Satya Shivkumar, professor of mechanical engineering, re-ceived the Board of Trustees Award for Outstanding Teaching. The award recognizes faculty members for excel-lence in teaching coupled with outstanding professional con-tributions. Shivkumar is known for the passion he applies to his research in biomedical materials and polymer properties and for bringing that passion to his classroom, often integrat-ing current work, applications, and journal articles into his

courses and student projects. An enthusiastic and creative teacher, he seam-lessly integrates the latest educational technology—from SMART Board sys-tems to CPS clickers—into his classes.

Prof. Lados is the 2010 recipient of the Sigma Xi Out-standing Junior Faculty Researcher Award at WPI. She received this award “For Her Outstanding Contributions to Materials Performance and Process Selection Using a New Integrative Design Paradigm”. The award was presented to her at the Sigma Xi Induction Ceremony luncheon held at WPI on April 8, 2010. Prof. Lados is a full member of Sigma Xi

since 2004, and in 2001, she also received the Sigma Xi Graduate Research Scientific Award—Best Ph.D. thesis in Science and Engineering.

Board of Trustees Award for Outstanding Teaching

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Publications 4

Conference Proceedings

6

Research Projects Materials Processing

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8

Polymer Lab

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Metal Processing Institute

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Sigma Xi Outstanding Junior Faculty Researcher

WPI Materials Science and Engineering

F A L L 2 0 1 0

S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N T E R E S T

Spotlight on Awards 2

Greeting from Washburn Shops!

Interactive Materials Design Center

Nanotechnology

Surface Metrology Lab

Materials Advantage Commencement

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18 Prestigious Awards received at TMS 2010

It has been quite a year in Materials Science & Engineer-ing. Professor Shivku-mar won the WPI Trustees Award for Outstanding Teach-

ing, Professors Apelian and Lados re-ceived important awards from TMS. Our Materials Advantage student chapter won several awards from ASM. Professor Demetry’s Center for Educational Re-search and Development received $2.1 M from the Higgins family and Founda-tions to develop programs at WPI to improve teaching. Several new centers were initiated; Professor Apelian received funding from NSF for the Center for Recourse Recovery and Recycling (CR3) and I received funding from The Army Research Lab for the Center for Ther-momechanical Processing by Design. As you will see in the Newsletter, the work of the faculty, students and staff contin-ues to thrive. Our graduate enrollment continues to be high at over 40 full time students. During the 2009/2010 aca-demic year, seventeen Masters degrees were awarded and eight PhDs.

Thanks to the excellent efforts of Rita Shilansky and Hongwu Yang (GS) this Newsletter has been completed – Thanks Rita and Hongwu!

Dear Alumni/Alumnae, please let us know what you are doing. We would love to know and share in the next Newslet-ter.

Rick

Robert Earll Mc Connell Award presented to Diran Apelian by AIME on February 16, 2010 at the TMS 2010 Conference in Seattle, Washington for advancing the science and technology of Material Science & Engineering (MSE) and advancing the broader role of MSE in solving global human challenges.

Robert Lansing Hardy Award presented to Diana Lados by TMS on Feb-ruary 16, 2010 at the 139th TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Seattle, Washington for exceptional promise of a successful career in Metallurgy and Materials Science. In addition, Professor Lados was also granted the Ford Motor Company scholarship which is included in the Hardy Award. Prof. Lados was honored for her contributions to materials science and also in establishing the iMdc, Integrative Materials Design Center.

Endowment received for Promoting Excellence in Teaching and Learning

The Morgan Family has made a $2.1 million gift to endow the Morgan Teaching & Learning Center at WPI. Chrysanthe Demetry, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is Director of the Morgan Center, which was previously named the Center for Educational Development & Assess-ment. "This extraordinary gift recognizes the success we have achieved, the value that WPI places on high-quality teaching and the importance it attaches to student learning,”

said Prof. Demetry. The Center provides a variety of programs and ser-vices, including a seminar and workshop series on teaching and learning topics, training for graduate Teaching Assistants, grants for teaching and curriculum innovations, and a mentoring program for new faculty mem-bers.

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Graduate Research Achievement Day 2010

1st Annual Innovation Presentation Competition

Spotlight on Awards

Congratulations to Sara Gouveia, MTE graduate student, who received the Chet Inman 2010 Award from the ASM International Worcester Chapter on March 24, 2010. This scholarship is presented annually by the Worcester Chapter to a re-gional student in the field of metallurgy or materials science. Sara Gouveia received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a Biomechanics Concentration from WPI in May of 2008. She has been a teaching assistant in the department for a year and a half as well as being the webmaster for Material Advantage. She hopes to pursue a career in the medical device field.

The first Annual Innovation Presentation Competition was held on April 1, 2010 in the Campus Center Odeum. Pic-tured at left are some of contestants who were chosen from the Graduate Research Achievement Day Event to compete in the Innovation Competition. Lori R. Pelletier, Ph.D., won the Judge’s Special Recognition prize for the Project with the Largest Societal Impact. Lori Pellitier is now an Assistant. Profes-sor at the UMass Medical School located in Worcester, MA.

Congratulations to Muhammad Q. Saleem (1st Place in Engineering), Paul Cotnoir (3rd Place in Engineering) and Lori Pelletier (3rd Place in Science). They received awards this year at the GRAD 2010 poster symposium held on March 31, 2010. Muhammad Saleem’s poster project was Helium As-sisted Sand Casting of Aluminum Alloys, Paul Cotnoir presented his poster on Ambulance Vibration Suppres-sion via Force Field Domain Control, and Lori Pelletier’s poster was titled Physician Performance Modeling in a Healthcare Organization.

