MSE News Archives 2005

Dawn Bonnell named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Dawn Bonnell was one of 376 members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science AAAS) recognized  for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. The new Fellows will be officially inducted Feb. 18, during the 2006 AAAS Annual Meeting in St. Louis. This year’s AAAS Fellows will be announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on Oct. 28. Dawn’s citation read: “for seminal studies in interface mediated behavior in nanostructures, as well as for leadership in the U.S. nanoscience community.”

>> Read Press Release >>

NSF renews Penn's MRSEC with $21.6 million grant
NSF has awarded a six-year, $21.6 million grant to Penn's Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) the "LRSM". The LRSM was established in 1960 as one of the first materials research laboratories in the country; the latest renewal in funding ranks first among 13 centers nationwide receiving support from the MRSEC program. MSE faculty involved in the program include: Dawn Bonnell, I-Wei Chen, Russ Composto, Peter Davies, David Luzzi, Karen Winey and Shu Yang.

>> Read Press Release >>

MSE Researchers Explain Origin of Unusual Mechanical Properties of Iridium
Dr. Vitek's group reports in the August 12 issue of Science the solution to one of the astounding problems in mechanical behavior of materials. The metal iridium tends to fracture in a brittle manner even at high temperatures and after extensive plastic deformation whereas other metals with the same structure, such as aluminum or copper, fail by plastic tearing. Using computer simulations, developed in collaboration with researchers at the UKAEA, University of Oxford and Air Force Research Laboratory, they found that dislocations in iridium undergo a unique structural transformation that provokes a rapid increase of dislocation density. This leads to a very intense hardening during deformation that makes the material brittle.

Dr. Ritesh Agarwal joins the MSE department as its newest Assistant Professor.
Ritesh Agarwal is the newest member of the MSE faculty and joins the department in Fall 2005. Dr. Agarwal's research is focused on the rational development of functional nanostructured materials for application in novel nanophotonic devices. His research in nanotechnology extends across several frontiers of science and engineering, including the rational growth of functional nanostructured materials, understanding of physical behavior at the nanoscale, and the hierarchical assembly of nanostructures into integrated nanosystems. >> Read More >>

I-Wei Chen to receive 2006 Sosman Award from the American Ceramic Society.
I-Wei Chen has been selected as the winner of the 2006 Sosman Award by the American Ceramic Society. The Sosman Award represents the highest level of recognition for scientific accomplishment awarded by the Basic Science Division of the American Ceramic Society. The award consists of a plenary lecture presented at the Annual Meeting and a symposium in honor of the recipient at the 2006 annual meeting. More information can be found at http://209.115.31.62/basicscience/sosman.htm

Penn Researchers Take a Big Step Forward in Making Smaller Circuits
Charlie Johnson's (secondary professor in MSE) group have overcome a major hurdle in the race to create nanotube-based electronics. An article in the August 2005 issue of Nature Materials describes their method of creating a functional electronic circuit by dipping semiconductor chips into liquid suspensions of carbon nanotubes, rather than growing the nanotubes directly on the circuit. (http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=825)

Small Technology, Big Promise
The Nano/Bio Interface Center (NBIC), directed by Dawn Bonnell was featured in recent articles describing how the center is helping write the rulebook for the future of nanotechnology. The full articles can be downloaded at:

http://www.nanotech.upenn.edu/news_images/tiny_on_a_grand_scale.pdf
http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0505/feature01.html

Peter Davies receives two teaching awards.
Peter K. Davies , Chair of Materials Science and Engineering, was recognized twice for his exceptional teaching. He received the S. Reid Warren, Jr. Award for Teaching by the Engineering Alumni Society in recognition of "outstanding service in stimulating and guiding the intellectual and professional development of undergraduate students" and the "Spotlight on Teaching Recognition Award" from the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education for his lectures in the "Hard Sciences".

Bill Romanow receives SEAS staff Recognition Award.
Bill Romanow was selected as the 2005 recipient of the SEAS Staff Recognition Award which honors those staff who go "above and beyond" in their service to students and staff. Bill has served our department and school with distinction for more than 40 years, supervising facilities in the LRSM and in MSE, guiding graduate and undergraduate students in technical aspects of their research, and as the coordinator of our Instruction Laboratories. This is an award well deserved.

