exploring materials€¦ · · 2018-02-12news from the department of materials science and...

News from the Department of Materials Science and EngineeringVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Discover what we’re made of

ExploringMaterials

at Virginia TechSpring 2001, Volume 6, Number 1

Formerly The World of Materials

In this issue...Current Research 1Educational Philosophy 3Department News 4Student & Alumni News 6Communications Corner 7Recent Publications 8Beyond Virginia Tech 9People in Materials 10Head’s Up 12

Marine Adhesives Research Expands toEvaluate Submerged Surface Preparation Methods

Brian Love

Barnacles present unique challenges for submerged surfacepreparation

Continued page 2

Pat

rici

a D

olez

A New Look for MSEWith this edition, we are introducing the new and improved MaterialsScience and Engineering newsletter. The World of Materials is nowExploring Materials at Virginia Tech. Let us know what youthink of the new format. [email protected]

Brian Love, Associate Professor in MSE,has been working with several gradu-ate students and staff over the last 5years to develop acrylic adhesive res-ins for the Office of Naval Research(ONR) that have use for marine surfaces.These photo-activated systems havestrong potential to work faster and moreeffectively to fixture materials and struc-tures together in marine environments.These resins can cure over a range oftemperatures, including polar conditions.

Armed with functional resins thatcrosslink and gel within minutes be-tween 0 and 40oC, members of Brian’sresearch group are working to identifysuitable cleaning methods that can pre-pare surfaces underwater for subse-quent adhesive bonding. Most sub-merged marine surfaces are fouled withbacterial growth, slime and barnacles.To fixture to a submerged surface, cal-cified residues and biomass must be re-moved to allow for subsequent adhe-

Exploring Materials, Spring 2001

Research“Fuel cell technology could lead to the next indus-trial revolution.”This quote by Ron Kander introduces an article in the magazine,Research Virginia Tech, published this semester. Featured in thearticle is a discussion of fuel cell research in which Ron Kander,Sean Corcoran, and graduate student Julie Dvorkin are partici-pating, along with several other students and faculty across theuniversity community. Julie is one of five Virginia Tech studentsto receive a fellowship from GATE, the Graduate AutomotiveTechnology Education center, a U.S. Department of Energy grantwhich funds the Virginia Tech Center for Automotive Fuel CellSystems, as well as funding the fellowships. Kander and Dvorkinare working to evaluate polymer material performance in fuelcells, and Kander is involved in several other areas of fuel cellresearch. For more details, you can read the article at:www.research.vt.edu/framed/framedresmag.html; choose“Current Edition,” then select “The little cell that could power anenergy revolution.” !

Brian Love joinedMSE in 1993. Hehas publishedmore than 20 pa-pers relating tostructure/propertyrelationships inpolymers, adhe-sion science, andcrystallization andhas applied this tostructural, elec-tronic, and bio-medical applica-tions. Originallyfrom Wisconsin, he earned his B.S. and M.S.from the Universityof Illinois at Urbana, and,and he received his Ph.D. at SouthernMethodist University.

Commonwealth Tech-nology Research (Stateof Virginia) has agreedto fund a grant to estab-lish a Center for High Per-formance Manufactur-ing. The grant begins July2001, totalling $4.3 millionover three years. Princi-pal Investigators are R.Kander, F. Chen (ISE),and A. Loos (ESM).

Optimization of Photo-curable Adhesives forUnderwater Applica-tions/Development ofFieldable UnderwaterSurface Preparation Sys-tems; Principal Investi-gator: B. Love; Sponsor,Analysis and Technol-ogy, Inc., $67K, 12/20/00- 9/28/01

Photocurable AdhesivePackaging and Compo-sitional Stability; PrincipalInvestigator: B. Love;Sponsor: Analysis andTechnology, Incc; $32K,8/2/00 - 3/30/01

M u l t i m e d i aCourseware for Mi-croelectronics; Princi-pal Investigators: R. W.Hendricks, J.R. Heflin,J.A.N. Lee; Sponsor:National ScienceFoundation, $20K, 5/15/00 - 9/30/02

ThermomechanicalProcessing of Ad-vanced Alloys; Princi-pal Investigator: S.Kampe; Sponsor: Of-fice of Naval Re-search; $82K, 5/1/00 -4/30/03

Acquisition of Compu-tation/Visualization forthe Atomistic Simula-tion Laboratory; Princi-pal Investigator: D.Farkas; Sponsor: Officeof Naval Research,$104K, 4/1/01 - 3/31/02

Composite Powdersfor the Selective LaserSintering Process; Prin-cipal Investigators: R.Kander, C. Suchicital,Sponsor: DTM Corp.,$50K, 8/1/00 - 7/31/01

New MSE Research

Materials Compatibilityand Processing ProtocolDetermination; PrincipalInvestigators: G.Q. Lu, C.Suchicital; Sponsor:Maida DevelopmentCo., $25K, 7/1/00 - 1/31/01

Evaluation of Intercon-nect Technologies forPower Devices; Princi-pal Investigator: G.Q.Lu; Sponsor: OrthodyneElectronics; $72K, 9/8/00- 11/30/01

Low-Voltage GaAs-Based Hetero-junctionBipolar Transistors; Princi-pal Investigator: L.J.Guido; Sponsor: KopinCorp.; $150K, 1/01/00 -12/31/01

Processing and Integra-tion of Magneto-opticCurrent Sensors inPower Electronic Mod-ules; Principal Investiga-tor: G.Q. Lu; Sponsor:Airak, Inc.; $80K, 10/01/00 - 4/30/02

0 2 0 4 0 6 0 8 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 4 0 1 6 0 1 8 00 .6

0 .7

0 .8

0 .9

1 .0

E ffe c t o f te m p e ra tu reo n d is s o lu tio n e ffic ie n c y o f b a rn a c le s

in a c id s o lu tio n

T = 2 5 0 C

T = 5 0 C

No

rma

liz

ed

ba

rna

cle

we

igh

t

T im e (s )

Figure 1. Barnacle dissolution weight loss as afunction of time at two temperatures

Marine Adhesives continuedsive attachment. Dr. Patricia Dolez, inconjunction with Adam Goff, a gradu-ating senior in MSE, has identified sev-eral acid cleaner mixtures that can rap-idly dissolve the inorganic componentin barnacles leaving the bioadhesiveproteins that can be removed with abrush or other scraping tool. Drs. Loveand Dolez have been performing a se-ries of barnacle dissolution experimentsto gauge acidic activity as a functionof temperature (Figure 1) with the hopeof being able to dispense these acidsinto a viscous fluid that will remain at-tached to a submerged surface. Assess-ments of how much impact these clean-ers will have on inorganic substrates willbe required to fully understand how se-lective these are for marine surfacepreparation procedures.