Chet Inman Award 2010 ASM Worcester Chapter

MQP Award 2010 ASM Worcester Chapter Congratulations to our Major Qualifying Project winners: Nathaniel Jannetti and Bradford Lynch who won 1st place in Mechanical on April 22, 2010. Their project, “An Integrated Mechanical-Metallurgical Approach to the Design, Testing and Analysis of Welded Bicycle Forks,” presented a methodology for acquiring/developing the neces-sary information /data to enable rapid design iteration of welded bicycle forks that meet current ASTM and CEN standards. Nathaniel and Brad also won the Worces-ter Chapter of ASM International competition for the Best MQP presentation in the Mechanical Engineering department with special emphasis on materials re-search. The event was held at O’Connors Restaurant on the evening of April 22,

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Isa Bar-On and Colleagues receive Grant from VA to improve the deliv-ery of Health Care.

Professor Isa Bar-On (Materials/Manufacturing) and her colleagues Professors Sharon Johnson, Diane Strong, and Bengisu Tulu have recently been awarded a grant by the VA to apply manufacturing and industrial engineering expertise to improve the delivery of Health Care. The team of professors are the founders of the Center for eHealth Innovation and Process Transformation (CeHIPT). It is the goal of the center to conduct interdis-ciplinary research that will contribute to the successful transformation of care delivery processes. “CeHIPT researchers recently joined with col-leagues at MIT, Northeastern University, and the VA New England Healthcare System to form the New England Healthcare Engineering Partnership. This consortium was awarded funding by the VA to apply engineering principles to improve patient care at the VA's hospitals and clinics in New England. Through the consortium, WPI faculty and students will be analyzing the VA's extensive clinical and operational data and processes to design and implement systems changes that improve several func-tional areas, including bedside care, colorectal cancer care, and the administrative processes for com-pensating disabled veterans.” (WPI News Release Nov. 11, 2009)

Graduate Research Achievement Day offers graduate students the opportu-nity to share their work and exchange information with their peers, faculty mem-bers, staff and guests. The thirteen students (above) submitted top posters in engi-neering, life sciences, management , social science and science were awarded prizes. New this year was the First Annual Innovation Presentation Competition. Thirteen students were chosen from Graduate Research Achievement Day to com-pete again before a panel of expert judges. Each graduate student presenter was asked to prepare a five-minute pitch about his or her research project (similar to the "elevator pitches" developed by entrepreneurs) highlighting the need it ad-dressed, the approach taken to meeting the need, and the benefits of the success-fully completed project. Below are the winners pictured with Provost John Orr and Dean of Graduate Studies Richard D. Sisson, Jr.

Innovation Competition

External Funding

During the period July 2009 to June 2010 the MTE faculty members submitted 29 grant proposals. The total amount received for 14 proposals awarded during this period is $1,111,257.00.

Recently Awarded: Apelian , Diran for “Commercially Viable, Low Cost, and Energy Efficient Processing of Semi-Solid Aluminum Alloys” from Advanced Technology Institute, $120,000.

Apelian, Diran for “High Performance Die Casting Alloys” from Advanced Technology Institute, $22,402.

Apelian, Diran for “Advanced Materials Processing for Ultra Efficient Power Systems Program” from Advanced Technoloy Institute, $34,999.

Apelian, Diran for “HyperCAST Program” from North American Die Casting Assoc., $245,000.

Apelian, Diran for “Collaborative Research: Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling (CR3)” from National Science Foundation, $80,000.

Apelian, Diran for “Aluminum Based Composite Structures” from US Army, $99,794.

Backman, Daniel for “Support to Naval Surface Warfare Center to Develop an AIM System for a Naval Aluminum Application” from US Navy, $22,364.

Bar-On, Isa for “New England healthcare Engineering Partnership (NEHCEP)”, from U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, $270,987.

Brown, Christopher for “Special Problems in Abrasive Finishing Technology” from Superfina machine Company, $25,000.

Lados, Diana for “Fatigue Crack Propagation Mechanisms in Cold Spray Materials from U.S. Army Applications”, $55,727.

Lados, Diana for “Friction Stir Welding in 5059 Al-Mg Alloys: Microstructure and Fatigue Considerations” from General Dynamics Land Systems, $50,025.

Liang, Jianyu for “Phase II Nano-Engineered Anode Materials for Rapid Recharge High Energy Density Lithium-Ion Batteries” from Yardney Technical Products, Inc., $50,000.

Liang, Jianyu for “Integrated Studies on the Interfaces in Nanocomposites and Nanoimprinting” from University of Akron, $34,959.

Grant Award

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New Students The Materials Science and Engineering Program will add 13 new students to the program in the Fall 2010. We have a new diverse group with two students from India, one from Taiwan, one from Italy, one from Greece, twenty seven from China and eight from the USA.

Publications 2009 J. Jorstad and D. Apelian, “Pressure Assisted Processes for High Integrity Aluminum Castings – Part 1,” Foundry Trade Journal International, Vol. 182, No. 3669, October 2009, pp.250-254.

J. Jorstad and D. Apelian, “Pressure Assisted Processes for High Integrity Aluminum Castings – Part 2,” Foundry Trade Journal International, Vol. 182, No. 3669, November 2009, pp. 282-287.

D. Apelian, Empowering First Year Students by Immersion in a “Grand Challenges Course: Sustainable Development for the 21st Century”, Journal of Metals, April, 2009

W.J.Stemp, B.E.Childs, S.Vionnet and C.A.Brown, “Quantification and discrimination of lithic use-wear: Surface profile measurements and length-scale fractal analysis,” Archaeometry 51, 3 (2009) 366–382.

