Charan Srinivasan (ESM doctoral candidate) has brought international recognition to his research on hybrid approaches to nanolithography and chemical patterning as a Materials Research Society (MRS) Fall Meeting 2007 Graduate Student Silver Medalist (November 2007). MRS recognizes graduate students who author/co-author symposium papers that exemplify significant and timely research. Recently, he was the lead author in a paper titled ‘Scanning Electron Microscopy of Nanoscale Chemical Patterns,’ in the journal ACS Nano (October 2007). His previous work was featured as a cover image in the journal Applied Physics Letters and was highlighted in the Editor’s Choice section of Science magazine (February 2007). For more information on Charan’s research visit his website.

Penn State will receive three new scholarship endowments for engineering students, thanks to a $150,000 gift from University alumnus and State College native John D. Bender. Bender, who earned a master's degree in engineering mechanics from Penn State in 1976, chose to honor Andrew Pytel, professor emeritus of engineering mechanics, in addition to his own his parents and brother in creating and naming the endowments.

For additional information about this story, visit Penn State Live.

When engineering science seniors were asked to develop their senior capstone and design research projects, Eli Katz's view of problem solving moved beyond the laboratory. Eli, who describes himself as committed to community service (he has just applied to the Teach For America program), sought out Thomas Colledge, faculty adviser to Penn State's Engineers for a Sustainable World, and presented his idea for incorporating his engineering skills and teaching interests into self help modules for engineers who are involved in community service projects. Says Eli, “The goal of my thesis is to develop two modules (weather station and survey) that will provide young engineers with practical tools to create strategies and identify resources that are both innovative, such as wind energy, and practical such as surveying land for infrastructure”. Once developed, the effectiveness of the modules will be assessed at Jacob’s Ladder, a 6,000 resident self-sustainable Mustard Seed community currently being developed for handicapped adults in Moneague, Jamaica. Eli notes, “If successful, these modules will serve as a template for similar future endeavors in economically challenged areas such as Nicaragua and Africa”. To learn more about Penn State’s Engineers for a Sustainable World, visit their website.

Susan Trolier-McKinstry
Penn State Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Wednesday, December 5, 2007
3:35 p.m.
114 Earth-Engineering Sciences Bldg.

Howard Eichenbaum
Department of Psychology
Center for Memory and Brain, Boston University


Wednesday, December 12, 2007
4:00 p.m.
108 Wartik Lab

Dr. Charles E. Bakis, Professor, is presenting an invited paper on "Effect of Vacuum on the Transverse Tensile Behavior of Filament Wound Composites for Flywheel Applications," at the 10th Japan International Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering Symposium and Exhibition, November 27-30, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan.

In 2006, Dr. Tony Huang, James Henderson Assistant Professor, and colleagues Dr. Chung-Chiun Liu of Case Western Reserve, Dr. Fraser Stoddart of UCLA and Dr. William Goddard of Caltech were awarded a four year grant from the National Science Foundation to explore a class of polymers called rotaxanes. Rotaxane's appeal as a bio-mechanical material stems from its ability to cross the boundaries of chemistry and physics at nanoscale. Through their research, Dr. Huang and colleagues were able to design molecular motors utilizing rotaxane’s.

Citing the near-term potential of these molecular motors, Huang says, "We use these motors to drive fluid like a pump. These days, microdevices are small but the power supply required is huge—today's micropumps require fifteen to twenty volts. These pumps require only .5 to 2 volts. That will help a lot of different applications."

To find out more about Dr. Tony Huang’s utilization of nanotechnology, more of his accomplishments and research, visit Research Penn State.

Dr. Sulin Zhang, Assistant Professor, and Mr. Pratyush Tewari, graduate degree candidate, are attending the fall 2007 meeting of the Materials Research Society on November 26 - 30, 2007.

The 2007 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting will feature 42 technical symposia in seven topical clusters, an international exhibit highlighting products and services of interest to the materials community, and much more.