EducationalPhilosophyAppreciating the Skills that MSE Offers

Stephen Kampe

I have often expressed mybelief that students of MSE, atVirginia Tech and elsewhere,are traditionally provided anextraordinarily large amountof knowledge as they movethrough their curriculum butare given relatively limitedopportunities to utilize thisknowledge in a way thatwould demonstrate the skillsthis knowledge affords. Asfaculty, we tend to utilize the traditionalapproach to teaching MSE subjects; thatis, lots of “why” materials behave as theydo, with little of “how” to implement thisknowledge in a detailed manner in a re-alistic engineering environment.

The hypothetical example I often stateis that of a conversation within a job in-terview, where the interviewer (likelynot to be degreed in MSE) asks (oftengenuinely) the student and prospectiveemployee how a graduate of MSE canhelp his/her organization. The MSE stu-dent responds that he/she is an author-ity on materials, having just spent the pre-vious three years rigorously learning thefine details of metals, ceramics, andpolymers. The attentive recruiter mightfollow-up, “We use A573 steel for appli-cation xyz; do you think that is an ap-propriate use for that material?” I’d liketo think that our students, as the author-ity on materials they just claimed to be,could and would offer an immediateopinion. More likely, however, they willhave no idea whatA573 steel is andwould say as much. Inthe discomforting en-vironment of the jobinterview or perhapslater with their boss, itis difficult to predict the impressions thatare created in such a situation. Onemight also be inclined at this moment toenvy the students of our colleague de-partments who could state tangible-sounding skills such as, “I specialize in de-sign,” or “I am an expert in Finite ElementAnalysis.” The unapologetic reality forMSE students, however, is that while theymay not know exactly what A573 is atthat moment, they do indeed know alot about it, about how it works, andabout how it should be used.

Within the MSE curriculum atVirginia Tech, I attempt toaddress the “phantom-skill”dilemma through a con-cept-plus-skills approach tothe subjects that I instruct. Icurrently have the opportu-nity to teach three subjectsto our MSE students, all dur-ing their senior year.

In Materials Selection andDesign (MSE 4054), I purposely avoid themore common “general knowledge”approach to this subject, relying insteadon a selection-index-based method,which can be quantifiably used to guidethe selection of materials for applicationswith stated require-ments and con-straints. While quan-titative and tan-gible, the tech-nique nonethelessdelineates how adetailed knowledge of materials (whicha student of MSE offers) is necessary andinvaluable within the interdisciplinarynature of the design experience.

In Strength and Fracture (MSE 4354), stu-dents learn, for example, how alloystrength is derived from the fundamen-tal, or first-principle, mechanisms involv-ing dislocation motion. Constitutiveequations that predict a magnitude ofstrengthening, given certain microstruc-tural and alloy characteristics, are

taught whichcan be utilized asa tool, or skill, toguide alloy de-sign or to facili-tate a workingappreciation for

alloy use. While the students may notrecognize (or appreciate) it at the time,the use of these equations provides adirect quantifiable link between their sci-ence-based knowledge of the submi-croscopic structure of materials (e.g.,the magnitude of the Burgers vector –a perennial favorite) and the macro-scopic properties that their colleaguesrequire and utilize in design.

Similarly, in an elective Composite Ma-terials course, students learn how theidentity and geometric details of theconstituents can be quantified to guidethe conception and/or understandingof a composite system being envi-sioned for a stated purpose or applica-tion. In each of these examples, I at-tempt to link broad-based, science-derived concepts traditionally uniqueto the MSE curriculum to specific andtangible engineering-relevant constitu-tive skills.

If our students can leave Virginia Techwith an ability to associate what theyknow is present at high magnificationsto whatever images or situations they

are asked to viewat lower (or with-out) magnification,then they will haveindeed grasped askill that will makethem a valuable

and versatile contributor on any engi-neering team.

For those of you who have read thisentire article and are still curious (or in-secure), A573 steel refers to an ASTM-specified carbon steel in plate form re-quiring toughness at atmospheric tem-peratures. But you already knew that,right?

Stephen Kampe is an Associate Professorin the MSE Department at Virginia Tech.He joined the department in 1992 follow-ing several years as a Scientist and Princi-pal Investigator at Martin Marietta’s (nowLockheed Martin) Corporate ResearchLaboratories near Baltimore, Maryland.Dr. Kampe maintains an active researchprogram in the areas of advanced pro-cessing methods, metal matrix compos-ite synthesis, and the mechanical char-acterization of primarily metallic-basedmaterials. During his eight years at VirginiaTech, he has taught 11 different courses.In 1994, he received the Sporn Award forexcellence in teaching undergraduateengineering subjects. Dr. Kampe receivedhis B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Metal-lurgical Engineering from Michigan Tech-nological University.

MSE instruction traditionallyfocuses on the “why” of

material behavior.

Detailed knowledge ofmaterials is invaluable in the

design experience.


DepartmentNews

New MSE Space in Collegiate SquareIn March, several MSE faculty andgraduate students moved into 6000square feet of office space beingleased in Collegiate Square, a new build-ing located at the corner of Prices’ ForkRoad and Turner Street. MSE ProfessorSean Corcoran explained that the big-gest reason for the move was the needfor space to enhance growth. The MSEDepartment currently maintains labs inHolden Hall and also in Hancock Hall. Byleasing this new space, Corcoran ex-plained, the department has been ableto consolidate some labs while freeingup other space.