C. Demetry, J. Hubelbank, S. Blaisdell, S. Sontgerath, M. E. Nicholson, E. Rosenthal, and P. Quinn, "Supporting Young Women to Enter Engineering: Long-Term Effects of a Middle School Engineering Out-reach Program for Girls," Journal of Women & Minorities in Science and Engineering, 15[2], 119-142 (2009).

F.J. Semel and D.A. Lados, “Simulated Effects of Martensite Start Temperature, Thermal Conductivity, and Pore Content on End Quench Cooling Rate”, Powder Metallurgy, vol. 52, no. 4, pp, 282-290, 2009.

R. Kirchain, C. Meskers, M. Reuter, and D.A. Lados, “TMS 2010 Materials and Society Symposium: Making a “Sustainable” World”, JOM, November 2009, pp. 17-18.

S. Dougherty, D. Zhang and J. Liang, “Fabrication of Protein Nanotubes Using Template-assisted Electro-static Layer-by-Layer Methods”, Langmuir 25:13232 (2009)

S. Dougherty and J. Liang, “Core-shell Polymer Nanorods by a Two-step Template Wetting Process”, Nanotechnology 20: 295301 (2009)

N R Pradhan, H. Duan, J. Liang and G.S. Iannacchione, “The Specific heat and effective thermal conductiv-ity of composites containing single-wall and multi-wall carbon nanotubes”, Nanotechnology, May 2009

S. Dougherty and J. Liang, “Fabrication of Segmented Nanofibers by Template Wetting of Multilayered Alternating Polymer Thin Films”, Journal of Nanoparticle Research 11:743 (2009)

S. Dougherty, J. Liang and T. Kowalik, “Template-assisted Fabrication of Protein Nanocapsules”, Journal of Nanoparticle Research 11: 385 (2009)

Mandal and M.M. Makhlouf, “Development of a Novel Hypereutectic Aluminum-Silicon-Magnesium Alloy for Die Casting,” Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals, vol. 62, No. 4-5, pp. 357-360, 2009.

X. Li, L. Yan, W. Rashid, Y. Rong, “Research on microscopic grain-workpiece interaction in grinding through micro-cutting simulation, part 1: mechanism study”, Advanced Materials Research, Vols. 76-78, 2009, pp. 9-14.

15. L. Yan, X. Li, F. Jiang, Z. Zhou, Y. Rong, “Research on Microscopic Grain-workpiece Interaction in Grinding through Micro-cutting Simulation, part 2: Factorial Study”, Advanced Materials Research, Vols. 76-78, 2009, pp. 15-20.

Virendra S. Warke, Richard D. Sisson, Jr., and Makhlouf M. Makhlouf, “The Effect of Porosity on the Austenite to Bainite Transformation in Powder Metallurgy Steels,” J. Mater. Res., vol. 24, no. 10, pp. 3213-3219, October 2009.

Virendra S. Warke, Richard D. Sisson, Jr., Makhlouf M. Makhlouf; “FEA A Model for Predicting the Response of Powder Metallurgy Steel Components to Heat Treatment”, Materials Science & Engineering A, 518 (2009) pp7-15.

Daniel H. Herring and Richard D. Sisson, Jr., “How Heat Treatment Contributes to Fastener Failures & Methods of Prevention”, Fastener Technology International, August 2009.

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2010

L. Wang, D. Apelian, and M.M. Makhlouf, “Dynamic Properties of High Performance Die Casting Alloys”, published in NADCA Transactions, NADCA Congress, Orlando March 2010.

A. Belenky, I. Bar-On, D. Rittel, ”Static and dynamic fracture of transparent nanograined alumina” Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Volume 58, Issue 4, April 2010, Pages 484-501, doi:10.1016/j.jmps.2010.02.002

T. Vincent, I. Bar-On, and Y. Itovich, “Quantitative Conductor Edge Angle Influence on GHz Frequency Electri-cal Loss”, IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging, Vol. 33, n. 2, p. 386-390, June 2010.

T. Vincent, I. Bar-On, and B. Powers, “The Influence of Substrate Surface Roughness on Electronic Telecommu-nication Transmission Loss Using Conventional Analyses and Length-scale Fractal Analysis”, Surface and Engi-neering A, A 527, pp. 3159-3165, 2010.

T. Vincent, I. Bar-On, and B. Powers, “The Influence of Substrate Surface Roughness on Electronic Telecommu-nication Transmission Loss Using Conventional Analyses and Length-scale Fractal Analysis”, Surface and Interface Analysis, v 42, n 1, p 21-35, January 2010.

M.A. Reuter, C.E.M. Meskers, R. Kirchain, and D.A. Lados, “Sustainable Materials Processing and Production – TMS 2010 Materials and Society Symposium: Looking back and into the future”, JOM, August 2010.

D.A. Lados, D. Apelian, and L. Wang, “Minimization of Residual Stress in Heat Treated Cast Al-Si-Mg Alloys Using Uphill Quenching: Mechanisms and Effects on Static and Dynamic Properties”, Materials Science and Engineer-ing A, A 527, pp. 3159-3165, 2010.

H. Duan, J. Liang, and Z. Xia, “Synthetic Hierarchical Nanostructures: Growth of Carbon Nanofibers on Mi-crofibers by Chemical Vapor Deposition”, Materials Science and Engineering B 166:190 (2010)

M. Makhlouf, “On the Mechanism of Modification of the Aluminum-Silicon Eutectic by Strontium: the role of nucleation,” Int. J. Metal Casting, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 47-50, 2010.

