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. 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.