A full-sized conference room has alsobeen included in the new facility, thusfilling a need for the entire department.“The idea is that we aren’t just an out-post,” Corcoran said. The entire depart-ment can gather at the CollegiateSquare facility for faculty meetings and

New Facilities and Offices forMaterials Science and Engineering

department seminars. Partitionswere installed to allow forsmaller meeting rooms as well.Graduate student space wasanother growing necessity forthe department. Now, newgraduate students have aclearly defined space to moveinto, rather than having tomake room in a research labfor them to sit.

Some smaller lab equipment has beenmoved to the new building. ProfessorsLove and Kander have moved theircharacterization and polymer equip-ment over so that it is consolidated intoone lab, thus enhancing efficiency. Inaddition, Dr. Corcoran’s Scanning ProbeMicroscopy (SPM) and Nanomechanicslab was moved to Collegiate Square.This lab includes an atomic forcemicrocope, a scanning tunneling micro-scope, and a nanoindentor.

Faculty who made the move, alongwith Sean Corcoran, were Ron Kander,Brian Love, and Bill Reynolds. SusetteSowers, program support technician forKander, and Love’s postdoctoral re-search associate, Patricia Dolez, alsomoved.

Cleanroom OperationalThe cooperative efforts of the MSE De-partment, the ECpE Department, and theVirginia Microprocessor Consortiumhave resulted in the creation of an 1800square foot cleanroom at Virginia Tech.Located in 636 Whittemore, the clean-room will host about 500 students eachyear from various disciplines. Studentswill learn the basic unit operations of mi-crochip fabrication as well safety andcleanroom protocols.

The facility, while designed as a Class10,000 cleanroom, will operate as ahigher level, Class 1000, facility to pre-pare students for the transition to anadvanced research facility or to thesemiconductor industry where more rig-orous standards are followed.

Professor Robert Hendricks played aleading role in bringing this project tofruition. To read more about this new fa-

New polymer lab at Collegiate Square

Matt Gordonworks withthe AFM inthe SPM lab.

Faculty/StaffOffices

Graduate offices

MSE Suite at Collegiate Square

Collegiate Square


cility, as well as the newly developedmicroelectronics curriculum, visit Dr.Hendricks’ publications webpage:www.mse.vt.edu/faculty/hendricks/publications/publications.html. This newfacility was recently featured in the Feb-ruary issue of CleanRoom. To view thisarticle online, go to the Archives sec-tion at cr.pennet.com/home.cfm andsearch for the February 2001 issue. !

David Clark Honored as National Insti-tute of Ceramic Engineers FellowThis spring, Dr. David Clark was nameda Fellow in the National Institute of Ce-ramic Engineers (NICE), an honor be-stowed upon “individuals who haveshaped the future of ceramic engineer-ing and of the National Institute of Ce-ramic Engineers through broad and pro-ductive scholarship and by notableachievements and service to the Insti-tute.” Dr. Clark was inducted at the An-nual Meeting of the American CeramicSociety, held in Indianapolis in April. Hewas recognized as being a co-founderof the NICE Student Congress (1989);having served two consecutive termsas NICE Trustee on the American Ce-ramic Society Board (1995-2001); renew-ing NICE participation in the AmericanAssociation of Engineering Societies;and for bringing national recognition to

the Institute through a nomination of Dr.Bonnie Dunbar, NASA astronaut andceramic engineer, for the National En-gineering Award in 1992 which she sub-sequently won. Clark was responsiblefor the “change” in NICE’s level of ac-tivity over the past ten years to make itinto the Institute of today, an active, vi-tal organization with expanding roles inprofessional licensing, accreditation,national organizations, and student ac-tivities.

Dr. Clark is one of only seven NICE mem-bers to be honored as a Fellow, joiningWarren Wolf (Owens Corning, Inc.),John Buckley (NASA Langley), ThomasMcGee (Iowa State University), DianeFolz (Virginia Tech), Harold Stetson (Con-sultant) and Winston Duckworth(Battelle). !

Dr. Robert Hendricks was honored thisspring with the 2001 Dean’s Award forExcellence in Service, an award that healso received in 1996, making him oneof a select few to receive two suchawards. Dr. Hendricks played a key rolein establishing the MSE/ESM Writing andCommunications Program, and more re-cently he has been heavily involved inexpanding the microelectronics pro-gram at Tech. Most notably, he headedup the effort to create a cleanroomfor undergraduate instruction inWhittemore Hall, with plans for a largercleanroom to be added in HancockHall. !

Prof. Rick Claus received Virginia’s Out-standing Scientist Award for 2001. Clausholds joint appointments in ECpE and inMSE. He is the Director of the Fiber andElectro-Optics Research Laboratory(FEORC) at Virginia Tech. !

Prof. Ron Kander will leave Virginia Techthis summer to become the departmenthead for the Integrated Science and

Technology Department (ISAT) at JamesMadison University in Harrisonburg, Vir-ginia. The MSE Department wishes himwell in this new and exciting endeavor.

Congratulations to Ron Kander, a poetin our midst! Ron was awarded an Hon-orable Mention in the 2001 poetry con-test sponsored by the Poetry Society ofVirginia for his “Groundhog Haiku”:

Groundhog weathermanWinter prognosticator

Shadow forecaster!

Claudia Rawn paid a visit Virginia Techin April to participate in the MSE Semi-nar Series offered on Friday afternoonsduring regular semesters. Claudiaearned a B.S. inMSE in 1986from Tech. Shecontinued hereducation atGeorge MasonUniversity andat the Univer-sity of Arizona,completing amaster’s in 1991and a doctor-ate in 1995. Shehas worked asa Materials Research Engineer in theCeramics Division of the National Insti-tute of Standards and Technology, andshe also worked as a postdoctoral re-search associate in the ceramics de-partment at the “Josef Stefan” Institutein Ljubljana, Slovenia. Currently,Claudia is a Research Staff Scientist inthe Metals and Ceramics Division atOak Ridge National Laboratories in OakRidge, Tennessee. Her seminar presen-tation was entitled “Neutron andSynchotron Diffraction Studies at ORNL:Potential Collaboration Between ORNLand Virginia Tech.” !