B. Xiao, G. Wang, L. He, Y. Rong, S. MacKenzie, “Comparison between High Pressure Hydrogen Quenching and Oil Quenching of Steel Parts Considering Load Effect”, 4th International Conference on Thermal Process Modeling and Computer Simulation (ICTPMCS-2010), May 31 – June 2, 2010 Shanghai, China

L. He, G. Wang, Y. Rong, “Modeling on Directional Solidification of Solar Cell Grade Multicrystalline Silicon Ingot Casting”, 4th International Conference on Thermal Process Modeling and Computer Simulation (ICTPMCS-2010), May 31 – June 2, 2010 Shanghai, China

B. Xiao, G. Wang, Y. Rong, R. Sisson, “Influencing Factors of Heat Transfer Coefficient in Air and Gas Quenching”, 18th Congress IFHTSE, July 26-30, 2010, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

L. Yan, F. Jiang, Z. Zhou, Y. Rong, “The Application of Three-Dimensional Surface Parameters to Characteriz-ing Grinding Wheel Topography”, The 13th International Symposium on Advances in Abrasive Technology (ISAAT2010) & The 1st Cross-Strait Conference on Precision Machining, Taipei, Taiwan, China, September 19-22, 2010

L. He, X. Li, G. Wang, Y. Rong, “A Preliminary Study on an Improved Grinding Process Integrated with Induc-tion Heating Technology”, Thirty-Eighth Annual North American Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC), Kingston, ON, Canada, May 27-30, 2010

Meghan Pasquali, Jianyu Liang, and Satya Shivkumar , “Role of template and infiltration technique on result-ing morphology of polymer nanostructures”. Materials Letters, Volume 64, Issue 18, 30 September 2010, Pages 1943-1946.

Daniel H. Herring and Richard D. Sisson, Jr., “Testing of Heat-Treated Fasteners”, Fastener Technology In-ternational, February 2010.

Daniel H. Herring and Richard D. Sisson, Jr., “Annealing of Wire Products: Atmospheres”, Wire Forming Technology International/Winter 2010.

Dr. Yan Wang to join Materials Science & Engineering Faculty

Dr. Wang is a new assis-tant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He re-ceived his B.E. in Chemi-cal Engineering from Tianjin University in China in 2001, his M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tianjin University in China in 2004, and his Ph.D. in Engineering Materials from the Uni-versity of Windsor in Ontario in 2008. Prior to coming to WPI, Dr. Wang was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mate-rial Sciences and Engi-neering at MIT. Among the honors Dr. Wang has received for his work are a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Postdoctoral Fellowship and a Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad. (The Towers, News, 9/7/2010)

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Conference Proceedings Y. Li, D. Apelian, Y. Ma, and Y. Hao, “Commercial AM60 Alloy for Semisolid Processing: I - Alloy Optimization and Thermodynamic Analysis”, Science Press, S2P Conference 2010, Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China (S2P Conference 2010), Vol. 20, 2010

L. Wang, D. Apelian, and M.M. Makhlouf, “Dynamic Properties of High Performance Die Casting Alloys”, published in NADCA Transactions, NADCA Congress, Orlando March 2010.

CA. Brown, B.Powers, “Design of Surface Metrology Systems”, North American Manufacturing Re-search Conference, NAMRC 3, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, May 25-28, 2010.

C.A.Brown, “On the Importance of Scale-based Characterization for Discrimination and Correlation”, International Conference on Surface Metrology, C.A.Brown, M. Massey and O.Paracha, eds., WPI, Worcester, MA 26-28 October 2009, p IX 12-14 .

C. Demetry and R. Vaz, "Evaluation of Intercultural Learning in an Education Abroad Program for STEM Undergraduates," Proceedings, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exhibition, June 20-23, 2010.

M. Bedford, A. Farrell, D. Rene, D.A. Lados, R. Norton, and C. Gillis, “An Integrated Acoustic Evalua-tion of Engineering Materials”, Proceedings of the 2009 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE 2009), Lake Buena Vista, FL, Track 20-13-2, 2009.

A.G. Gavras, C.J. Lammi, and D.A. Lados, “Fatigue Crack Growth Mechanisms of Long and Small Cracks in Structural Materials”, Proceedings of the 139th TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition, Seattle, WA, vol. 3, pp. 317-326, 2010.

A.G. Gavras, B.F. Chenelle, and D.A. Lados, “Effects of Microstructure on the Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of Light Metals and Design Considerations”, 1st TMS-ABM International Materials Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2010.

A.G. Gavras and D.A. Lados, “On the Mechanisms of Fatigue Crack Propagation in Structural Materi-als”, MS&T, Houston, TX, October 2010.

B.F. Chenelle and D.A. Lados, “Novel Processing Techniques and Their Relation to Defect Repair in Aerospace Applications”, MS&T, Houston, TX, October 2010.

