2011-2012
Annual
Report
Facts at a Glance
2011-2012 Highlights
Tenure-Track Faculty FTE
12.3
Undergraduate Students
134
Graduate Students
Ph.D. Awarded (11-12)
96
6
M.S. Awarded (11-12)
11
B.S. Awarded (11-12)
12
Teaching Faculty FTE
Research Expenditures
Refereed Journal Publications
2
$6.4M
102
Welcoming New Materials Faculty
Assistant professor Hao Cheng joins the department as of September 2012. He comes to us from his most recent position as a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Professor Robert Langer at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative
Cancer Research at MIT. Teaching associate professor Christopher Weyant joined us last fall from the Department of
Materials Science and Engineering at Stony Brook University.
Alumni Gain Faculty Positions
Three recent Ph.D. alumni have received faculty positions at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of New
Hampshire, and University of North Dakota.
Gogotsi Designated as Laureate for European
Carbon Association Award 2012
Distinguished University and Trustee Chair Professor Yury Gogotsi is the second person to be chosen to be the Laureate
for the European Carbon Association Award 2012.
Ph.D. Student Kristy Jost Receives Two
Prestigious National Fellowships
Ph.D. student Kristy Jost (advisor: Yury Gogotsi) is a recipient of both the Department of Defense National Defense
Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) and National Science Foundation Graduate Research
Fellowship (NSF GRFP).
Young Faculty Early Career Awards
Three young faculty have received a total of six early career awards this spring. Assistant professor Steven May has
received both National Science Foundation CAREER (NSF-CAREER) and Army Research Office Young Investigator
Program (YIP) awards. Assistant professor James Rondinelli also has received a YIP as well as a DARPA Young Faculty
Award. Hoeganaes Assistant Professor Mitra Taheri has been awarded both an NSF-CAREER and Department of
Energy Early Career Research Program grant.
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14
18
19
22
Letter from the Department Head
I am pleased to share the tremendous
growth and accomplishments of our department in 2011-2012. This year, in particular,
has been punctuated by exceptional research
activity. The newest members of our faculty collected an unprecedented
number of prestigious
early career awards and
the more senior leaders
are bringing their work to
fruition. Our students are
gaining recognition for
Drexel Materials through
prestigious national and
international awards and
affiliations. We are also
focusing on our local community to make the field of materials science and
engineering accessible to the general public.
This year, our research expenditures have
reached a record high of $6.4M. This amount
is nearly 30% higher than our previous all-time
high, with a good distribution among faculty
members. The productivity of our faculty at all
levels is reflected in this milestone.
4
Our newest faculty members are off to a
quick start in research. Each one garnered two
early career research awards, for a total of six
awards in the department, an unprecedented
number in any single department at one time.
Assistant professor Steven May has received
both National Science Foundation CAREER
(NSF-CAREER) and Army Research Office
Young Investigator Program (YIP) awards.
Assistant professor James Rondinelli also
has received a YIP as well as a DARPA Young
Faculty Award. Hoeganaes Assistant Professor
Mitra Taheri has been awarded both an
NSF-CAREER and Department of Energy Early
Career Research Program grant. We look
forward to seeing where their research leads
over the coming years.
Our seasoned faculty continue to build on
their discoveries. This year’s research news
kicked off with a new discovery from Professors
Yury Gogotsi and Michel Barsoum and
their collaborators, published as a cover article
in Advanced Materials. While searching for
new materials for electrical energy storage,
their team has discovered a new family of
two-dimensional compounds, which they have
dubbed MXenes, proposed to have unique
properties that may lead to groundbreaking
advances in energy storage technology.
This year we added three new faculty to our
ranks. Assistant professor Hao Cheng launches the Nanobiomaterials and Cell Engineering
Laboratory this fall and works at the interface of
materials science and medicine, investigating
nanomaterial-cell interactions and developing
new biomaterials for medical applications.
Teaching associate professor Christopher
Weyant has brought fresh ideas to teaching
and oversees demos in our department as well
as our new Materials Summer Institute program
for high school students. Finally, assistant professor Garritt Tucker will join us in fall 2013.
He brings novel solutions to nanoscale structureproperty relationships, multiscale material
behavior, and advanced material functionality
for emerging technologies.
Pioneering advancements in new materials, a group of researchers led by Professor
Christopher Li have developed a new form
of buckypaper, a sheet of carbon nanotubes,
with potential uses ranging from body armor
to next-generation batteries. The results of their
findings have been published in ACS Nano.
Our research often results in beautiful images
that have been selected to grace refereed journal
covers. In addition to Gogotsi and Barsoum’s
cover, Rondinelli had his research work on ferroelectric materials appear as an inside cover
image in Advanced Materials and Gogotsi’s
research work with affiliated faculty member
E. Caglan Kumbur of the Department of
Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics was
featured as a back cover image in a special
issue of Advanced Energy Materials.
Our faculty continue to bring in new research awards. Barsoum has received a grant
from the Nuclear Energy University Programs to
continue research of MAX phases in nuclear environments. Professor Taheri was the recipient
of three grants from the Department of Energy,
NSF, and Office of Naval Research to further
the study of materials used in nuclear research
and issues related to corrosion. May and associate professor Jonathan Spanier have
been awarded a DURIP (Defense University
Research Instrumentation Program) grant from
the Army Research Office to purchase new
equipment. In addition, Spanier is leading a
collaborative project awarded by NSF and
the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative of the
Semiconductor Research Corporation that may
lead to a new generation of low-power, high
on-off current ratio, fast response switches and
will change the way we use many modern-day
devices. In my own research, I have received
a grant from Abbott Laboratories to develop
a new modeling capability for predicting the
behavior of pharmaceutical materials during
tablet production and their properties.
It is always a pleasure to see the sages of
our department honored for their contributions to
the field of materials science and engineering.
Professor emeritus Alan Lawley received
the Kempton H. Roll PM Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Metal Powder Industries
Federation, which recognizes individuals with
outstanding accomplishments and achievements who have devoted their careers and a
lifetime of involvement to the field of powder
metallurgy and related technologies. Professor
Lawley’s impact upon the field and our department are significant and it is fitting that he has
been acknowledged for his lifetime of work in
this area.
Our students set the bar ever higher in their
achievements.
In particular, Ph.D. student
Kristy Jost, working with Prof. Gogotsi, has
not only received a prestigious Department of
Defense NDSEG Fellowship, but has also received an equally impressive National Science
Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
Kristy comes to the department with a background in fashion design and is pushing the
boundaries that lie between science and art.
After graduation, our alumni are coming full
circle. Three of our recent alumni have landed
positions in academia: Dr. Aaron Sakulich
is Assistant Professor of the Department of Civil
and Environmental Engineering at Worcester
Polytechnic Institute; Dr. Marko Knezevic
has been appointed Assistant Professor of
Mechanical Engineering at the University of
New Hampshire; and Dr. Surojit Gupta
has been appointed Assistant Professor of
Mechanical Engineering at the University of
North Dakota. We wish them well as they
bring Drexel’s name to new institutions around
the country.
To bring our research and activity in the
field of materials to a greater community, we
organized two events, engaging with both the
larger Drexel population, as well as the Greater
Philadelphia area.
“Small and Exquisite:
Visual Explorations in Materials Science and
Engineering” presented award-winning research
images from our faculty and students to the
Mandell Theater Lobby for a 10-day exhibit. In
conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania,
Philly Materials Science and Engineering Day
brought hands-on demos and talks to nearly
1300 people of all ages, connecting them with
the excitement that is materials science and
engineering.
From those who know what materials is and
those who have yet to discover the excitement
it has to offer, I invite you to learn more about
what we do in Drexel Materials.
Antonios Zavaliangos, Ph.D.
Department Head and Professor
5
Materials Science & Engineering Faculty
Michel W. Barsoum
Michele Marcolongo
Jonathan E. Spanier
Yury G. Gogotsi
Steven May
Mitra Taheri
Surya R. Kalidindi*
James Rondinelli
Christopher Weyant
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A.W. Grosvenor Professor
Ph.D., Kiev Polytechnic, UA
Distinguished Univ. & Trustee Chair Prof.
Ph.D., M.I.T.
Professor
Ph.D., Univ. of Pennsylvania
Professor
Ph.D., Northwestern Univ.