Bunny-suited students and faculty workinside new cleanroom (photo courtesy BobHendricks)

Exploring Materialsat Virginia Tech

Department HeadDavid E. Clark

EditorLeeAnn Ellis

Newsletter TeamRon Kander Steve KampeEric Pappas Jeff Schultz

Department of Materials Scienceand Engineering

213 Holden Hall (0239)Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA 24061

e-mail: [email protected]: www.mse.vt.edu

On the Cover:The cover design features a micro-graph of individual crystals of tita-nium diboride (TiB2) produced in-situwithin a near-gamma titanium (Ti-47Al) matrix by reaction synthesis.Micrograph courtesy of RaphaelMartin (M.S. ‘94) and Prof. SteveKampe.


Student and Alumni News

2000-2001 MSE Scholarships

Alfred E. KnoblerAnthony G. SalamoneSarah B. SmithElizabeth D. HubbardGrace M. TranTara M. VintonLisa A. CopleyKelly HalesApril D. Williams

John H. KroehlingRobin S. FarmerAdam J. Maisano

American Foundry SocietyJacqueline N. GerkenStacey L. Sharp

Foundry Education FoundationChristopher S. KesslerMark E. Zaun

StroyanCharles I. BeaudetteAdam C. GoffJeffrey D. MaciborskiErik HerzShane B. JuhlCraig R. ToddAndrew W. SignorChristopher Temple-Boyer

Thomas L. Leivesley, Jr.Kelly HalesChristopher S. Kessler

Charles W. PryorAdam C. Goff

MSE FacultyTodd M. Heil

Paul E. Torgersen LeadershipErik Herz

W. Thomas & Barbara RobertsonLisa A. Copley

John B. GreinerElizabeth D. HubbardAdam J. Maisano

William C. McAllisterShane B. JuhlApril D. Williams

Shawn Kelly Receives ClevingerScholarshipShawn Kelly has been awarded the Dr.Gary S. Clevinger, Sr. Endowed Scholar-ship for 2001. This scholarship was estab-lished in honor of Dr. Clevinger in 1998by his family. Gary Clevinger earnedthree materials degrees from VirginiaTech in the 1970’s. The scholarship wasdesigned to benefit graduate studentspursuing materials-related disciplineswho also received a B.S. in materialsfrom Tech. In addition, each student isselected based on “scholastic achieve-ment, good character, and demon-strated leadership potential.”

Shawn completed a B.S. in MSE in 1999and is currently in the master’s programin MSE, with plans to pursue a doctor-ate as well. Shawn has compiled an im-pressive resume of ser-vice and leadership dur-ing his college careerso far. As an under-graduate student, hewas active in the Ameri-can Society of Materi-als/The Minerals, Met-als, and Materials Soci-ety (ASM/TMS) and theMaterials EngineeringProfessional Societies(MEPS), holding execu-tive positions in both.He was instrumental in

Congratulations MSE 2001 Graduates

Charles I. BeaudetteDavid P. BelmanChristopher A. BoyceRonald G. Castle, IIJason Dietz (12/2000)Robin S. FarmerCharles FrenchAdam C. GoffMelinda S. GuinnTodd M. HeilWilliam L. HughesShane B. JuhlDavid E. KardesNicholas M. KatawczikRobert P. Ladesic

Melanie B. LashusBenjamin S. LepeneAnthony G. SalamoneWesley S. ShawBrian C. SmithRobert E. Smith, Jr.Sarah B. SmithJason C. SneadChristopher Temple-BoyerKevin S. TinglerCraig R. ToddGrace M. TranRobert E.A. WilliamsMark. E. Zaun

starting up MEPS, which isan umbrella organizationhousing student chaptersof ASM/TMS, ACerS, andMRS.

As a graduate student,Shawn continues to lead inMSE student activities asthe president of MEPS. Hehas also been active inseveral department re-cruitment sessions, givinglab demonstrations andtalks, as well as spending

time meeting with parents and prospec-tive students. Shawn’s current researchdeals with heat treatment of a “laser-formed” titanium alloy. His research in-terests include laser processing of met-als and bulk amorphous alloys. !

Marybeth Miceli successfully defendedher master’s thesis in December, and inJanuary she joined Lucius Pitkin, Inc., inNew York City as a materials engineer.She is involved in failure analysis, metal-lurgical testing, and nondestructive test-ing of civil structures. !

Continued on page 8


CommunicationsCorner

As you know, foreight years now,MSE has beenhome to the MSEAdvanced Engi-neering Communi-cations Program,which integratesinstruction in writ-ing, professionalcommunications,and design into the curriculum. The Ma-terials Science and Engineering Depart-ment has a deep belief in the impor-tance of oral and written communica-tions in the engineering profession andhas developed a coordinated series ofcourses in which students’ communica-tion skills are carefully developed overthe entire three-year curriculum begin-ning in the sophomore year. The pro-gram focuses on increasing students’marketability after graduation by prepar-ing them for the discipline-specific writ-ing and communicating they will en-counter in the work place.

In the spring semester Advanced Engi-neering Communications II class, stu-dents are encouraged, as part of thedevelopment of their workplace inter-personal communication skills, to inter-act with people of a social or economicbackground different from their own. Tomeet this goal, students spend a mini-mum of 15 hours during the course of thesemester working with a community ser-

A Working Experience in CommunicationThe MSE Communications Program Service Project

Judy Robinson, MA

vice organization with the intent of gain-ing an understanding for people differ-ent from themselves and insight intosome of the more subtle aspects of com-munication.

Students are urged to select a serviceproject that, along with meeting the cri-teria of the assignment, caters to theirindividual interest. In addition to thehours spent working, a progress reportduring the course of the project and anoral presentation at its culmination arerequired.

The spring of 2000 was the first semesterthat the project was assigned, and al-though it met with some resistance, moststudents, at its completion, expressedthat it was a worthwhile and fulfilling ex-perience. Four students undertook oneof the more notable projects during thatfirst year: Melanie Lashus, Sarah Smith,Jason Snead, and Mark Zaun. Duringtheir spring break, these students wentto the Appalachian town of Ivanhoe,Virginia, as part of the YMCA AlternativeSpring Break Program to provide aid andhope to the members of a deterioratingmining town. The volunteers workedside-by-side with the residents of thecommunity performing an array of tasksdesigned to clean up, beautify, and re-vitalize the aging town.