M. Pasquali, J. Liang, and S. Shivkumar, “Mapping Polymer Nanostructures Using the Template As-sisted Method”, ANTEC (Society of Plastics Engineers) 2010, Orlando, FL, May 16-20, 2010

N. Pradhan, Y. Qiming, J. Liang, and G. Iannacchione, “Dynamics of 8CB and 10 CB Liquid Crystals Inside Multiwall Carbon Nanopipes”, IMAPS (International Microelectronics and Packaging Society) New England Technical Symposium, Boxborough, MA, May 2, 2010

A. Larsen, R. Whetstone, and J. Liang, “Exploring Nano Scale Convective Heat Transfer of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Arrays”, IMAPS (International Microelectronics and Packaging Society) New England Technical Symposium, Boxborough, MA, May 2, 2010

Group Picture from ASM HTS’ 2009 An-nual Meeting Wendi Liu Olly Rowan Jiu Zhao Jodi Lowell Richard Sisson, Jr. Yuan Xu Isaiah Janzen Danielle Belisito Yingying Wei Bowang Xiao, Mei Yang Gang Wang

Bowang Xiao, Prof. Richard D. Sisson, Jr., and Gang Wang

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M.-E. Yang, R. Sisson, H. Duan, J. Liang, R. Datta, “Fabrication of Porous Ceramics by Anodization of Titanium and Zirconium”, ICACC 2010 (The 34th International Conference & Exposition on Advanced Ceramics & Composites), Daytona Beach, FL, Jan. 2010

N. R. Pradhan, S. Dougherty, J. Liang and G.S. Iannacchione, “Phase Transitions of Liquid Crystals Confined Inside Carbon Nanopipes: A Modulated DSC Study”, MRS (Materials Research Society) Fall Meeting, Boston, MA, Dec. 2009

S. Dougherty and J. Liang, “Core-shell Polymer Nanorods for Controlled Drug Delivery”, IMAPS (International Microelectronics and Packaging Society) New England Technical Symposium, Boxborough, May 5, 2009

L. Wang, D. Apelian, and M.M. Makhlouf, “Dynamic Properties of High Performance Die Casting Alloys,” Proc. of CastExpo 2010, published by NADCA, Wheeling, IL, March 2010.

Chang-Kai Wu, Makhlouf M. Makhlouf, “Predicting Residual Stresses Caused by Heat Treating Cast Aluminum Alloy Components,” Proc. of 113th TMS Annual Meeting, pp. 173-180, San Francisco, California, 2009.

A. Mandal and M.M. Makhlouf, “Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Cast Hypereutectic Al-Si Alloys with High Magnesium Content,” Aluminum Alloys: Fabrication, Characterization and Applications, W. Yin and Z. Long eds., Proc. of 113th TMS Annual Meet-ing, pp. 57-62, San Francisco, California, 2009.

H. Li, C. Wang, and Y. Rong, “Service-oriented Architecture based Dockside Container Crane CAD/CAE Integration System”, Com-puters and Information in Engineering Conference, ASME IDETC/CIE, San Diego, CA, Aug. 31-Sep. 2, 2009.

B. Xiao, G. Wang, and Y. Rong, “A Study on Heat Transfer Coefficient of High Pressure hydrogen Quenching”, 25th ASM Heat Treat-ing Society Conference and Exposition, Indianapolis, IN, Sep. 14-16, 2009

X. Li and Y. Rong, “Kinematics Simulation of Grinding Process Based on Virtual Wheel Model and Micro-cutting Analysis”,ASME Inter-national Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference, West Lafayette, IN, October 4-7, 2009

X. Li, L. Yan, W. Bin Rashid, Y. Rong, “Research on microscopic grain-workpiece interaction in grinding through micro-cutting simula-tion, part 1: mechanism study”, The International Symposium on Advances in Abrasive Technology (ISAAT), Gold Coast, Australia, Sep. 27-30, 2009

L. Yan, X. Li, F. Jiang, Z. Zhou, and Y. Rong, “Research on microscopic grain-workpiece interaction in grinding through micro-cutting simulation, part 2: factorial study”, The International Symposium on Advances in Abrasive Technology (ISAAT), Gold Coast, Australia, Sep. 27-30, 2009

Meghan Pasquali, Jianyu Liang, and Satya Shivkumar, “Role of template and infiltration technique on resulting morphology of poly-

mer nanostructures”, ANTEC 2010 Conference Proceedings; Orlando, FL, May 16-20, 2010.

Bowang Xiao, Gang Wang, Richard D. Sisson, Jr., and Yiming Rong, “Influencing Factors of Heat Transfer Coefficient in Air and Gas Quenching”, Proceedings of 18th International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (2010)

X. Dai, M. Maniruzzaman, R.D. Sisson, Jr., “The Effects of Quench Starting Temperature on Cooling Rates and Heat Transfer during Oil Quenching”, presented and published in Proceedings ASM HTS’ 2009, Indianapolis, IN, Sept. 14-17, 2009.

G. Wang, M. Maniruzzaman, R.D. Sisson, Jr., “Development of a Simulation Tool for Prediction and Optimization on Carburizing Processes”, Proceedings ASM HTS’ 2009, Indianapolis, IN, Sept. 14-17, 2009

Pictured above on the Left: Diran Apelian and Graduate Students: Hao Yu, Cecilia Borgonovo, Ning Sun and Brad Lynch. On the right: Xiang Chen, Hao Yu, Cecilia Borgonovo, Tasos Gavras, Ning Sun, Brendan Chenelle TMS 2010 Conference in Seattle, WA - February 2010/

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Wendi Liu

Yingying Wei

Materials Processing Atmosphere vs. Vacuum Carburizing - Fatigue Test Comparison Advisor: Prof. Richard D. Sisson, Jr. Student : Yingying Wei

This project is to compare the fatigue performance of gas and vacuum carburized parts. The surfaces of structures are the most susceptible regions to the initiation of fatigue failures. The strengthening the materi-als at or very near to the surface will enhance the fatigue life of ma-chined parts. Carburization is one of the widely used surface hardening processes in the industry. Carburization in steel parts can be achieved in several ways. Among them, atmosphere or gas carburizing and vacuum carburizing are most common industrial techniques. Atmosphere and gas carburizing, rolling contact fatigue tests and computational simulations were utilized. The increased understanding of the effect of the carburiz-ing process on fatigue life will provide the heat treater with new oppor-tunities to determine the process parameters and process control strat-egy to enhance the fatigue resistance of the products.