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
Assistant Professor
Richard Knight
Caroline L. Schauer
Christopher Y. Li
Wei-Heng Shih
Ph.D., Loughborough, UK
Assoc. Dept. Head, Teaching Prof.
Ph.D., University of Akron
Professor
Ph.D., SUNY Stony Brook
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Ohio State University
Professor
Ph.D., Columbia University
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University
Hoeganaes Assistant Professor of Metallurgy
Ph.D., Northwestern University
Teaching Associate Professor
Antonios Zavaliangos
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department Head and Professor
The department welcomes Dr. Hao Cheng
as Assistant Professor, effective September 2012.
E. Caglan Kumbur
Wan Young Shih
Adam Fontecchio
Kenneth K. S. Lau
Karl Sohlberg
Alexander Fridman
Bahram Nabet
Yen Wei
Haviva Goldman
Giuseppe Palmese
Margaret Wheatley
Assoc. Prof., Electrical & Computer Engineering
J. S. Nyheim Chair Prof., Mech. Engr. & Mech.
Assoc. Professor, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Asst. Prof., Chemical & Biological Engineering
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department Head, Chemical & Bio. Engr.
Associate Professor, Biomed. Engr. & Health Sys.
Associate Professor, Chemistry
Professor, Chemistry
John M. Reid Prof., Biomed. Engr. & Health Sys.
EMERITUS FACULTY
6
Roger Corneliussen
Ihab Kamel
Roger D. Doherty
Jack Keverian
Dr. Weyant has a B.S. with
Honors in Engineering Science from Pennsylvania
State University, an M.S. in Materials Science &
Engineering from the University of Virginia, and
a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, also in
Materials. He spent time at Sandia National
Laboratories as a postdoc and has experience
in industry, including Honeywell Aerospace and
Capstone Turbine Corporation. He most recently
worked as Assistant Professor in the Department
of Materials Science and Engineering at Stony
Brook University. His expertise is in metals, corrosion, coatings, and mechanical behavior.
Welcoming Dr. Hao Cheng
Jason Baxter
Asst. Prof., Mechanical Engr. and Mechanics
The department welcomed Dr. Christopher
Weyant
as
Teaching
Associate Professor effective
September 2011.
* No longer with Drexel at the time of printing
AFFILIATED FACULTY
Asst. Prof., Chemical & Biological Engineering
Welcoming Dr. Christopher Weyant
Alan Lawley
Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering
Samuel K. Nash
Most recently a postdoctoral associate in the
laboratory of Professor Robert Langer at the David
H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
at MIT, Dr. Cheng researched the development of biomaterials to repair peripheral nerve
defects and engineering cell membranes for a
broad range of biomedical applications. Prior
to joining MIT, he conducted postdoctoral work
with Professor Hamid Band in the Department
of Medicine at Northwestern University, investigating drug delivery for cancer therapy and
fundamental cancer biology.
Dr. Cheng received his B.S. and M.S.
from Tsinghua University and his Ph.D. in
Materials Science
&
Engineering
from Northwestern
University.
His
Ph.D. research was
conducted
under
the supervision of
Professor Monica
Olvera de la Cruz and concerned the theoretical
modeling of polyelectrolyte self-assembly and
adsorption on charged surfaces.
At Drexel University, Dr. Cheng’s group,
the Nanobiomaterials and Cell Engineering
Laboratory, will work at the interface of materials science and medicine, investigating
nanomaterial-cell interactions and developing
new biomaterials for medical applications.
Dr. Garritt Tucker to Join
Department in 2013
Dr. Garritt Tucker will join the department in
September 2013 as Assistant Professor.
Currently a postdoctoral
research appointee in the
Computational
Materials
Science and Engineering department at Sandia National
Laboratories, Dr. Tucker is
employing large-scale computer simulations to explore
microstructure
evolution,
nanoscale plasticity, and
fundamental properties of
nanocrystalline materials for advanced functionality. While receiving a Ph.D. in 2011 in Materials
Science and Engineering (MSE) from the Georgia
Institute of Technology, Dr. Tucker was an MSE
department fellow where he studied with Professor
David L. McDowell in the Mechanics of Materials
research group. He received a B.S. in both Physics
and Mathematics (cum laude and academic allAmerican) from Westminster College in 2004. His
work has utilized massively-parallel algorithms on
high-performance computer platforms and has been
highlighted at premier international conferences and
nominated for a Sigma Xi award.
Dr. Tucker’s research group at Drexel University
will use innovative computational techniques,
7
Materials In Action
Materials Science & Engineering Staff
Department Staff
Leslie Anastasio**
Operations
Manager
Systems
Administrator
Sarit Kunz
Keiko Nakazawa
Yenneeka Long
Dorilona Rose
Academic Program
Coordinator
Business Manager
Drexel
Nanotechnology
Institute (DNI)
Jill Buckley
Business
Coordinator
Michelle Sipics**
Education
and Outreach
Coordinator
Danielle Tadros
Education
and Outreach
Coordinator
* No longer with Drexel at
the time of printing
** Arrived in FY 2012-2013
8
Andrew Marx
Materials Program
Manager
Operations
Manager
Centralized
Research
Facilities (CRF)
Ed Basgall
Manager, Scanning
Electron Microscopy
Sahar Javedani
Associate Director,
Core Facilities and
Special Projects
Craig Johnson
Manager,
Transmission
Electron Microscopy
Zhorro Nikolov*
Associate Director;
Manager, Materials
Characterization,
Microfabrication
For a current list of faculty and staff
please visit www.mse.drexel.edu
including multi-scale simulations to investigate nanomaterial structure and evolution
in extreme environments, including defect
nucleation and interactions with interfaces.
His work will specifically focus on bridging
the gap between simulation and experiment
to study novel mechanisms fundamental to
improving material multifunction for both
structural and energetic applications.
Introducing New Staff Member in
Centralized Research Facilities
The Centralized Research Facilities welcomes Sahar Javedani, who joined the
staff as Business Manager in April 2012. As
of September 2012, she has been promoted
to Associate Director of Core Facilities and
Special Projects, which includes overseeing
the Engineers as Global Leaders for Energy
Sustainability (EAGLES) program.
Sahar earned her Master of Fine Arts
in Choreography and Integrated Media at
California Institute of the Arts and Bachelor
of Arts degree in Theater and Dance at
Hollins University. Her professional experience includes over ten years in higher education, non-profit administration, teaching,
and business development. Sahar moved to
Philadelphia after seven years in New York
City working in non-profit administration,
specifically in the roles of Membership and
Finance Manager and Director of Educational
Programming, developing and implementing
career readiness programs and professional
development
opportunities
for
recent
non-profit
management
graduates.
In her current position,
Sahar supports the administration, financial
accounting and procurement, business development, event planning, public relations,
and educational impact activities of the core
facilities.
Outside of work, Sahar is Creative
Director of compani javedani, a multidisciplinary performance company dedicated to
promoting compassion and mutual understanding through works inspired by the Silk
Road. She is currently serving a three-year
term on the National Arts Education Council
with Americans for the Arts.
Professor James Rondinelli’s Materials Theory and Design
Group Innovates Functional Materials In Silico
Linus Pauling wrote that, “We like to understand,
and to explain, observed facts in terms of structure.
A chemist who understands why a diamond has
certain properties, or why nylon or hemoglobin
have other properties, because of the different
ways their atoms are arranged, may ask questions
that a geologist would not think of formulating,
unless he had been similarly trained in this way of
thinking about the world.” These words describe
a well-defined cornerstone of materials science:
identifying structure–property relationships. The interrelationship is essential; it offers an approach to
understand and engineer new materials. Assistant
Professor James Rondinelli and his students in
the Materials Theory and Design Group (MTDG)
fully embrace this philosophy. In fact, they are using it to rationally design and discover materials
with extraordinary properties computationally in a
virtual laboratory.
The MTDG’s main goal is to reliably calculate
the properties of any material, either previously
synthesized or yet to be realized in the laboratory,
using only chemical composition and atomic structure as input. In particular, Rondinelli and his group
focus on technical challenges and overcoming
material disparities through strategically building
functionality into materials. They seek to understand how to combine diverse properties through
artificial structuring of materials at the atomic
scale. The theoretical tools include a combination
of first-principles electronic structure methods, e.g.
density functional theory (DFT), symmetry analysis,
and crystal chemistry descriptors to predict electronic and magnetic functionality while learning
about the atomic or electronic (sub-nanometer)
scale origin of the same behavior.