This spring, students devoted their timeand energy to a wide range of interest-

ing projects. Stacey Sharp, PamelaTomlin, and Valerie Binetti worked atenhancing their communications skillsby visiting and having conversationswith the elderly at Heritage Hall Nurs-ing Home in Blacksburg. About theproject they report, “Overall, it hasbeen rewarding to bring a little happi-ness and variety into the lives of somevery lonely people while expanding thespectrum of our communications skills.”

Kwang Han performed his service du-ties during spring break volunteering histime to a number of organizations andshelters in Washington, D.C.: The Wash-ington Home and Hospice, Unity Health,Harbor Lights Center, Reading Connec-tion, National Coalition for the Home-less, Dinner Program for Women, andFood and Friends. Kwang says of his ex-perience: “Visiting all of these organi-zations and understanding the causesthey represent revealed the largeproblems that we as a society face ona daily basis. It can become so easy toturn a deaf ear or to close our eyes, butit’s still there whether we want to lookor not…This spring break is over and thevolunteer work is over, but the effecton my views and thoughts remains.”

Kevin Tingler, a senior, has workedwarehousing, proportioning, and dis-tributing food for the local chapter ofWorld SHARE, an international organi-zation that distributes food and providesservices to aid low income families inan effort to reduce poverty in our com-munities. Kevin reports, “My experi-ence thus far is very beneficial to myunderstanding of the overall operationof a typical volunteer program. I foundthat the program means so much to theindividuals of the community…I feelthat I can and will make a difference,and I enjoy the feeling I get from thesetypes of contributions.”

Other projects include working withProject Home Repair, Headstart, theMontgomery County Department ofHealth and Human Services, the YMCAAfter School Program, and the RadfordWomen’s Shelter.

Judy Robinson is the Associate Director forthe MSE Advanced Engineering Commu-nications Program at Virginia Tech. Sheholds a B.A. in architecture and an M.A.in education.

Alumni at Work

The MSE Department has started a newproject to help introduce high school stu-dents and engineering freshmen to mate-rials science and engineering. We havebeen working with alumni to create post-ers describing their materials-related jobs.These posters will be displayed in the Holdenfoyer as well as in the Engineering Funda-mentals classrooms. Profiles have alsobeen featured in the new student maga-zine, It’s a Materials World. Thanks verymuch to those who have participated sofar: Christopher Bouthiette, Paul Eichenlaub,Martin Swan, Mike and Becky Stawovy, andMarybeth Miceli.

We hope to profile more of our graduatesin this way. To find out how you can bepart of this on-going project, send a noteto LeeAnn Ellis, MSE Dept., 213 Holden Hall(0239), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061,or e-mail: [email protected].

Paul Eichenlaub(MSE ‘97)

Marybeth Miceli(M.S. ’00)

Chris Bouthiette(MSE ‘99)


Congratulations to Xingsheng (Victor)Liu, who received first place for the 2001Paul E. Torgersen Graduate Student Re-search Excellence Award. This awardwas established in 1990 in recognition ofDr. Torgersen’s many years of serviceboth as dean of the College of Engi-neering and president of Virginia Tech.The award recognizes distinguishedgraduate research in engineering disci-plines.

Victor completed his Ph.D. defense Feb-ruary 2001. He is now working as a Se-nior Research Scientist for Corning attheir Science and Technology Center inCorning, New York. He is in the Optoelec-tronic Packaging and Assembly groupunder the Electro-Optic ComponentProducts Division. His responsibilities in-clude research and development ofnew optoelectronic packaging tech-nologies, especially on laser packagingand optical amplifier packaging for tele-communication applications. !

David Stafford (B.S. ‘82, M.S. ‘84) is theDirector of Truck Tire Research atMichelin Research Corp. in South Caro-lina. He and his family have spent six ofthe last ten years living and working inFrance with Michelin. !

Gary Pickrell (MESc ‘94) and Russell May(MESc ‘98)are among the principal inves-tigators on a project involving self-cali-brating temperature and pressure sen-sors. This work is part of a grant awardedto Virginia Tech’s Photonics Lab (VTPL)by the U.S. Department of Energy. Theproject is detailed in the Feb. 2, 2001 is-sue of Spectrum (www.unirel.vt.edu/spectrum/01-02-02/index.html. !

Virginie Vaubert (M.S. ‘97) has movedto Brazil where she is working for Saint-Gobain in their Sao Paulo plant. !

Best Wishes to Christopher Bouthiette(MSE ’99) and Kimberly Shanley, whowere married April 21 in Warwick, RhodeIsland. Chris is an associate engineerwith Newport News Shipbuilding. Kim-berly works as a cost accountant atUnited States Gypsum. She is a gradu-ate of Northeastern University in Boston.Members of the wedding included MSEalumni Jeff Schultz (’99) and Kevin Cherry(’99). !

Beth Robinson (MSE ‘98) joined Bostik Inc.in February as a Research Chemist. Lo-cated near Philadelphia, Bostik’s primaryproducts are hardwood floor adhesivesand polyurethane sealants used in bus-ses. !

Recent MSE PublicationsJ. Cotton, J.W. Grant, M.K. Jensen, B.J. Love,“Analytical solutions to the shear strength ofinterfaces failing under flexure loading con-ditions,” International Journal of Adhesion &Adhesives, 21 [1] 65-70 (2001).

S. Haque, K. Siddabattula, M. Craven, S. Wen,X. Liu, D. Boroyevich, G-Q. Lu, “Design issuesof a three-dimensional packaging scheme forpower modules,” Microelectronics & Reliabil-ity, 41 [2] 295-305 (2001).

D. Seifu, A. Kebede, F.W. Oliver, E. Hoffman,E. Hammond, C. Wynter, A. Aning, L. Takacs,I-L. Siu, J.C. Walker, G. Tessema, M.S. Seehra,“Evidence of ferrimagnetic ordering in FeMnO3produced by mechanical alloying,” Journalof Magnetism & Magnetic Materials, 212 [1]178-182 (2000).

W. Gu, H.F. Wu, S.L. Kampe, G-Q. Lu, “Vol-ume fraction effects on interfacial adhesionstrength of glass-fiber-reinforced polymer com-posites,” Materials Science & Engineering A:Structural Materials: Properties, Microstructure& Processing, 277 [1-2] 237-243 (Jan. 31, 2000).