Intergranular oxides at the sur-face of the gas carburized 9310.

Predicting the Response of Aluminum Casting Alloys to Heat Treatment Advisor: Makhlouf M. Makhlouf Student: Chang-Kai Wu The mechanical properties of aluminum alloy castings can be greatly improved by precipitation hardening. Typically, this heat treatment con-sists of three steps: (1) solutionizing, (2) quenching, and (3) aging; and is performed by first heating the casting to and maintaining it at a tempera-ture that is a few degrees lower than the solidus temperature of the alloy in order to form a single-phase solid solution. Then rapidly quench-ing the casting in a cold (or warm) fluid in order to form a supersatu-rated non-equilibrium solid solution; and finally, reheating the casting to the aging temperature where nucleation and growth of the strengthening precipitate(s) can occur. Obviously, these processing steps involve sig-nificant thermal changes that may be different from location to location in the casting. The objective of this project is to develop a finite element model and the necessary material database that allow predicting these physical and material property changes .

Nitriding – fundamentals, modeling and process optimization Advisor: Prof. Richard D. Sisson, Jr. Students: Danielle Belsito & Mei Yang

As a prominent thermochemical heat treatment procedure, nitriding can improve the treated steel surface properties by forming a hard, abrasive and corrosion resistant surface compound layer. Heat treaters need an effective simulation tool to predict the nitriding performance of a wide variety of steels. A computational model using the finite difference numerical method is being developed to predict the nitrogen concentra-tion profile and resulting phases in the metal, allowing the final proper-ties to be predicted. This model is needed not only to specify key proc-ess parameters to control the nitriding process but also to optimize the process for reducing cycle times and costs.

Danielle Belsito and Mei Yang

Meghan Pasquali

Chang-Kai Wu (Lance)

High angle annular dark field TEM micrograph from the nitrided case of nitrided AISI 4140

Modeled Part

Morgan Guardino

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Meghan Pasquali receives 2010 MPD/ANTEC Best Technical Paper Award

Meghan Pasquali won the "Best Technical Paper by a Student" in the Medical Plastics Division of the ANTEC conference, which was sponsored by SPE, the Society for Plastics Engineers.

In recognition of the technical content and quality of her MPD Student presentation, Meghan Pasquali was presented with a commemorative certificate and plaque by the Medical Plastics Divi-sion in addition to a monetary award and compensation toward travel expenses for her presenta-tion Mapping of Polymer Nanostructures Using Template Assisted Method. Below is information relating to the research she is conducting in the Polymer Laboratory.

Development of Model to Predict Nanostructure Morphology Using Template Wetting Technique

Advisor: Prof. Satya S. Shivkumar, Prof. Jianyu Liang Student: Meghan Pasquali Elongated nanostructures have been shown to have many advantages in the biomedical field, and polymer structures offer even more advantages to deliver drugs, proteins or other biomolecules to various regions throughout the body. The template wetting technique provides a simple, cost-effective means of generating polymer nanorods and nanotubes to be studied for a variety of appli-cations. This research focuses on using the technique to fabricate elongated nanostructures, and then characterize the resulting morphology. The ability to predict the size and type of structure resulting from various conditions will be beneficial in the development of novel nano-carrier de-vices.

Polymer Laboratory

SEM micrograph showing polystyrene nanotubes formed after wetting an anodized aluminum template

Austenite Grain Growth

Advisor: Richard. D. Sisson, Jr. Student: Wendi Liu Austenite grain size plays an important role during the heat treatment process of steels. The mechanical properties of heat-treated alloy steels are strongly influenced by the grain size. Fine austenite grains are a pre-requisite to obtain small ferrite grains required for optimum mechanical properties. The austenite grain growth is controlled by the temperature, time and alloy additions of grain refiners such as Al, Ti, V or Nb which form precipitates that can pin austenite grain boundaries and inhibit grain growth.

The objective of this project is to investigate the austenite grain growth kinetics in the alloy.

Heat Treating Gears – distortion and residual stress reduction

Advisor: Richard D. Sisson, Jr. Student: Morgan Guardino

This project focuses on modeling distortion and residual stress that can develop during the heat treatment of gears.

Prior-austenite grain boundaries revealed by using aqueous saturated picric acid plus HCL and a wetting agent.

A model of a portion of a gear during carburi-zation

Hao Yu

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Optoelectronic Sensing of Molten Metal Composition

Research Team: Shimin Li, Dan Backman

Traditional scrap sortation technology separates scrap into alloy classes, each having a chemical composition that is uncertain and varies between lots. The availability of real-time, in-situ sensors to measure the composition of molten metal, during subsequent scrap melt processing, will increase the melt processability of scrap by enabling fast response to aberrant scrap composition and closed loop melt compositional control. Increased scrap processability will encourage increased scrap utilization, lessen export of domestic metal scrap resources, and support closed loop metals recycling – providing significant materials sustainability and energy benefits to society. The overarching goal of this research project is to improve the performance of optoelectronic sensing technologies for measuring the composition of molten metal alloys to enhance melt processing using larger amounts of scrap input stock.

Metal Processing Institute Development of Aluminum-Dross Based Materials for Engineering Applications: Reduce land filling and energy usage to recover Al

Research Team: Diran Apelian, Chen Dai

Aluminum Dross is a by-product of Aluminum production. The dross is processed in rotary kilns to recover Al, and the resultant salt cake is sent to landfills; although it is sealed to prevent from leach-ing, the potential for leaching exists and may harm the environment. Also, much energy is consumed during the processing. The economic impact for "recycling" Al dross is huge as it mitigates metal losses, alleviates the use of salts, eliminates the need to landfill salt cakes, and save the energy as well. There is great merit in recycling the dross to serve as an engineering product for specific applica-tions.

