Tom G. Mackay, Adjunct Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, and his wife Sophie have a new baby: a daughter named Freya. She was born at 0115 BST in Scotland. Tom, a Reader in Applied Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, and Sophie, a Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at the University of St. Andrews, also have a two-year old son named Magnus.

Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Charles G. Binder Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, will present a paper titled "Nanoengineering, Metamaterials, and Sculptured Thin Films " at the 2009 Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) Conference and Exposition on June 1, 2009, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Melik Demirel, Associate Professor of Engineering Science, presented two invited talks on biodetection using nanostructured polymer films at the SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing, April 13-17, Orlando, Florida, 2009 and the Massachussett Institute of Technology (MIT), Polymer Science Seminar, March 3-4, Boston, MA, 2009

Melik Demirel, associate professor in engineering science and mechanics, will present a summer short course on "Medical Nanotechnology"at the Koc University Istanbul, Turkey between June 22-26th 2009. The course notes will be published as a textbook by a major book publisher. The course is open to all interested students and faculty.

Tony Huang, Assistant Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, and the work of his research group on tunable liquid lens continues to gain coverage in the media. Most recently, U.S. News and World Report profiled their work. The article may be viewed at the U.S. News and World Report website.

Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Charles G. Binder professor of engineering science and mechanics, participated in the Symposium on Nano-sculptured Optical Thin Films at the National Taipei University of Technology, and delivered two lectures: (i) Sculptured Thin Films: Nanoengineered Metamaterials, and (ii) Replication of Bugs' Eyes and Wings, Etc.. The one-day symposium was held May 13, 2009.

Dr. Osama O. Awadelkarim has joined the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems' (EOLSS) as a Vice President and member of the Committee on the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies.

The EOLSS is an interdisciplinary encyclopedia sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is the "world's largest online publication dedicated to the health, maintenance, and future of the web of life on planet Earth".

Drs. Andrew Pytel and Jaan Kiusalaas, professors emeritus in Engineering Science and Mechanics recently published the 3rd editions of Engineering Mechanics: Statics and Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics. For more information, please visit this website.

Daniel Zindel recently completed a 6-month visit to the ESM Composites Laboratory to work on his master’s thesis with Dr. Charles Bakis. In April, Daniel passed his thesis examination and earned the Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - Zurich (ETH). Daniel was co-advised by Prof.
Bakis and Dr. Gerald Kress of the Center of Structure Technologies, ETH Zurich. His thesis topic was Mechanical Modeling of Filament Wound Flexible Matrix Composites.

Corrosion is a “thin film” layer of attack on any type of metal. Dr. Barbara Shaw’s Corrosion Short Course provides researchers and scientists information on the latest experimental methods to study corrosion. Now in its thirteenth year, past Corrosion Short Course attendees include those in the fields of engineering, biomedical (to reduce corrosion of implants), gas and oil industries, and even a museum curator who is responsible for maintaining an environmentally safe exhibit for the Civil War icon USS Monitor.

For additional information on short course topics and to register for the Thirteenth Annual Short Course on Corrosion scheduled June 7-12, 2009, visit: www.esm.psu.edu/corrosion