S. Haque, G-Q. Lu, J. Goings, J. Sigmund,“Characterization of interfacial thermal resis-

tance by acoustic micrography imaging,” Mi-croelectronics & Reliability, 40 [3] 465-476(2000).

D. Farkas, “Atomistic theory and computersimulation of grain boundary structure anddiffusion,” Journal of Physics-Condensed Mat-ter, 12 [42] R497-R516 (Oct. 2000).

D. Farkas, “Atomistic studies of intrinsic crack-tip plasticity,” MRS Bulletin, 25 [5] 35-38 (May2000).

R.L.B. Selinger, D. Farkas, “Atomistic theoryand simulation of fracture,” MRS Bulletin, 25[5] 11-14 (May 2000).

M.K. Jensen, B.J. Love, J.W. Grant, J. Cotton,J.R. Keiser, D.F. Wilson, “Comparison study ofdicyandiamide-cured epoxy bonded steeljoints and polyamidoamine-cured epoxybonded steel joints,” International Journal ofAdhesion & Adhesives, 20 [6] 437-444 (2000).

M.E. Freeman, M.J. Furey, B.J. Love, J.M. Hamp-ton, “Friction, wear, and lubrication ofhydrogels as synthetic articular cartilage,”Wear, 241 [2] 129-135 (Jul 2000).

S.R. Jin, M. Ramsteiner, H.T. Grahn, K.H. Ploog,Z.Q. Zhu, D.X. Shen, A.Z. Li, P. Metev, L.J.Guido, “Suppression of yellow luminescencein As-doped GaN epilayers grown bymetalorganic chemical vapor deposition,”Journal of Crystal Growth, 212 [1] 56-60 (2000).

A.C. Loos and M.C. Li, “Consolidation DuringThermoplastic Composite Processing” Process-ing of Composites, Chapter 7, Hanser Pub-lishers, 208-238 (2000).

E.C. Pappas and R.W. Hendricks, “HolisticGrading in Science and Engineering,” Jour-nal of Engineering Education, 89 [4] 403-408(2000).

H. Marand, A. Alizadeh, R. Desai, R. Farmerand V. Velikov, “Influence of Structural andTopological Constraints on the Crystallizationand Melting Behavior of Polymers: 2.Poly(arylene ether ether ketone)” Macromol-ecules, 33 [9] 3392-3403 (2000).

A. Alizadeh, J. Xu, S. Sohn and H. Marand,“Wide Angle X-ray Scattering and FourierTransform Infrared Spectroscopy Studies dur-ing the Secondary Crystallization of Polymerswith Low to Intermediate Degree of Crystal-linity,” Bulletin of the American Physics Soci-ety, 45 [1] 295 (2000).

Susan Butsch (M.S.‘93) is home raising Ali-cia (4), Brittany (2) andCarl, born April 13. Su-san is taking time offafter working forHexcel as a QualityControl Manager forthe last three years.Hexcel manufacturespolyester, epoxy,p o l y i m i d e - b a s e dcomposite material (glass, kevlar, car-bon-based fabrics) used in applicationsranging from aircraft to fishing poles andbikes. Her husband, Mike, also a Techgraduate, is a Global Systems SupportEngineer with Sun Microsystems. They re-side in Pickerington, Ohio. !

We are in the process of updating ourdepartment website. If you would likefor your contact information to beposted in our alumni section, pleasesend an e-mail to [email protected] or senda note to LeeAnn Ellis, MSE Dept. (0239),213 Holden Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061.Please provide any information youwould like included: e-mail address,regular mailing address, phone, currentposition, company name, city, state,etc. !

Student and Alumni NewsContinued

Carl Louis Butsch4/13/01, 7 lbs.,1 oz.


BeyondVirginia Tech

On April 9, the College ofEngineering held its annualrecruiting open house forrising high school seniorsand their parents. The De-partment of Materials Sci-ence and Engineering, un-der the direction of DavidClark and Diane Folz, putforth a major outreach andrecruiting effort at thisevent. Families were giventhree opportunities tospeak with professors andstudents. Current studentstalked with families as theypassed through SquiresCommonwealth Ballroom.Parents and students werethen invited to “DiscoverWhat We’re Made Of” byvisiting our demonstrationroom or participating in dis-cussions with faculty mem-bers.

The demonstration room contained eye-catching and informative posters anddemonstrations, such as an underwateradhesives demonstration presented byProfessor Brian Love and his post-doc-toral assistant, Patricia Dolez; a poster byDr. Hendricks’ senior design students il-lustrating semiconductor fabrication;demonstrations on superconductivityand space shuttle tiles by Dr. Clark andDiane Folz; and displays of various ce-ramics, metals, and polymer samples. Inthe discussion room, students and theirparents listened to talks given by fac-ulty members and graduate students in-troducing them to our department andeducating them about materials sci-ence and engineering as a viable ca-

reer choice withmany opportunitiesfor success.

The day’s eventsproved successful inthat we were ableto introduce manypeople to the field ofmaterials science andengineering, andabout 30 students indi-cated interest in thedepartment by fillingout information cards.

MSE participation inthe open house wasorganized by DianeFolz, who commented af-terwards, “There are a lotmore people out therewho know that MSE is a vi-

able engineering field.” Diane headedup a committee that included EricPappas, Judy Robinson, LeeAnn Ellis,and Shawn Kelly, who worked to cre-ate displays and to recruit faculty andstudents to give talks, perform demon-strations, and be available to answerquestions.

Speakers for the day included RonKander, David Clark, Bob Hendricks,Shawn Kelly, Kathy Rohr, StephenKampe, and Eric Pappas. Jan Doran wasalso on hand to answer questions con-cerning the curriculum. Students whohelped out included Martha McCann,Brendon Wells, Leslie Flowers, CoreyLove, Eric Payton, David Gray, andJason Snead.

!!!