Vol. 24 • No. 15 • April 17 • 2012
D10488
www.advmat.de
Broadly, Rondinelli’s research aims to identify
the critical chemical compositions and atomic
structural features which determine the physical
properties of oxide and fluoride-based materials,
the latter being a new research avenue which
Rondinelli hopes to expand in the future. The
group focuses on correlating electronic and
magnetic properties in a variety of crystal families
to their basic structural units or building blocks.
Because DFT-based methods are able to reliably
and efficiently predict the spatial distribution of
electrons, total energies (and energy derivatives)
with respect to changes in atomic positions,
the normal modes or phonons of the crystal are
available. This information allows
Rondinelli to explore how bonding
Ferroelectric oxides do the twist. In Adv. Mater. 24, 1961 (2012),
between atoms occurs and to critiRondinelli et al. explain how to engineer polar displacements from rotacally correlate features in that elections, a “twisting-like” distortion of the corner-connected oxygen octahetronic structure to changes in the
dral that are common to perovskite oxides. Copyright Wiley-VCH Verlag
connectivity of the basic structural
GmbH & Co. KGaA. Reproduced with permission.
ADMA-24-15-Cover.indd 2
3/23/12 7:03:14 PM
9
Materials In Action
blocks described by these phonons, enabling
the prediction and design of improved materials
properties originating from these interactions.
The structure-driven design philosophy practiced in the MTDG, namely identifying how
atomic structure dictates materials behavior and
functionalities, has far-reaching applications
to diverse technologies. Rondinelli recently
discovered a new route to realize a class of
functional ferroelectric materials that are used in
low-power memory applications and ultrasound
imaging, from the bottom up, by exploiting the
underlying structural units. Ferroelectrics exhibit
a spontaneous and switchable electric polarization, however, they normally have a chemical
incompatible with other useful responses like permanent magnetizations. Writing in Advanced
Materials, Rondinelli reports how to design this
new class of ferroelectric materials by making
nanoscale composites of two chemically different oxides and allowing the polyhedral units of
the constituent materials to twist—adopting their
desired geometric arrangement. The artificial
materials resemble atomic scale “club sandwiches” and intriguingly are formed by combining two compounds, neither of which initially
displays ferroelectric behavior.
Ferroelectricity emerges in the new hybrid
material. The MTDG has used relatively inexpensive computational tools to develop powerful
10
guidelines to direct the synthesis of new materials. In essence, the research has significantly cut
the time that it would take to make these materials discoveries using traditional experimental
approaches.
Drexel Materials Group
Reports on New Form of
Buckypaper in ACS Nano
The group is also leveraging their computational approaches to explore other technologically important electronic and optical materials.
Particular emphasis is on understanding both
oxide and oxy-fluoride (fluoride substituted inorganic materials) with polyhedral linking framework structures and tailoring the composition to
support desired material responses. For example,
the MTDG is investigating the coupling between
electronic and lattice degrees of freedom, in
“charge ordering” oxides to develop a novel
transistor that operates on a metal-to-insulator
transition in metal oxide heterostructures. The
group is also interested in combining disparate
materials properties, e.g. noncentrosymmetric
crystal structures with metallic conductivity, as
a means towards the rational discovery of new
superconductors.
A group of Drexel materials researchers,
led by Professor Christopher Li, has developed a new form of buckypaper, a sheet
of carbon nanotubes, with potential uses
ranging from body armor to next-generation
batteries. The results of their findings have
been published in ACS Nano.
It is through the careful engineering of new
materials and the computational understanding of existing materials that Rondinelli and
the MTDG are forging new paths in materials
research. Their ultimate goal is to influence the
field of electronics, making things ever faster
while using less power.
Materials Ph.D. students Eric Laird,
Wenda Wang, Shan Cheng, Bing Li (all
advised by Professor Christopher Li), Dr.
Volker Presser, Ph.D. student Boris Dyatkin
(advisor: Professor Yury Gogotsi), Professor
Yury Gogotsi, and Li are the co-authors
on “Polymer Single Crystal-Decorated
Superhydrophobic
Buckypaper
with
Controlled Wetting and Conductivity.” The
research, funded by the National Science
Foundation, reports that there are several
ways to make buckypaper, which conducts
heat and electricity better than most known
materials. Buckypaper is formed by depositing a very thin layer of entangled carbon
nanotubes to create a fiber mat akin to office
paper. Li and colleagues note that no existing post-processing method allows researchers to increase the size of the tiny holes, or
pores, between the carbon nanotubes after
Comparison
of
single walled carbon
nanotubes (SWCNT)
buckypaper
and
nanohybrid
shish
kebab (NHSK) paper.
SEM image of top
surfaces of vacuumdeposited SWCNT
buckypaper (a) and
NHSK buckypaper
(b) are inset next
to optical images
of the as-deposited
SWCNT (c) and
NHSK paper with 25
wt.% SWCNT content (d) films. Light is easily reflected off the surface of SWCNT buckypaper, but is scattered effectively from the NHSK buckypaper surface. The two samples
also showed dramatically different water wetting behaviors.
they form the buckypaper. Li’s group looked for a
way to do that and to introduce other substances
to buckypapers that could make them more useful
in electronics or as sensors.
To control pore size, the team grew single
crystals of polymers around the nanotubes. The
group describes it as a “shish kebab” structure,
where the nanotubes are the skewers and the flat
crystals serve as kebabs. After the researchers
formed the buckypaper, these crystals held the
nanotubes apart. Li demonstrated that the crystals
allow researchers to control the pore sizes and
change the buckypaper’s conductivity, surface
roughness, and ability to shed water.
11
Excellence in Scholarship
Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering
Doctor of Philosophy Degrees
Christopher Michael Barr (BS/MS)
Naomi A. Hampson
Daniel Satko
Michael Thomas Coster (BS/MS)
Christopher J. Hawley
Sean Michael Stabler
Sean Michael Dowd
Stephanie Howell Johnson
Laura Toth
John J. Biel-Goebel
William R. O’Connor
Jennifer Susan Atchison
Gerard Klinzing
“Electrospinning Fluorescent Hybrid Polyelectrolyte Ultra-fine Fibers”
“Aspects into the structural integrity of
pharmaceutical bilayer tablets”
Supervising Professor: Caroline L. Schauer
Current Position: Laboratory Manager, Energy Materials Group;
Leibniz Institute for New Materials, GmbH; Saarbrücken, Germany
Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering
Anthony Fast
Christopher Michael Barr (Cum Laude)
Joseph Con-Chi Hsieh
Max E. Levy
Grady W. Bentzel
Venkat Rajan Iyer
Sherif Madkour
Michael Thomas Coster (Cum Laude)
Kristoffer J. Jones
John M. O’Driscoll
Spencer L. Dustin
Drew A. Konrady
Daniel Douglas Stewart
Graduating seniors and graduate students (from left to right)
Nathan Wald, Laura Toth, Ian McDonald, Jennifer Atchison,
“Developing Higher-Order Materials Knowledge Systems”
Supervising Professor: Surya Kalidindi
Current Position: Post-doc; University of California
Santa Barbara; Santa Barbara, CA
John O’Driscoll, attended the Materials Commencement
Dinner held on June 19th, 2012, pictured with Department
Head Dr. Antonios Zavaliangos, recipient of the 2012 Slag
Award.
Since 1978, the Slag Award has been “Presented annually
by the senior class in Materials Engineering to the faculty
member whose actions were most representative of scoria,
12
and who alone and unashamedly made life utterly miserable
in at least one professional course.”
Current Position: Sr. Scientist in Preclinical DevelopmentFormulation Sciences; Merck, & Co., Inc.; West Point, PA
Amanda Levinson
“The Role of Deformation Twinning on Strain Hardening
and Recrystallization in Magnesium Alloy AZ31”
Supervising Professor: Surya Kalidindi
Current Position: Post-doc, Naval Research Labs, Washington, D.C.