Dawn Bonnell receives the Staudinger-Durrer Prize.
Dawn Bonnell was named the 2005 recipient of the Staudinger-Durrer Prize by the Department of Materials at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in recognition of "her pioneering research in the area of nanometer-scale phenomena of complex materials."

More information can be found on their website at http://www.mat.ethz.ch/about_us/staudinger_durrer_prize

Jack Fischer wins DOE "Grand Challenge" award.
As part of its "Grand Challenge" program for new materials and concepts for hydrogen storage the Department of energy announced Jack Fischer's group will head a $1.5M project on "Carbide-Derived Carbons with tunable Porosity optimized for Hydrogen Storage"

MSE Alum Dr. Subash Senghal elected to National Academy of Engineering.
Dr. Subhash Senghal (Ph.D. 1969) , Battelle Fellow and director of fuel cells research at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was one of 74 members of the "class of 2005" elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Subhash was cited by NAE "for the development and promotion of solid oxide fuel cells for clean and efficient power generation." (http://www.pnl.gov/news/2005/05-11.stm)

Winey and Fischer "most downloaded".
Jack Fischer and Karen Winey's article describing the coagulation method for preparing nanotube / polymer composites was among the 20 most downloaded papers of the Journal of Polymer Science Polymer Physics between 2001 and 2004. (F. Du, J. E. Fischer, K. I. Winey, J. Polym. Sci.: Polym. Phys., 41, 3333-3338, 2003.)

MSE Alum Greg Rohrer new Department Head at Carnegie Mellon.
Greg Rohrer (Ph.D., 1989) was named as the new head of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Carnegie Mellon University . He replaces Alan W. Cramb (Ph.D., 1979), another Penn MSE alum.

MSE Alum Jan Genzer receives the 2005 APS Dillon Award.
Jan Genzer (Ph.D. 1996) received the 2005 Dillon Award from the American Physical Society. Jan, who is Professor of Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University , received the award at a symposium held in his honor at the APS 2005 March meeting. The picture shows Jan with his Ph.D. advisor Russ Composto, together with two other alumni from the Composto group, Lynn Loo (BS 1996) and Howard Wang (PhD 2000) after the symposium. All three alumni are winners of the NSF Career award.

Dawn Bonnell to direct Penn's new NSF-funded Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center
Penn is one of six institutions to to receive funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a new Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC). With the funding, Penn's Nano/Bio Interface Center will bring together researchers from across campus to study the intersection of technology and biology at the nanoscale - or molecular - level. The Penn center, directed by Dawn Bonnell from MSE, will receive $11.6 million over the next five years, renewable for a second term for a total of approximately $23 million from the NSF program, along with several million-dollar additional grants from NSF and other government sources. [http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=677]

Shu Yang named one of world's top young researchers by Technology Review
Shu Yang has been named to the 2004 list of the world's 100 Top Young Innovators by Technology Review, a publication of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The “TR100,” chosen by the editors of Technology Review and an elite panel of judges, consists of 100 individuals under age 35 whose innovative work in technology has a profound impact on today's world. [http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=674]

MSE alum nominated for Secretary of the Army
President Bush has nominated Dr. Francis J. Harvey to be the next secretary of the Army. Dr. Harvey, currently vice chairman of Duratek, Inc., received his doctorate from the MSE department under the guidance of Prof. Worrell.[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/09/20040915-6.html]

MSE Researchers Spin Carbon Nanotubes into Usable Fibers
Dr. Fischer's group, in collaboration with Prof. Smalley's group at Rice, report the first large-scale manufacture of fibers composed solely of single-walled nanotubes in the Sept. 3 issue of Science.[http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=667]

Wayne Worrell receives one of Electrochemical Society’s highest awards
Prof. Wayne Worrell is the recipient of the 2004 Edward Goodrich Acheson Award established in 1928 for “distinguished contributions to the advancement of any of the objects, purposes or activities of The Electrochemical Society, Inc.” [http://www.electrochem.org/]