Chen Dai

At left: Laboratory vacuum induction melting unit, outfitted with XRF and LIBS instrumentation

Shimin LI

Hao Yu

Primary Al Processing

Diran Apelian Tapped to Chair National Blue Ribbon Panel on Materials and Energy

Diran Apelian, Director, Metal Processing Institute, has been selected to chair a national blue ribbon panel that will help identify breakthroughs in materials and materials processes that could lead to energy efficiency, energy security, and reductions in carbon emissions. The Panel identified policy areas that can contribute to progress in research, development, demonstration, and deployment of sustained investment in materials science and engineering. The Panel will form a national energy roadmap with the collaborative efforts of industry, academia, the federal government and other professional societies and institutions. Efforts to cultivate and educate a skilled workforce in reducing energy, improving the economy, and laying the foundation for radical advances in the longer term are its goal.

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Two Universities Establish Metals Recycling Research Center

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Worcester, MA., and the Colorado School of Mines, (CMS) Golden, CO., have jointly received a $400,000 award from the National Science Founda-tion to establish a research center for metals recycling. The two universities created the Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling (CR3), which, they say, is the first research center dedi-cated to developing new technologies for maximizing the recovery and recycling of metals used in manufactured products and structures.

“Despite growing efforts to recycle metals, we still fail to recover half of the post-consumer metal scrap generated in this country; we rely on primary metals—those derived directly from ores—to fulfill two-thirds of our manufacturing needs,” Apelian says. “The environmental bene-fits of reusing scrap instead of smelting primary metal are tremendous.”

Faculty and students associated with CR3 are collaborating with industry partners to conduct research leading to advances in recycling and recovery technology that maximize the capture and reuse of post-consumer scrap and minimize the production of manufacturing scrap. These include sensors, controls and sorting technologies that can identify valuable metals and separate them from the waste stream, as well as new alloys that are easier to recycle.

“Our nation’s economic health is intimately intertwined with our ability to conserve natural resources, including inorganic materials, which are not renewable,” says Apelian. “The issue of sustainability should be paramount in how we design, manufacture, use and retire the many products we use. That is the motivation for this new center’s research and its partnership with industry.”

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WPI Prof. Diran Apelian serves as the center’s director and Prof. Brajendra Mishra of Colorado School of Mines serves as associate director.

Metal Recovery via Automated Sortation

Research Team : Hao Yu, Diran Apelian Current identification methods for metals recovery and recycling rely on a chosen property of the material in order to sort it. Typical sorting techniques include density separation, magnetic separation, hydrometallurgical processes, etc. However, nothing about the chemical composition of the materials being extracted in these processes is actually known. Today, sensing techniques such as X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) have enabled determination of the chemical make up of alloys in real time. This creates opportunities within the field of recycling to upgrade the value of waste streams by intelligently separating out unwanted materials leaving only the desired alloys.

The principal goal of the research is to create an automated sorting system to recycle high-value metal scrap, such as Nb and Mo, using XRF technique. The sorting system consists of three steps: feeding, sorting and ejection. WPI will focus on feeding and ejection. First, a literature review will be conducted and a taxonomy of the best-fit methods for sorting different material types and particle sizes will be created. Then, a feeding system, which is able to provide a mono-layer of chips at a belt load that is variable, will be developed. A micro ejection technology for the re-moval of the unwanted materials from a particulate waste stream will also be created.

Experimental study for waste char-acterization

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Tasos Gavras

Integrative Materials Design Center (iMdc) The Integrative Materials Design Center (iMdc) is a WPI-based research center established in 2007 as a consortium of industry, government, and academic partners. The center is dedicated to advancing the state-of-the-art-and-practice in sustainable materials-process-component de-sign and manufacturing for high-performance, reliability, and recyclability. Metallic and composite materials are developed, tested, characterized, and optimized for enhanced fatigue, fatigue crack growth, and fracture resistance including thermal and thermo-mechanical fatigue, stress-corrosion and corrosion fatigue, creep, and wear for high-integrity and critical structural applications. Microstructure-property-performance relationships are provided and practical and integrated design and testing tools and strategies are established. iMdc has a wide range of members from all transportation industries, defense, materials producers, testing and charac-terization equipment providers, and other research and manufacturing facilities. Current iMdc re-search projects are reviewed.

Design for Fatigue Crack Growth Resistance: Microstructural Effects and Design Considerations

Advisor: Prof. Diana Lados Student: Anastasios Gavras

Fatigue crack growth resistance is an important consideration in the design of engineering structures and components. However, despite the extensive research efforts dedicated to this topic, a funda-mental understanding of the dynamic behavior of various alloys and microstructures used in fatigue critical applications is still lacking. In this project, materials with different crystal structure and proper-ties (cast and wrought Al alloys, wrought Ti alloys, and cast irons) that are commonly used in struc-tural applications are investigated. Microstructural effects on the fatigue crack growth response are evaluated by altering the microstructure of each material by means of chemistry or heat treatment.

Compact tension specimens are tested at low, intermediate, and high stress ratios, R=0.1, R=0.5, and R=0.7 respectively, to generate reliable design data and understand the long crack growth mecha-nisms. In addition, surface flaw tension specimens are also tested at low stress ratio, R=0.1, in order to understand the mechanisms that govern the growth of small cracks. Developing a data reduction method able to provide design curves, as well as a new corrective model that accounts for the differ-ences between long and small crack growth data are also important goals of this project.