Matthew Hood
Alexander James Moseson
“Correlating the Structure and Properties of Highly Plastic
Segmented Polyurethane Nanocomposites Containing
Low Silicon Dioxide Filler Weight Fractions”
“Design and Implementation of Alkali Activated
Cement for Sustainable Development”
Supervising Professor: Christopher Li
Supervising Professor: Michel W. Barsoum
Current Position: Post-doc; Max Planck Institute
for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany
Current Position: Assistant Teaching Professor; Department of Mechanical
Engineering and Mechanics; Drexel University; Philadelphia, PA
Ebony Thompson, Drew Konrady, Daniel Stewart, Andrew
Lang, Grady Bentzel, Kristoffer Jones, Philipp Hunger, and
Supervising Professor: Antonios Zavaliangos
Philipp Hunger
“Structure-Property-Processing Correlations
in Freeze-Cast Hybrid Scaffolds”
Supervising Professor: Ulrike G.K. Wegst
Current Position: Research Associate, Dartmouth College,
Thayer School of Engineering, Hanover NH
* Received Ph.D. in MEM while supervised by MSE faculty
Sumona Sarkar
“Synthesis and Characterization of a Chondroitin Sulfate Based
Hybrid Bio/Synthetic Biomimetric Aggrecan Macromolecule”
Supervising Professor: Michele Marcolongo
Current Position: NAE Fellow; National Institute of
Standards and Technology; Gaithersburg, MD
* Received Ph.D. in BMES while supervised by MSE faculty
13
Alumn Impact
Alumna Dr. Elizabeth Hoffman to Receive 2012
ASM International Silver Medal Award
MSE alumna Dr.
Elizabeth Hoffman
(B.S.
2002,
Ph.D.
2007;
advisors:
Michel
Barsoum
and Yury Gogotsi)
has been named one
of two recipients of the
2012 ASM International
Silver Medal Award. Hoffman has been cited
“for exemplary leadership and service to ASM
International at the local chapter and national
level, and as an exemplary promoter of materials forums and networks for the new materials
profession.” The award was presented at ASM
International’s Annual Awards Dinner on October
9th, in Pittsburgh, PA as part of the Materials
Science and Technology 2012 Conference and
Exhibition.
Hoffman serves as a senior engineer at
Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL),
leading research in a broad range of materials
performance and degradation programs including corrosion of nuclear waste tanks, lifetime
evaluation of elastomers, radiation damage of
ternary carbides, and formation of metallic whiskers. In addition to her personal research, she
manages SRNL’s Laboratory Directed Research
and Development Program. She served
ASM International’s Philadelphia Liberty
Bell Chapter as Young Member Chair
According to ASM International, “established
in 2010, the honor of Silver Medal of the Society,
is to provide recognition to members who are in
mid-career positions (typically, 5 to 15 years of
experience) for distinguished contributions in the
field of materials science & engineering, and the
Society. The purpose of this award is to recognize
leadership at an early stage and encourage individuals to grow, nurture and further contribute
to the growth of the profession as well as the
Society.”
while in graduate school and has served
the Savannah River Chapter in several
executive committee functions, including
Chapter Chair.
Upon graduating with a Ph.D., many of
14
Engineering. The university is also completing a
new campus and students will transition there later
this year.
As assistant professor of Materials Science
and Engineering, Goknur is one of only four
faculty members in the fledgling department. She
cites Drexel and her Ph.D. advisor as influences
for her new role and for the development of the
new programs.
“During the preparation of these new departments, we looked at many university programs
and Drexel University was one of our models,”
says Goknur. “Drexel showed me that, to become
a top-notch research university, you do not need
to be the biggest, but you do need to have a
good team and to use your resources in the most
efficient way. I also have always felt lucky to be
a student of Professor Yury Gogotsi, who not only
taught me how to be a teacher and a researcher,
but showed me the importance of collaborations.”
Alumnus Dr. Aaron Sakulich Appointed
Assistant Professor at WPI
Alumnus Dr. Aaron Sakulich (B.S. 2005,
Ph.D. 2010) has been appointed assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute,
effective August 2012.
While at Drexel, Sakulich worked in the
MAX Phase and AAC Research Group under
the guidance of Professor Michel Barsoum.
He received a J. William Fulbright Foreign
Scholarship in 2007 to work at the University
Drexel MSE Alumna Helps to Establish a new
MSE Department at Turkish University
our students look to find academic positions at
universities. One recent alumna not only found
an academic position, but also is helping to
2007 under the supervision of Professor Yury
Gogotsi. She learned that Cankaya University
in Ankara was growing—transitioning from a college to a university with an emphasis on research.
Specifically, they were looking to expand their
engineering faculty. Goknur was hired to be on
a team of faculty to help develop the expanded
engineering school. As such, she has been
instrumental in founding four new departments:
Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, and Civil
Hassan II-Mohammedia near Casablanca,
Morocco. Since graduation, he first worked as
a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of
Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI and subsequently
as Guest Researcher at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD.
Sakulich’s areas of expertise include sustainability, “green“ materials, alkali activated slag
cements, and geopolymers.
establish a brand new Materials Science
and Engineering Department.
Dr. Goknur Cambaz Buke, a
native of Turkey, returned to her home
country after graduating with her Ph.D. in
Professor Yury Gogotsi (right) with three current and former
students at the International Ceramic Conference in Kutahya,
Turkey in fall 2010: (from left) Travis Longenbach (B.S.), Murat
Kurtoglu (Ph.D. 2011), Goknur Cambaz Buke (Ph.D. 2007)
Dr. Aaron Sakulich, as photographed in the Gouffre de Friouato, Africa’s
deepest cave system in a national park outside Taza, Morocco. Although
this photo was taken in November, it was 110°F inside the tunnels!
15
Alumn Impact
Two Drexel Materials Alumni Inducted As Alpha Sigma Mu Fellows
Two Drexel materials alumni were selected as
2011 Alpha Sigma Mu Fellows. Dr. Natraj
Iyer (M.S. 1977, Ph.D. 1984) and Mr. Frank
Zimone (B.S. 1980, M.S. 1983) were honored
on Monday, October 17, 2011 at the Materials
Science & Technology (MS&T) 2011 Conference
and Exhibition in Columbus, OH.
National Laboratory. He is presently on leave
from that position, serving on special assignment
as the Senior Technical Advisor in the Office of
Global Threat Reduction in the U.S. Department of
Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
Zimone is the President of the Society of Vacuum
Coaters and the Vice President of Business
Development for Angstrom Sciences, Inc.
Alpha Sigma Mu is the international professional and academic honor society for materials
science and engineering.
Iyer currently serves as the director of materials
science and technology at the Savannah River
Alumnus Dr. Marko Knezevic Appointed Assistant Professor at University of New Hampshire
Alumnus Dr. Marko Knezevic, (Ph.D.
2009) has been appointed assistant professor in
the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the
University of New Hampshire, effective January
2013.
16
While at Drexel, Knezevic pursued his Ph.D.
with advisor Surya Kalidindi and received
several awards including The George Hill, Jr.
Fellowship; Dragomir Nicolitch Charitable Trust
Scholarship; and Graduate Student Excellence
in Research and Teaching Awards. He was on
a team of four that developed a start-up business plan “Microstructure Sensitive Design of
Materials,” chosen as a winner in the concept and
the business plan competition in 2007 and 2008
sponsored by the Laurence A. Baiada Center for
Entrepreneurship in Technology.
Upon receiving his Ph.D., Knezevic joined
Scientific Forming Technologies Corporation in
Columbus, OH as a principal research scientist
for development of the commercial finite-element
code DEFORMTM used for analysis of manufacturing processes. He is currently a post-doctoral
researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory
(LANL) in Los Alamos, NM. At LANL, he was
awarded the LANL Seaborg Institute Postdoctoral
Fellowship and recently received the Defense
Programs Award of Excellence for his research
work on deformation physics based uranium
component modeling.
Knezevic’s research is focused on the fundamental understanding of materials behavior under
complex loading using a combination of computational methods and experiments, development
of constitutive material models, materials design at microstructural length
scales, as well as the development
of high-performance computational
applications integrating multi-scale
material models for predicting materials behavior.