College of Engineering Holds Annual Open Housefor High School Students

Shawn Kelly

Patricia Dolez demonstrates formation of photo-polymerizable adhesives using tonic water and ablack light

One young visitor takes acloser look at superconduc-tor magnets

Shawn Kelly discusses materials science withvisitors

Other MSE outreach activities:Throughout the year, various facultymembers have been involved in teach-ing short courses and offering consult-ing services to industry. One such coursewas offered at Volvo Trucks NorthAmerica in Greensboro, North Carolina.Professors Norman Dowling andStephen Kampe taught “Fatigue LifeAnalysis” during May and June, 2000.

Taught in nine three-hour sessions, thecourse covered methods of analyzingfatigue failures to aid in troubleshootingservice problems and redesigning parts.It emphasized the mechanical aspectsof predicting the life and strength ofcomponents. The three major ap-proaches currently applied in industry tosuch analysis were covered; namely, the

stress-based (S-N) approach, the crackgrowth (fracture mechanics) approach,and the strain-based approach. !

Brian Love has begun consulting for LinePower in Bristol, Virginia. He is helpingthem with materials issues dealing withpolymeric dielectric seals. !

D. F

olz


When Melanie Lashus de-cided she wanted to go tocollege and major in engi-neering, she started visitingcolleges in her home stateof North Carolina. “Why areyou here?” asked one en-gineering professor, “you’rea girl.”

Melanie found a warmerwelcome while visiting Vir-ginia Tech during a Collegeof Engineering Open House. There, shemet representatives from Women in En-gineering and others who encouragewomen to give engineering a try.

Growing up in rural North Carolina, thestandard in Melanie’s hometown was forgirls to finish high school and find a hus-band. “That wasn’t going to be for me,”Melanie said. “I am the first person in my

entire family to ever cometo college.” And she isproud that her younger sis-ter followed her lead andis also attending college.

Melanie was one of thosefortunate few to whomgrades came easily in highschool. She did well inmath and science, andwhen it came time tothink about her future she

chose engineering for practical reasons.“I figured that if I did engineering, if Icould do it, then I’d always be providedfor, I would have a good solid educa-tion that would get me a job and takecare of me.” On another level, she feltthat with an engineering degree, shewould be more capable of giving some-thing back.

Meet Graduating Senior,Melanie Lashus

People inMaterials

LeeAnn Ellis

Introducing David Clark,MSE Department Head

The newest faculty member in VirginiaTech’s Materials Science and Engineer-ing Department is Professor David Clark,who assumed the role of departmenthead this past January. A native ofFlorida, Clark is the youngest of sevenand the only engineer among his foursisters and two brothers.

David Clark can trace his interest inmaterials science and engineering backto the beginning of his college careerwhen he took a job working for Prof.Larry Hench in the newly formed Depart-ment of Metallurgical Engineering (laterrenamed MSE) at the University ofFlorida. He found the work so interest-ing that he quickly switched his majorfrom aerospace engineering to metal-lurgical engineering. After completinga B.S., he stayed on to pursue a growinginterest in ceramics, earning a master’sand a doctorate in MSE. His researchsince that time has focused mainly onceramics.

Most recently, Dr. Clark’s research hasbeen in the area of microwave process-ing of materials. “I think we’re really justat the tip of the iceberg right now inwhat we can do with the technology.”He is studying microwave energy as “analternative source of heating materials,of causing reactions to occur in materi-als.” If a piece of ceramic is placed in aconventional oven, the outside surfacewill heat up before the inside. If thatsame piece of ceramic material isplaced in a microwave oven, it will heatfrom the inside out. Since this heatingprocess occurs almost instantaneously,“the entire piece of material experi-ences essentially the same thermal his-tory,” as opposed to the material heatedin a conventional oven, where the out-side and inside will have differing ther-mal histories. In his research, Dr. Clark isapplying microwave technology tomaterials processing to form better ma-terials, materials that are cheaper andmaterials that couldn’t be created us-ing conventional methods. “That’swhere I intend to go with research; howto take a regular old microwave ovenand get something good out of it.”

As a professor, Dr. Clarksees education as a life-long journey, not as anendproduct to strive to-wards during a fewyears spent in collegeclassrooms. “We’re al-ways going to be learn-ing,” Clark said. “That’swhy continuing educa-tion is so important.What you actuallygraduate with from theuniversity may not bewhat you end up prac-ticing five or ten yearsdown the road.”

As department head, he has adoptedthe motto, “10 x 10.” He envisions thisdepartment expanding and continuallyimproving to become a top ten MSE de-partment by 2010. This will involvegrowth, but not too much. He stressesthe importance of preserving the cur-rent close-knit environment of the de-partment. “One of the good thingsabout this department is that studentsknow the faculty and they feel comfort-able talking to the faculty. We don’twant to have so many students that thefaculty don’t know who the studentsare.” Efforts will focus on growing thegraduate program and expanding

MSE’s research program. “I’m not goingto be the one that’s going to make thisdepartment number ten,” Clark said.“We as a group will make it happen ifthat’s what the faculty, staff, and stu-dents want to do.”

Joining Dr. Clark in the move northwardare his wife, Sue, and beloved cat,Stripa, who shares his name with astriped ceramic cat from Sweden, pur-chased during a 1982 sabbatical. “I’mreally happy to be here,” Clark says, “re-ally pleased with the faculty, staff, stu-dents and all that we have here. We’revery fortunate to have been able tocome here.”

Prof. David Clark discusses a microwave project in progress.

continued


Her decision to major in materials sci-ence and engineering resulted from at-tending an MSE open house as a fresh-man. She remembers Professor RonKander’s excitement about the depart-ment. Also, she says, “It was a lot morepersonal than a lot of the other openhouses that I went to. Being from a smalltown I was used to knowing everybody,and here at Tech I didn’t want to be justa number.” She appreciated being ableto join a smaller department in the midstof a large university. “We have the bestof both worlds here.”

One of the ways Melanie financed hereducation was through cooperativeeducation, where a student alternatessemesters of work and school. She isnow a strong advocate for cooperativeeducation, viewing it as a great oppor-tunity to find out about the real worldand also to explore engineering on thejob. She spent her three co-op semes-ters working for Acadia Polymers in both

Born in Quito, Ecuador, and spending hisearly life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, DylanPugh’s first language was Portuguese.He didn’t learn English until age six whenhis family moved to New Jersey. Just afew years later, he found himself livingin Granada, Spain, where he spent thenext twelve years or so learning tospeak fluent Spanish and generally be-coming acclimated to Spanish culture.