More specifically, Dr. Zhang will be presenting a paper, “Size-dependent Endocytosis of Nanoparticles,” a collaborative effort with Professor Ju Li at the University of Pennsylvania and Professor Subra Suresh at MIT.

Pratyush Tewari is going to give two presentations, one on “Interfacial effects in organic- inorganic laminar composite dielectric structures,” and the other “Interfaces in Organic and Molecular Electronics III.” His goal is to present the role of making high energy density composite dielectrics.

Dr. Albert Segall was invited to visit and present at the ElementSix facility in Springs, South Africa. He’ll be holding discussions about possible joint research projects involving wear of diamond coated core bits and the inverse determination of temperatures using remote temperature and strain data. Additionally, Dr. Segall may also be assisting in the development of relevant tests to assess their diamond coated boring mills.

While at the facility, Dr. Segall presented on two additional topics, “Science Fiction and New Opportunities for Engineering Instruction” and “Ti and Boron-Nitride Self-Lubricating Coating Systems Manufactured by High Velocity Particle Consolidation.” Finally, he met with various faculty and the department head of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg to discuss potential research collaborations and the exchange of students.

Congratulations to Dr. Judith A. Todd, P. B. Breneman Department Head Chair. Dr. Todd, pictured third from the left, is a recipient of the 2006 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. She and other recipients were guests of the White House on Friday, November 16, 2007, and posed for a group photograph with President Bush in the Oval Office.

Dr. Todd was recognized for her "career-long efforts that have advanced the knowledge and understanding of diversity and opportunity", and for her track record in mentoring women engineers at all levels in their careers.

Jian Xu
Penn State Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
3:35 p.m.
114 Earth-Engineering Sciences Bldg.

On Wednesday, November 7 and Thursday, November 8, the Ben Franklin Center of Excellence in Structural Health Monitoring held a conference at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on the University Park Campus.

The two day meeting highlighted fifteen speaker presentations, two poster display and exhibit sessions, group discussions, and a tour of the PTI laboratory. Over forty participants, coming from all over the United States, came to Happy Valley to attend the informational and eye opening event.

For more information, contact Director, Cliff Lissenden (lissenden@psu.edu) or Associate Director, Edward Smith (ecs5@psu.edu) or visit www.esm.psu.edu/shm.

ESM is proud to announce that Stephen Koytek received the William J. and Ethel Harer Madden Memorial Honors Scholarship for the 2007-08 academic year.

Stephen recently transferred to University Park from the Worthington Scranton Campus and is currently pursuing a bachelors degree in Engineering Science. In addition, he is also planning to minor in astrophysics and mathematics, as well as becoming involved in campus activities such as Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society), Society for Engineering Scientist, Science Lions, and Veritas.

Join us in congratulating Stephen on his many accomplishments and aspirations.

Dr. Mehdi M. Yazdanpanah
ElectroOptics Research Institute and Nanotechnology Center
University of Louisville

Wednesday, November 14, 2007
3:35 pm
114 Earth-Engineering Sciences Bldg.

Nicholas Fieldhouse and Sean Pursel, currently pursuing their Master of Science, Engineering Science degrees, along with Andrew Serfass traveled to Austin Texas on Thursday, November 1, 2007 to attend and participate at the Global Idea to Product Competition.

Their “idea/product” is the Skier Advancement System (SAS) which has the ability to provide accurate performance data that can be analyzed to improve ski technique and enhance the overall sport experience. Through BluetoothTM technology to an audible readout on the skier, it records performance data about ski tilt, inclination, vibration, and position on the mountain. With this new way to manipulate the technology, it’ll make the most amateur skier a veteran on the slopes.

The team presented their idea at the competition, though they didn't win a prize, it was an excellent learning experience and they were able to build some great contacts.

Richard Martukanitz
Penn State Applied Research Lab

Wednesday, November 7, 2007
3:35 p.m.
114 Earth-Engineering Sciences Bldg.