Alumnus Surojit Gupta
Appointed Assistant
Professor at University
of North Dakota
Alumnus Dr. Surojit Gupta
(Ph.D. 2006, advisor: Michel
Barsoum) has been appointed
assistant professor in the Department
of Mechanical Engineering at the
University of North Dakota, effective
August 2012.
Prior to his faculty appointment,
he worked as a Faculty Researcher
at Rutgers University and acted as
a technical advisor and consultant
with Solidia Technology, a start-up
company funded by Kliner Perkins
Caulfield Byers.
His work with
Solidia Technology involved the
development of novel green structural
materials by CO2 sequestration. He
also served as postdoctoral fellow at
Pennsylvania State University. There
Images from the Small & Exquisite Materials Research Exhibition — for
more about the exhibit, turn to p. 28.
he developed mathematical models
to understand the manufacturing process of honeycomb ceramics.
At Drexel University, Gupta conducted his Ph.D. work with Professor
Michel Barsoum, working on the synthesis and characterization of different
novel ternary carbides and nitrides,
known as MAX Phases. As a part of
this study, he and his research group
successfully tested MAX Phase based
composite shafts in Foil Bearingbased Oil Free Turbomachinery.
17
Awards & Achievements
Professor Emeritus Lawley Receives Powder Metallurgy Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Alan Lawley, professor emeritus of materials science
and engineering and editor-in-chief of the International Journal
of Powder Metallurgy, was selected to receive the 2012
Kempton H. Roll PM Lifetime Achievement Award by the Metal
Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) Board of Governors and its
Awards Committee. Established in 2007, the award recognizes
individuals with outstanding accomplishments and achievements
who have devoted their careers and a lifetime of involvement
Ph.D. Student Kristy Jost Receives DoD NDSEG and NSF GRFP
Ph.D. student Kristy Jost (advisor: Yury
Gogotsi) is a recipient of both the Department
of Defense National Defense Science and
Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) and
National Science Foundation Graduate Research
Fellowship (NSF GRFP). Both highly competitive
fellowships for graduate study, each fellowship offers stipend and tuition for three years of graduate
study. Kristy is the fourth student to receive the
NDSEG and the eighth to receive the NSF GRFP
in the department’s history. She has accepted the
NDSEG Fellowship.
to the field of powder metallurgy and related technologies. Dr.
Lawley is the second recipient of this prestigious award, following Arlan J. Clayton who received the first award in 2008.
Dr. Lawley has been with Drexel’s Department of Materials
Science and Engineering since 1966, where he initiated the
Powder Metallurgy program in 1968. He is a member of the
National Academy of Engineering.
Three Faculty Receive Awards for Accomplishments
in Research and Scholarship
Professors
Antonios
Zavaliangos
(top left), Surya
Kalidindi (top
right), and Yury
Gogotsi (right)
18
Three Drexel materials faculty have received
recognition for their research and scholarship and for
being leaders in their fields.
for leadership in materials education. Kalidindi
was also elected as Fellow of ASME, the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Both Professors Antonios Zavaliangos
and Surya Kalidindi have been elected to be
Fellows of Alpha Sigma Mu. Alpha Sigma Mu
is the international professional honor society for
materials science and engineering. Zavaliangos is
being recognized for his role in furthering the field of
materials science and engineering in both the areas
of education and research and helping to lead the
rejuvenation of the Pennsylvania Alpha Chapter of
Alpha Sigma Mu. Kalidindi has received the honor
for the development of a new mathematically rigorous framework for customized design of new materials with tailored microstructures and their accelerated
insertion in advanced technology applications, and
Distinguished University and Trustee Chair
Professor Yury Gogotsi is the second person to be
chosen to be the Laureate for the European Carbon
Association (ECA) Award 2012.
Created in 2009,
the award is given every three years on the occasion
of the European edition of the World Conference on
Carbon and is selected by a vote of the ECA member
representatives from nominations made by individuals.
Gogotsi was recognized for his involvement in
the education and training of young carbon-scientistto-be students, as well as contributions to the research
activity of several European laboratories and groups
in France, Germany, and Ukraine.
Kristy’s research objectives focus on developing “smart” and electronic textiles by combining
high-tech fashion design techniques with advanced techniques in materials science and nanotechnology. “I am interested in electronic clothing
because of the exciting applications for textiles
that can communicate, textiles that can sense vital
signs for biomedical and military applications,
and integrated electronics in everyday clothing
for aesthetic expression,” says Kristy. “My main
research projects have primarily focused on integrated textile energy storage because energy storage is a fundamental challenge for the field since
all smart textiles will need a way to be powered.”
Kristy received her B.S. in Fashion Design from
Drexel in 2011.
Ph.D. Students’ NSF-IGERT Video and
Poster Wins Three Awards
Ph.D. students and National Science
Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and
Research Traineeship (NSF-IGERT) Fellows Kristy
Jost and Carlos Pérez (both advised by Yury
Gogotsi) swept the competition in the 2012
NSF-IGERT Video and Poster Competition. Their
video on Energy Textiles and accompanying
poster won the Judges’, Community, and Public
Choice Awards, the only work out of 114 entries
to receive all three awards.
The competition featured one entry from each
of the 114 NSF-IGERT programs from around
the country. Kristy and Carlos’ poster entitled,
“Energy Textiles: A Multidisciplinary Approach to
Wearable Energy Storage” was also co-authored
by Ph.D. student John (Jake) McDonough
(advisor: Yury Gogotsi) and Professor Genevieve
Dion, Program Director of the Department of
Fashion Design.
19
Awards & Achievements
Ph.D. Student Gregory Vetterick Selected to Serve as Student
Board Member on ASM International Board
Ph.D. student Gregory Vetterick (advisor:
Mitra Taheri) has been selected to serve as
one of three Student Board Members of ASM
International’s Board for a one-year term effective
June 2012. Gregory is the first Drexel student to
be selected to serve on the Board.
ASM International Student Board Members
provide a voice for students on the board. They
participate in web conference calls, in-person
board meetings, and the annual strategic planning
meeting for the organization. The objective of the
student members is to ensure that student interests
are being represented and that ASM International
is effective at recruiting and maintaining student
membership.
Gregory received his B.S. and M.S. in materials engineering from Iowa State University where
he served as vice president of Material Advantage
and the founder of a campus Alpha Sigma Mu
chapter. He is currently a member of the ASM
Web Committee and chair of the Networking
Subcommittee.
Ph.D. Student Babak Anasori’s Research Images Receive Recognition
A fire-breathing dragon. A southwestern rocky
bluff. Ph.D. student Babak Anasori (advisor:
Michel Barsoum) captures tangible pictures of
the tiny materials he views under a microscope.
His beautiful false-color imagery has caught the
eye of judges of micrography contests, websites,
and journals.
The micrograph “The Cliff of the TwoDimensional World” won the “People’s Choice”
award in the Science Magazine and National
Science Foundation 2011 International Science &
Engineering Visualization Challenge. The image
received the most votes from the general public to
garner the honor.
20
The Cliff of the Two-Dimensional World (left) and MAX Dragon (right)
The
image
resembles
a
red-rock
bluff
and
depicts
ultrathin layers
of titanium-based
compounds as
viewed
under
an electron microscope. The
image is the first
to be captured of
these materials, discovered at Drexel, in 2D. The
layers depicted in the image, which the researchers have named MXenes, are thin enough to be
considered two-dimensional. MXenes can be
used to produce energy storage devices, sensors,
and solar cells, among other applications. This
research was featured as the cover article in the
October 4, 2011 (Volume 23, Issue 37) issue of
Advanced Materials.
Babak’s image, “MAX Dragon” was featured
on the website of the American Physical Society
(APS) as one of 10 images per year to rotate on the
homepage. MAX Dragon is a colorized scanning
electron microscope (SEM) image of a fractured
surface of a novel nanocrystalline magnesium,
Mg, matrix composite, reinforced with Ti2AlC, a
MAX phase, that deforms primarily by kink-band
formation. In the image, a Ti2AlC grain kinked
several times during fracture to form a dragon.
Fire from the dragon represents the extraordinary
thermal stability of the nanocrystalline Mg matrix,
wherein heating to 50 °C above the melting point
of Mg did not lead to the coarsening of the Mg
nanograins. The image is credited to both Anasori
and his advisor, Dr. Barsoum.