Dylan attended college at the Univer-sity of Granada majoring in physics,which he chose because it offered abroad base covering math, chemistry,the basics. He also played lots of rugby,and by his third year in college, he felthis devotion to the sport was interferingwith his schoolwork. In addition, therewere few areas of specialization in phys-ics at Granada, so he felt it was time tomove on.

He transferred to Virginia Tech, a movehe terms the best thing he ever did. Hespent a year and a half completing amajor in physics and a minor in math andgraduated in 1999, magna cum laude.And, of course, he continued to playrugby, joining the Virginia Tech team andtraveling with them all the way to na-tional competition.

Meet Dylan Pugh,MSE Doctoral Student

In the fall of 1999 Dylanentered Tech’s graduateprogram with plans to pur-sue a doctorate in mate-rials science and engi-neering. Why the switchfrom physics to materials?“I didn’t like engineering,”Dylan said, “as in me-chanical or electrical. It’stoo applied and I’ve al-ways been interested infundamentals—in what’sbehind everything.” Con-versations with AmyCorcoran in Physics leadhim to talk with SeanCorcoran in MSE. The two connected,and Sean’s work in biomaterials caughtDylan’s interest. His physics departmenthead offered sound counsel, tellingDylan that his choice of an advisor forgraduate work was an important one.“He is going to guide you through youryears of graduate school. He can makeit a wonderful experience or not.” Sofar, Dylan says, “It’s been great.”

Dylan’s research focuses on two sepa-rate projects. First, he is working on cre-

ating a high surfacearea electrode nano-porous platinum. Sucha material could beused in increasing thesensitivity of a biosen-sor, which is platinumand can be implantedin the body. For ex-ample, this electrodecould be used to pro-vide voltages in pace-makers.

His other project in-volves trying to set upa corrosion system that

will render bombs inactive after a cer-tain period of time. This technologycould be valuable in disabling bombsthat never detonated and are nolonger in active use, such as landmines.

When he’s not working on his research,Dylan still plays rugby, now with theBlacksburg league. He and his wife,Chris, also enjoy playing pick-up soc-cer in the afternoons out on VirginiaTech’s drillfield.

their design facility in Roanoke and theirmanufacturing and R&D plant in CliftonForge. “I thought it was really neat tosee both ends of the spectrum,” Melanieexplained. Her first semester was spentin Roanoke, where Acadia designs au-tomotive transmission pistons.

“I got to design two of the pistons, andFord actually bought one of my designs.”Then, when she moved over to themanufacturing facility for her next co-op semester, her designs were in theprocess of being prototyped andtested.

Overall, Melanie believes her co-op ex-perience went a long way toward pre-paring her not only to enter the workingworld but to face real life, taking respon-sibility and making financial decisions.Because of her experiences in findingan apartment and living on her ownwhile working, she feels that she knows

more of what to expect once she’sworking full time.

Melanie has accepted a position withAdvanced Technology and Research(ATR) in Dahlgren, Virginia, where shewill work as a consultant for the UnitedStates Navy at the Naval SurfaceWeapons Center. She’ll help Navy per-sonnel in preparing presentations, grantproposals, and other communications-related projects, all skills Melanie hashoned in her work with Prof. EricPappas as a program assistant in theMSE/ESM Writing and CommunicationsProgram.

Melanie graduated this May and hasalready purchased 2.5 acres of landhalfway between Fredericksburg andDahlgren where she is building a house.The MSE Department wishes Melanie allthe best and looks forward to hearingmore from her in the future.

Department of Materials Science and Engineering213 Holden Hall (0239)Virginia TechBlacksburg, Virginia 24061

Head’s Up!

David Clark

These are exciting and chal-lenging times for the de-partment. Although our un-dergraduate and graduateprograms are healthy, weare working to make themeven better. Enrollments forthe spring semester were 79undergraduate and 48graduate students. In May,32 received degrees fromthe department; 20 B.S., 8M.S. and 4 Ph.D. We expectthe number of graduates to increasein the future based on our increasedrecruitment activities.

The faculty has had a productive yearwith respect to new research initia-tives and professional activities, inspite of the heavy teaching loads im-posed on them due to several vacan-cies. One of these vacancies hasbeen filled by Dr. Dwight Viehland.Dwight has a strong background inmaterials science and engineering, anexcellent teaching history and a strongtrack record in research. We look for-

ward to his arrival in August and weanticipate adding several additionalfaculty members over the next year.

We have been preparingdiligently over the last twoyears for the ABET visit that willoccur in the fall semester.With a few corrections andadditions to the self-assessment document andsome modifications to the un-dergraduate labs in HoldenHall, we should be ready forthe visit.

The students have made sig-nificant contributions to the departmentthis year. They published their own newsmagazine, It’s a Materials World, partici-pated in recruitment activities, such asthe College of Engineering Open Housefor high school juniors, and representedus in various professional activities, suchas the National Institute of Ceramic En-gineers/American Ceramic Society Stu-dent Congress.

The department is fortunate to have astaff that is both capable and caring.They provide the continuity and long-term stability needed for a strong infra-structure.

Space continues to be an issue, evenwith the acquisition of 6000 ft2 in Colle-giate Square. One of our major goalsto be discussed at the May depart-mental retreat will be a new buildingthat will house ALL of our faculty, staffand graduate students. Meanwhile,allocations are being adjusted inHolden Hall to provide more researchlaboratories for new faculty.

The faculty, staff and students in MSEare committed to building a nationallyranked materials program. Our depart-ment has a long history at Virginia Techand I know that we have hundreds ofalumni. I would like to hear your com-ments and opinions ([email protected] or540-231-6640) on how we can bestshape the future of the department.

On a final note, I wish to thank Profes-sor Norman Dowling for his leadershipas interim department head prior to myarrival in January. Norm steered thedepartment through some very chal-lenging times and left us on solidground when he stepped down. Hewill continue to be active in depart-ment administration as chair of the un-dergraduate curriculum committee.

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDBlacksburg, VA 24060

Permit #28

exploring materials€¦ · · 2018-02-12news from the department of materials science and...

Documents