Albert E. Segall, associate professor of engineering sience and mechanics presented a paper titled "Boundary-Conditions, temperatures, and Stress-Intensity Factors under Arbitrary Thermal Transients via the Inverse Route", at the 19th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, August 12-17, Toronto, Canada.

The paper was co-authored with graduate student John Meeker (M.S., EMch).

Akhlesh Lakhtakia, The Charles G. Binder Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, will give a plenary talk at the Nanotech, Solar and Lighting Researchers Reveal Technical Innovations at SPIE Optics + Photonics Conference, August 26-30, in San Diego, California.

Lakhtakia's nanotechnology talk titled "Brave New Nanoworld, Without Apologies to Aldous Huxley" contends that scientific progress has inspired futurists for centuries to conjure visions of utopias and dystopias. The emergence of nanosciences and nanotechnologies is bringing us closer to the realization of both types of visions, and their confluence with life sciences as well as information sciences.

Source: SPIE web

Judith A. Todd, P. B. Breneman Department Head Chair, was prsented with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Dedicated Service Award, at the 2007 Honors Luncheon at the PVP07/CREEP 8 Conference. Dr. Todd, outgoing Chair of the Pressure Vesels and Piping Division received the surprise award “for dedicated voluntary service to the Society marked by outstanding performance, demonstrated effective leadership, prolonged and committed service, devotion, enthusiasm, and faithfulness.

Prof Todd has served as ASME’s Vice President for the Manufacturing Technology Group, Vice Chair of the Council on Engineeirng, Representative to the Board on Professional Development, member of the Knowledge and Community Groups Governing Board Operations, and on numerous society level committees including Strategic Management and Policy Review Focus teams.

Dr. Sulin Zhang joins Engineering Science and Mechanics as Assistant Professor fall semester 2007. Dr. Zhang was awarded a masters degree in Engineering Mechanics from Tsinghua University in China and a doctoral degree in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois-Urbana. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Northwestern University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Biologically Inspired Materials Center and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arkansas.

His current research activities include multiscale coarse-grained modeling of DNA-carbon nanotube interactions, multiscale modeling of nanoparticle-cell interactions, coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of lipid and lipid bilayers, multiscale modeling of tribological properties of nano-scale contacts, multiscale modeling of cell adhesion, cell-carbon nanotube interactions, eneregetics and kinetics of defects in carbon nanotubes, and mechanical properties of carbon nanotube bundles, networks and composites.

Dr. Zhang is the recipient of a 2007 NSF Career Award, the 2006 Oak Ridge Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, and a 2004 NSF Summer Institute Fellowship.