MAX Dragon also received first place in
Class 11 Digital Microscopy Artistic in the 2011
International Metallographic Contest held by the
International Metallographic Society, an affiliate
of ASM International. In the same contest, Babak
and his colleagues received first place in “Class
9 Artistic Microscopy - Black and White Only”
for the image “The cave” and second place in
Class 4 Electron Microscopy Scanning for the
poster “Scanning Electron Microscopy of Two
Dimensional Ti3C2 Layers,” both based on Ph.D.
student Michael Naguib’s (advisor: Michel
Barsoum and Yury Gogotsi) research.
Both were co-credited to Naguib, Gogotsi, and
Barsoum.
Alicia Kriete Receives CPMT/Axel Madsen Award
B.S. student Alicia Kriete (advisor: Mitra
Taheri) is one of five recipients of the Center
for Powder Metallurgy Technology (CPMT)/Axel
Madsen Award.
The $1,500 award was used to help support
the costs of attending the 2012 International
Conference on Powder Metallurgy & Particulate
Materials (PowderMet 2012) held June 10-13 in
Nashville, including travel, conference registration, sessions, meal events, exhibit, and proceedings. Alicia was honored with the award at the
Industry Recognition Luncheon on Monday, June
11.
As a recipient of the award, Alicia prepared a
technical poster that was presented at the conference. In addition, she prepared a detailed report
about
the
conference
to be published in the
International
Journal
of
P o w d e r
Metallurgy.
21
Awards &
Achievements
B.S./M.S. student Emily Buck
Receives Tau Beta Pi Scholarship
B.S./M.S. student Emily Buck (advisor: Caroline
Schauer) is the recipient of a
Tau Beta Pi Scholarship.
The
award is given based on scholarship, campus leadership, service,
and a promise of contributions to
the engineering profession. Tau
Beta Pi is the engineering honor
society encompassing all the
engineering disciplines.
Materials Faculty and Staff
Honored During Engineers Week
A faculty member and two staff members from the
Department of Materials Science and Engineering and A.
J. Drexel Nanotechnology Institute (DNI) were honored by
the College of Engineering during an awards ceremony on
February 24, 2012 held in conjunction with Drexel’s celebration of Engineers Week.
Professor Christopher Li received the Outstanding
Research Award. Materials Business Manager Yenneeka
Long received the Outstanding Support Staff Award and DNI
Education and Outreach Coordinator Danielle Tadros
received the Outstanding Collaboration Award.
22
Major Research Initiatives & Activities
Materials Faculty Receive Early Career Awards
Three young faculty have received
a total of six early career awards this
spring.
Hoeganaes Assistant Professor
Mitra Taheri (middle) and Assistant
Professor Steven May (left) have both
received a five-year National Science
Foundation Faculty Early Career
Development grant (NSF-CAREER).
With “The Role of Grain Boundary
Character in Corrosion Behavior: Linking
Atomic Scale Interfacial Structure to
Precipitation and Failure Mechanisms,”
Dr. Taheri will use the award to develop
an understanding of the atomic scale
grain boundary structure dependence
of corrosion enhancing precipitation
in FCC metals. Dr. May’s award,
“Octahedral Control of Electronic
Properties in Semiconducting Perovskite
Heterostructures,” deals with complex
oxide thin films.
Additionally, Prof. Taheri has been
awarded a Department of Energy
Early Career Research Program grant.
“Linking the Correlated Dependence of
Grain Boundary Structure and Density
to Defect Evolution Mechanisms during
Radiation Damage” looks at the mutual
dependence of damage accumulation
on atomic scale grain boundary structure and density during irradiation.
Assistant
Professor
James
Rondinelli (right) and Prof. May
have also each received a three-year Young
Investigator Award from the Physics Division of
the Army Research Office Young Investigator
Program (YIP). Dr. Rondinelli will investigate the
“Ab initio design of noncentrosymmetric metals:
crystal engineering in oxide heterostructures.”
This research project focuses on identifying routes
to combine two disparate, yet technologically important, properties into complex oxide materials:
high electrical conductivity and optical activity,
e.g. birefringence. Dr. May will conduct research
on “Symmetry mismatched heterostructures: New
routes to bandwidth control in oxides,” to explore
the specific role that crystal symmetry plays in
determining the electronic, optical, and magnetic
properties of complex oxides.
Prof. Rondinelli is also the recipient of a DARPA
Young Faculty Award (YFA). “Seizing the third
dimension in correlated oxide thin films” seeks to
identify routes by which to control the atomic structure in thin films of functional electronic materials.
MXene – A New Family of 2-D Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides
An urgent challenge currently faced by
researchers and the public alike is the ability to
identify the next generation of sustainable, costeffective, and energy-efficient materials for our
everyday use. While searching for new materials
for electrical energy storage, a team of Drexel
University materials scientists has discovered a
new family of two-dimensional compounds proposed to have unique properties that may lead to
advances in energy storage technology.
The research team led by Dr. Yury Gogotsi
and Dr. Michel Barsoum published “TwoDimensional
Nanocrystals
Produced
by
Exfoliation of Ti3AlC2,” in Advanced Materials. In
their paper, the research team reports their ability
to transform three-dimensional titanium-aluminum
carbide, a typical representative of a family of
layered ternary carbides called MAX phases, into
a two dimensional structure with greatly different
properties. MAX phases, known as ductile and
machineable ceramics, have been researched by
Dr. Barsoum’s lab for more than a decade and
dozens of layered carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides with a variety of properties have been synthesized. However, these ceramics have always
been produced as three-dimensional materials.
of less than 40 nanometers (1000 times thinner
than a human hair), having the potential for a
broad range of applications, ranging from energy
storage devices to biomedical applications and
composites.
The Drexel researchers placed titanium-alumiThe scientists present their case using an array
num carbide (Ti3AlC2) powders in hydrofluoric
of experimental techniques and first principles
acid at room temperature to selectively remove
calculations. High-resolution transmission electron
the aluminum. The result of this chemical process,
microscopy, performed in collaboration with
referred to as exfoliation, essentially spreads-out
researchers from Sweden, has demonstrated
the layered carbide material
and yields two-dimensional
Scanning
electron
Ti3C2 nanosheets, which
micrograph of an exhave since been coined
foliated particle with
MXene, as a kin to grathe size of about 10
phene. Most notable is
micrometers. MXene
that the exfoliated matesheets can be separated by sonication.
rial exhibits many features
Image by Babak
of graphene. For example,
Anasori, false color
it can roll into nanotube-like
by Pavel Gogotsi.
scrolls, some with diameters
23
Major Research Initiatives & Activities
presence of single, double and multilayer sheets
with the lateral dimension of several micrometers
and thicknesses in the nanometer range. The
calculations predict large elastic moduli and an
electronic structure that can be tuned by changing
the surface chemistry of these sheets.
“Two-dimensional free-standing crystals, such
as graphene, boron nitride and metal chalcogenides (for example, molybdenum disulfide),
can differ strikingly in properties from their threedimensional counterparts. Currently, however,
there are relatively few such atomically layered
materials.” said Michael Naguib, a doctoral
candidate and first author of the article.
“Since Ti3AlC2 is a member of the MAX
phase family, that to date number over 60, the
importance of this study lies far beyond simply the
formation of Ti3C2 nanosheets. We are not talking
about one composition here, but a very large family indeed, thus opening tremendous opportunities
in synthesis and application of 2-D materials. This
work provides a conceptual leap forward that
should lead to a breakthrough in the development
of two-dimensional materials.” Gogotsi said.
This work was supported by the Assistant
Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies of the
U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No.
DE-AC02-05CH11231 – Batteries for Advanced
Transportation Technologies (BATT) Program
(http://batt.lbl.gov).
May and Spanier Receive DURIP for Instrumentation Funding
Professors
Steven
May and Jonathan
Spanier
have
been
awarded
a
DURIP
(Defense University Research
Instrumentation Program) grant from
the Army Research Office to purchase a Physical
Properties Measurement System that will be used
to characterize electronic behavior in materials
as a function of temperature, electric fields, and
applied magnetic fields.
The equipment will enable detailed investigations of the electronic and magnetic properties
of complex oxide films and devices, the results
of which may lead to improved electronics, fuel
cells, and solar cells. The budget for the award,
“Instrumentation for electronic transport and device characterization of oxide heterostructures,” is
$247,585.
