phase and Defect Microstructures: Bridging the Gap Between Physical and Mechanical Metallurgy of Aluminum Alloys, Int. J. of Plasticity vol.20 No.3, pp. 363-402 (2004).
- Dierk Raabe, Michael Sachtleber, Hasso Weiland, Georg Scheele, Zisu Zhao, Grain-scale micromechanics of polycrystal surfaces during plastic straining, Acta Materialia, 2003, 51, 6, pp 1539-1560.
- H. Weiland and R. Becker, Analysis of Mesoscale Deformation Structures in Aluminum, Proc. 20th Riso Intern. Symp. on Mat. Sci.: Deformation-induced Microstructures. Editors: T. Leffers and O.P. Pederson, Riso Natl. Laboratory, Roskilde, Denmark 1999, 213-224.
Libby Kupp
Libby Kupp
Senior Research Associate
108 Steidle Building
(814) 863-5540
erb105@psu.edu
Research Interests:
- Laser-gain media
- Ceramic powder sintering
John R. Hellmann
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering,
Associate Dean for Graduate Education & Research
248 Deike Building
(814) 865-0163
hellmann@matse.psu.edu
John R. Hellmann is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Associate Dean for Education in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. As a Penn State faculty member since 1986, he has also served as Associate Director of the Center for Advanced Materials (1986-1995), Chairman of the Ceramic Science and Engineering Program (1998-2001), and as Associate Head for Undergraduate Studies in Materials Science and Engineering (2001-2007). In addition to maintaining an active teaching and research portfolio, in his new position as Associate Dean he is responsible for curriculum, accreditation, recruiting and retention, scholarships, international internships, and outreach activities in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
His research interests concern the mechanical reliability and thermochemical durability of ceramics, metals, and intermetallic materials in severe thermal environments. He has active research programs in development and characterization of materials for gas turbines, advanced propulsion systems, and enhanced oil and natural gas recovery technology, as well as in the design and fabrication of laminated ceramic composites possessing engineered stress states for use as armor and cutting tools. He has published over one hundred peer reviewed papers on research supported by the Department of Energy, NASA, Office of Naval Research, National Science Foundation, and industry, and has supervised the research of over 120 graduate and undergraduate students, many of whom have received national and international awards for their work.
Professor Hellmann earned his bachelor and doctorate degrees in Ceramic Science at Penn State, followed by a five year stint as a member of technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico prior to returning to the faculty at Penn State.
A Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, Professor Hellmann has also served on the Society’s Board of Directors, as President of the Ceramic Educational Council, President of the National Institute of Ceramic Engineers, Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society, and was recently named a Distinguished Mentor by the Society for his role in advising and nurturing students and young professionals in the field of materials science and engineering.
- Thermal, elastic, mechanical properties of ceramic, metal, intermetallic, and composite materials for high temperature applications
- Processing/structure/properties/performance relationships
- Metastable and equilibrium phase relationships
- Polymer precursor routes to fabrication of ceramics and composites via direct foaming and infiltration
- Slow crack growth and fracture behavior of glasses and ceramics
- Thermal fatigue behavior of monolithic and composite materials
Coming soon.
Solid oxide fuel cells; heat exchangers; radiant tubes; thermal and environmental barrier coatings; land-based and airborne gas turbine systems; hot gas filtration and separation; glass manufacturing; machine tools and tribological applications; ceramic-, glass-, metal-, and intermetallic composite design; preceramic polymer precursor processing of foams, composites, coatings and for joining; development of advanced materials for enhanced recovery of oil and natural gas.
1. M. Fox and John R. Hellmann, “Microstructure and Creep Behavior of SiAlON Materials,” INVITED REVIEW PAPER in Int’l. J. of Appl. Ceram. Tech., 5(2)138-154(2008).
2. Walter G. Luscher, John R. Hellmann, David L. Shelleman, and Albert E. Segall, “A Critical Review of the Diametral Compression Method for Determining the Tensile Strength of Spherical Aggregates,“ J. Testing and Evaluation, 35(6)2007.
3. Walter G. Luscher, John R. Hellmann, Barry E. Scheetz, and Brett A. Wilson, “Strength Enhancement of Aluminosilicate Aggregate Through Modified Thermal Treatment,” Int’l. J. Appl. Ceram. Technol., 3(2) 157-163 (2006)
4. K.M. Fox, J.R. Hellmann, E.C. Dickey, D.J. Green, D.L. Shelleman, and R.L. Yeckley, “Impression and Compression Creep of SiAlON Ceramics,” J.Am. Ceram. Soc., 89(8)2555-2563(2006).
5. Matthew H. Krohn, John R. Hellmann, Bernard Mahieu, and Carlo G. Pantano, “Effect of Tin-Oxide on the Physical Properties of Soda-Lime-Silica Glass,” J. Non-Crystalline Sol., 351(2005)455-465.
6. M. Fox and John R. Hellmann, “Microstructure and Creep Behavior of SiAlON Materials,” INVITED REVIEW PAPER in the topical issue on silicon nitride ceramics in the Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology, accepted for publication September 10, 2007
7. Walter G. Luscher, John R. Hellmann, David L. Shelleman, and Albert E. Segall, “A Critical Review of the Diametral Compression Method for Determining the Tensile Strength of Spherical Aggregates,“ J. Testing and Evaluation, 35(6)2007
8. Kevin M. Fox, John R. Hellmann, Mark S. Angelone, and Russell L. Yeckley, “Refinement of the a-Phase Area in the Yb-SiAlON System,” J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 90(5)1607-1610(2007)
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