Spanier To Lead Nanoelectronics for 2020 and Beyond (NEB) Team Project
24
Professor Jonathan Spanier will lead a
new project awarded by the National Science
Foundation (NSF) and the Nanoelectronics
Research Initiative (NRI) of the Semiconductor
Research Corporation (SRC) entitled, “NEB: MetaCapacitance and Spatially Periodic Electronic
Excitation Devices (MC-SPEEDs).”
This project, a collaboration among Drexel
University, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, and the University of Pennsylvania
is awarded under the Nanoelectronics for 2020
and Beyond Competition. The team consisting
of Prof. Spanier (PI) and colleagues Dr. Andrew
Rappe, Dr. Moonsub Shim, Dr. Nadya Mason
and
Dr.
Lane
Martin will focus
on incorporating
novel channel and
gate
materials
into transistors to
bypass traditional
limits of these devices. This may in turn lead to a
new generation of low-power, high on-off current
ratio, fast response switches and could change
the way we use many modern-day devices. Total
support for the four-year project from the NSF and
SRC/NRI is $1,800,000.
To support transformative research and development in the area of nanoelectronics, the NSF
and SRC/NRI selected and are jointly funding 12
projects from more than 120 proposals submitted
under the Nanoelectronics for 2020 and Beyond
(NEB) program.
Dr. Yury Gogotsi and Team to Advance Electrical Energy Storage
Distinguished
University
and
Trustee
Chair
Professor
Yury
Gogotsi and a
team of researchers from Drexel
University and the
Université
Paul
Sabatier published “Capacitive Energy Storage
from −50 to 100°C Using an Ionic Liquid
Electrolyte” in the Journal of Physical Chemistry
Letters on the development of a novel system that
has the ability to help store and use electrical
energy from low to hot temperatures.
Most batteries are limited in their ability to
operate at low or high temperatures. These energy storage devices, known as supercapacitors,
are reported to work in a range of temperatures,
from -50 to over 100°C. The feat was achieved
through the combination of advanced materials
called ionic liquids and nanostructured carbons.
The article was co-authored by Rongying Lin,
Pierre-Louis Taberna, Sébastien Fantin, Volker
Presser, Carlos R. Pérez, François Malbosc, Nalin
L. Rupesinghe, Kenneth B. K. Teo, Yury Gogotsi,
and Patrice Simon.
Taheri Receives Grants to Conduct Nuclear Materials
Research and Corrosion Damage in Naval Applications
Professor Mitra Taheri was the recipient of
three grants to further the study of materials used in
nuclear research and issues related to corrosion.
The Department of Energy Nuclear Energy
University Programs has awarded $1.1M to a
multi-university team led by Taheri. The team consists of Taheri (PI) and co-PIs Arthur Motta of Penn
State University and Emmanuelle Marquis of the
University of Michigan. “Fundamental Studies of
the Role of Grain Boundaries on Uniform Corrosion
of Advanced Nuclear Reactor Materials” will look
at the challenges presented by corrosion in nuclear reactors. This project will investigate the early
stages of corrosion by combining in situ transmission electron microscopy observations to perform
corrosion of a sample while it is being observed in
the microscope and post facto observations using
state-of-the-art characterization techniques. The
goal of the research is to help design better alloys
for future nuclear
reactors.
Taheri
will receive $572k
of the 1.1M grant.
Taheri
has
additionally
received a grant
from the National Science Foundation’s Division
of Materials Research in conjunction with Dane
25
Major Research Initiatives & Activities
Morgan (PI) and Co-PIs Izabela Schlufarska
and Todd Allen of the University of Wisconsin.
“Collaborative Research: Determination of Ni-FeCr Species Dependent Transport Through Control
of Temperature, Irradiation, and Grain Size” looks
to integrate experimental and computer simulation tools from materials nanotechnology and
molecular-scale computer simulation to provide
new levels of insight into how Ni, Fe, and Cr
are transported in Ni-Fe-Cr based steels under
extreme conditions, in particular in nuclear reactors. This project will train researchers to work on
a multi-location team and in fundamental areas
of materials characterization, modeling, and their
interaction. This work will also further the involvement by some of the investigators in the Women
in Nuclear Science (WINS) program started at
Drexel through a grant obtained by Taheri from
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Drexel will
receive $216k of the $586k three-year grant.
These two nuclear grants will ultimately yield a
predictive understanding of materials used in reactors and other extreme environments and lay the
groundwork for development of radiation-tolerant
materials.
In the area of corrosion research, Taheri has received a two-year, $225k grant from the Office of
Naval Research. “Effects of Stress, Composition,
and Interface Type on Beta-Phase Precipitation in AlMg Alloys” will help to develop predictive tools for
understanding and mitigating corrosion damage
in aluminum alloys for naval applications. This
research is of
paramount
importance
as
corrosion
in Al-Mg alloys
is costing the US
Navy in excess of $66M dollars in repairs annually. The objective of this work is to develop
an understanding of the atomic scale structural
dependence of corrosion causing mechanisms
using a multiscale approach, from bulk corrosion
testing to in situ transmission electron microscopy.
This research will yield data that will allow for
predictive development of new aluminum alloys
for naval ships that will be more corrosion resistant
in marine environments.
Barsoum Awarded Grant from NEUP
26
Professor Michel Barsoum
awarded a $535,927 grant
from the 2011 Nucear Energy
University Programs (NEUP) of
the US Department of Energy
R&D Call for Proposals.
“Diffusion, Thermal Properties
and Chemical Compatibilities
of Select MAX Phases with
Materials
For
Advanced
Nuclear Systems (MS-NT1:
Reactor Materials)” provides
has been
funding for continuing research of MAX phases in
nuclear environments.
In 2009, Dr. Barsoum’s
group received funding for
the initial irradiation study of
select MAX phases to begin
the understanding of the irradiated properties of these unique
ceramics. Darin Tallman, a
PhD. candidate working with Dr.
Barsoum, has been the student
selected to lead the research efforts in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Savannah River National Lab and Idaho National
Lab. This new award is focused on understanding
the compatibilities of MAX phases with the many
harsh and hazardous environments found within
nuclear systems, beyond the radiation. Darin
will continue to collaborate with Dr. Elizabeth
Hoffman (B.S. 2002, Ph.D. 2007; advisor:
Michel Barsoum), lead researcher for the MAX
project at SRNL.
Rondinelli and May Co-Author Invited
Review Article in MRS Bulletin
Assistant professors James Rondinelli and
Steven May have co-authored an invited review article on atomic structure in complex oxide
films and superlattices for the March 2012 issue
of MRS Bulletin.
MRS Bulletin is a monthly publication received by
all members of the Materials Research Society.
As leading researchers in the field of structure
in oxide films, Rondinelli and May were invited to
write a summary of the field to date and describe
the promising future research directions it presents.
Li Invited to Attend National Academy of Engineering JapanAmerica Frontiers of Engineering Symposium
Professor Christopher Li has been invited
to attend the National Academy of Engineering’s
(NAE) Japan-America Frontiers of Engineering
Symposium (JAFOE) October 29-31, 2012 in
Irvine, CA. The event is organized by the NAE
and the Engineering Academy of Japan.
The symposium will bring together 60
American and Japanese engineers to engage with
this year’s themes of Sports Engineering, Video
Content Analysis, Engineering for Natural Disaster
Resiliency, and Engineering for Agriculture. The
purpose of JAFOE is to gather together exceptional
early-career Japanese and American engineers
from academia, industry, and other institutions to
present their research, share ideas, and network.
Participation in
the symposium is
by invitation only.
Li was nominated
by a member of
the NAE and subsequently selected
to attend.
Zavaliangos Receives Grant from Abbott Laboratories
Department Head and Professor Antonios
Zavaliangos has received a $270,420 grant
from Abbott Laboratories for “Discrete Element
Method for Phramaceutical Powder Compaction:
Medelling and Experiments.”
With this grant, Zavaliangos and collaborators
from Abbott will develop a new modeling capability for predicting the behavior of pharmaceutical
materials during tablet production and their properties. The goal is to optimize processing using
computational techniques, a research activity that
is in line with the “Quality by Design” mandate set
by the Food and Drug Administration.
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Student & Alumni Experiences Abroad
Events & Activities
Our students and alumni come to Drexel to learn and engage in the cutting-edge research environment fostered by our research intensive faculty. Eager to expand their knowledge and to bring Drexel to
others, some of our students and alumni reach beyond the traditional paths to seek adventures abroad.
As ambassadors representing Drexel Materials, these students and alumni help to expand our research
community, acting as ambassadors to bring Drexel abroad and their experiences away back to campus.
Small and Exquisite: Visual Explorations in
Materials Science and Engineering
The Department of Materials Science and
Engineering held its first exhibition of award-winning scanning electron microscopy images, “Small
and Exquisite: Visual Explorations in Materials
Science and Engineering,” in the Mandell Theater
Lobby at Drexel University, January 9 through 20,
2012. The eleven images on display showcased
the artistry of the research work captured using one
of several high-powered microscopes in Drexel’s
Centralized Research Facilities. A reception and
opportunity to meet the researchers behind the images was held in conjunction with the exhibition.
Here are four profiles of current students and alumni who have broadened their horizons abroad.
Shanghai, China
For the second year in a row, Philly Materials
Science and Engineering Day brought people
of all ages to the Bossone Research Enterprise
Center on Saturday, February 4, 2012 to engage
in hands-on demos and hear talks from experts in
the field of materials science and engineering.
An estimated 1300 people came to engage
with faculty and graduate students from Drexel
University and the University of Pennsylvania
and organizations including the Franklin Institute,
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Carpenter
Technology. People had the opportunity to taste
liquid nitrogen ice cream, make slime, experience
the intersection of materials science and hip-hop,
ask an engineer any question, make a liquid
crystal thermometer, and take part in building one
of the largest carbon nanotubes out of balloons.
Coverage of the event was featured on KYW
Newsradio and WPVI-TV.
This now annual event will next take place on
the first Saturday in February—February 2, 2013.
For more information visit www.phillymaterials.
org.
“For my last co-op,
I wanted to travel outside of Philadelphia,
so I approached my
advisor, Dr. Gogotsi,
and asked if he had
any suggestions for
professors I could
contact as well as programs I could apply to.
Dr. Gogotsi began excitedly telling me about how
he was involved in the starting of the collaborative
project with SARI (Shanghai Advanced Research
Institute), which was being supported by the
formation of a formal partnership between Drexel
and SARI. The project that he wanted to start there
would be an extension of what I was already
working on at Drexel! I said that it sounded like an
amazing opportunity, and he immediately began
contacting Drexel’s Global Initiatives Department
in order to coordinate my arrival!”
Milan, Italy &
Madrid, Spain
“I’ve always wanted to
see the world and figured this
would be the best way to do
it. When I went to an information
session for the EAGLES program,
I was sold. I get to learn from professors at top universities in
Italy and Spain, finishing my course requirements and thesis
research while I’m abroad. The best part is, when I get back
to the US I will graduate with two degrees from Drexel and
one from Politecnico di Milano.”
Amanda Pentecost
Philly Materials Science and Engineering Day
Delights Attendees for a Second Year
Brittany
Pattinson
David Steinmetz
Germany
Gwénaëlle Proust
Sydney, Australia
Reason that brought you abroad
in the first place: “Learning a foreign
language, firsthand learning about
intercultural communication, travel.”
“A lectureship position was
available at the University of
Sydney right in my field of interest
so I jumped at the opportunity to
discover a new place.”
“The Drexel Materials professors are
well-known in their fields, and networking through them has tangible benefits
for furthering your career and streamlining your future.”
“The Jubilee Park in Glebe is a
great place to relax after work. The park is full of life and
there is a nice walk to do along the water. There are many
great places around Sydney to enjoy after work or during the
weekends. This is a great city to live in.”
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Supporting Materials @ Drexel
Thank You To Our Donors
Supporting Materials
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering gratefully acknowledges its donors. Your generosity benefits both current and
future materials students and faculty, reaching well beyond the classroom and lab.
If you are interested in making a financial or non-financial contribution to the department, please visit:
www.materials.drexel.edu/support
When you send a financial contribution to Drexel, please be sure to designate your contribution to “Materials Science and Engineering.” Possible avenues for contribution include:
The MSE Endowment Fund
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering Endowment Fund
supports undergraduate and graduate student fellowships and faculty development. This past year, $3000.00 in funds were awarded to Emily Buck (advisor: Caroline Schauer), Tianjiao Cai, Pelin Kansu (advisor: Hao Cheng), and
Nasreen Khan (advisor: Christopher Li).
The A. W. Grosvenor Scholarship Fund
The A. W. Grosvenor Scholarship Fund supports tuition for undergraduate
students. $7,307.00 from the A. W. Grosvenor Scholarship Fund was awarded to Lucas Amspacher (advisor: Christopher Li), Jessica Kennelly, and Ines
Martin (advisor: Jonathan Spanier).
The Koczak Scholarship Fund
The Koczak Scholarship Fund provides tuition support for undergraduate
students.
30
Individual Donors
The Anne L. Stevens Endowed
Scholarship Fund
Another scholarship available to our students is
the Anne L. Stevens Endowed Scholarship Fund,
which provides financial support to female students in the Department of Materials Science and
Engineering who demonstrate academic merit
and financial need. The scholarship was established in 2007 with a generous gift from Stevens
(’80) and the Lockheed Martin Corporation Directors Charitable Award Fund. $12,850.00 from
the Anne L. Stevens Endowed Scholarship Fund
was award to Gabriella D’Urbana, Emily Holcombe (advisor: Mitra Taheri), Tiffany Liao, Sarah Lightfoot Vidal (advisor: Michele Marcolongo), Amanda Pentecost (advisor: Yury Gogotsi),
Ebony Thompson (advisor: Caroline Schauer),
and Amanda Toth (advisor: Caroline Schauer).
“I give to the Department
of Materials Science and
Engineering because I am
thankful for every minute I
spent with my classmates
and the professors.”
~Dr. Michael J. Pechulis
B.S. 1997
Dr. Maher Sabri Amer
Elizabeth N. Hoffman, Ph.D.
Dr. Michael J. Pechulis
Sandip Basu, Ph.D.
Mr. Andrew J. Kegel, Jr.
Frederick E. Schmidt, Jr., Ph.D.
Michael J. Birnkrant, Ph.D.
Dr. Richard Knight
Wan Y. Shih, Ph.D.
Mr. John F. Copeland
Ms. Sarit Kunz
Robert A. Swift, Ph.D.
Dr. George E. Dieter, Jr.
Dr. David E. Laughlin
Mr. George F. Vander Voort
Dr. Roger D. Doherty
Dr. Alan Lawley
Mr. William E. Voss
Blake L. Ferguson, Ph.D.
Ms. Yenneeka Long
Dr. Ulrike G.K. Wegst
Mr. Luciano Del Gaone
Steven May, Ph.D.
Dr. Antonios Zavaliangos
Mr. Robert J. Gordon
Mr. Michael J. Micklus
Corporate Donors
Boeing Philadelphia
Carpenter Technology Corporation
Hoeganaes Corporation
If you have donated to MSE in FY 2012 and are not listed or are listed erroneously, we apologize for the oversight. Please
contact us if you have any corrections to your listing or wish to be recognized in future publications.
31
Drexel University
Department of
Materials Science
and Engineering
2011-2012
Annual Report
News Editor
Dorilona Rose
Layout & Design
Andrew Marx
3141 Chestnut Street
LeBow 344
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone 215.895.2323
Fax 215.895.6760
Web www.materials.drexel.edu
Email materials@coe.drexel.edu
On the front cover, “The Cliff of the TwoDimensional World,” resembles a red-rock
bluff and depicts ultrathin layers of titaniumbased compounds as viewed under an
electron microscope by Ph.D. student Babak Anasori (advisor:
Michel Barsoum). The image is the first to be captured of these
materials, discovered at Drexel, in 2D. For more information,
please turn to page 20. This micrograph was part of “Small
and Exquisite,” an exhibit of materials research images from
Drexel’s Centralized Research Facilities. To view more images
from the exhibit, please turn to pages 17 and 28.