Fracture surface profile of an AL-Mg (A535) cast aluminum alloy

Xiang Chen

Brendan Chenelle

Prof. Lados and Tasos

Andrew Biro

Prof. Diana Lados selected to participate in the Na-tional Academy of Engineer-ing’s U.S. Frontiers of Engi-neering Symposia for re-search and education

Prof. Lados is among 87 young engineers selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) 16th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering (FOE) Symposium. The partici-pants are selected based on their exceptional engineering research and technical work. Prof. Lados is the first WPI Pro-fessor chosen to participate in this program, which was held in September 2010 in Armonk, NY.

“As we face the challenges the next century brings, we will rely more than ever on innovative engi-neers,” said NAE President Charles M. Vest. “The U.S. Fron-tiers of Engineering program is an opportunity for a diverse group of this country’s most promising young engineers to gather together and discuss multidisciplinary ways of leading us into the economy of tomorrow.”

Prof. Lados was also selected to participate in the National Acad-emy of Engineering 2010 Fron-tiers of Engineering Education (FOEE) Symposium to be held in Irvine CA, December 2010.

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New Materials and Evaluation Methods for Elevated Temperature Applications

Advisor: Prof. Diana Lados Student: Xiang Chen It is well known that precipitation strengthened aluminum alloys do not perform optimally at high temperatures due to precipitate coarsening and loss of strength. Metal matrix nano-composites are not affected by diffusional coarsening and are expected to have significant advan-tages over conventional alloys such as very high yield strength and improved creep and fatigue properties. Dispersion strengthened alloys also exhibit enhanced creep and fatigue resistance at high temperatures. Crack initiation and propagation is accelerated in many high temperature engineering components under hot com-pressive dwell (HCD) conditions, a particular case when creep only occurs under compressive stresses. This work addresses the performance of new metal matrix nano-composites and optimized dispersion strengthened alloys for elevated temperature applications. New testing methodologies for evaluating high temperature properties are also being developed and validated.

Blunt compact tension specimen used to deter-mine crack growth behavior at high temperature as simulated by Franc2D

Friction Stir Welding: Microstructure, Residual Stress, and Fatigue Damage Mechanisms

Advisor: Prof. Diana Lados Student: Brendan Chenelle Friction Stir Welding, FSW, is a solid-state joining process invented by the Welding Institute in 1991. This process has many benefits over conventional fusion welding techniques, and is especially attrac-tive to the aerospace and automotive sectors. However, fatigue crack growth behavior of the resulting joints and its relationships to microstruc-tural characteristics and residual stresses are not well understood. This knowledge is critical to successfully implementing FSW techniques into damage-tolerant design for high integrity applica-tions. In addition, the FSW process is not a ma-ture technology; significant research into possible applications of this technology is possible. Thus, providing a fundamental understanding of fatigue crack growth behavior in FSW joints, investigating the effects of microstructure and residual stresses, and assessing novel applications of this process are the focal points of this research. Moreover, venues to adopt this technology in various industries are also being explored.

Friction stir welded 6061-T6 aluminum alloy

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Nanotechnology

Design and Preparation of Hierarchical Carbon Nanofiber Supported Pt catalysts for Fuel Cell

Advisor: Jianyu Liang Student: Xi Geng

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) attract much interest as green power sources for automobiles and portable electronics because of their high power density and low operating temperature. Due to the unique structure and properties such as high-surface area, good electronic conductivity, strong mechanical properties and superior-chemical stability, nanostruc-tured active carbon are recognized as a promising cata-lyst support for PEMFCs. In this project, a novel hierar-chical e structure of carbon nano fibers (CNFs) supported Pt was designed and fabricated. The objective is to offer an efficient approach towards the integration of nano-scale entities and facilitate the design and development of novel electrocatalyst for fuel cells. The physicochemical properties of the nano-composites were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). CNFs were success-fully anchored to micro carbon fibers using catalytic chemical vapor deposition. By a combina-tion of improved sol-gel and chemical reduction technique, Pt nanoparticles with narrow size distribution were uniformly dispersed onto the surface of the as-prepared three dimensional hierarchical active carbon support. This nanohybrid exhibited enhanced catalytic activity and excellent fuel cell performance.

Advanced Lithium Ion Batteries

Advisor: Jianyu Liang Student: Ryan Lawrence

Lithium ion batteries are used in various applications from portable computers and music players to satellites and plug-in hy-brid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Technologi-cal advancement on these fronts requires batteries that are lightweight with high capacities even at high charge/discharge rates. Two approaches to achieve these ends are to develop new electrode materials and to control their surface geometry. Most mod-ern lithium ion batteries are designed with carbonaceous anodes due to their low cost and reli-ability. However, these materials are limited by low specific capacity 3%(mAh/g) and poor high-rate performance. This research project studies transition metal oxides (CuO, Fe3O4, etc.), which have specific capacities that are 2-3 times higher than carbon-based anodes. Additionally, by developing 3-dimensional surface morphologies on the nano-scale, high-rate capabilities are realized through shortened diffusion of lithium ions. The goal is to develop advanced electrodes that are competitive in tomorrow’s market.

Capacity retention of CuO Anodes

SEM image of CNF on Carbon Cloth

Xi Geng

Ryan Lawrence

Jieying Jing

Yuquin Yao

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Alumni of the Nanofab-rication and Nanomanu-facturing Laboratory at WPI Shelley Dougherty re-ceived her Ph. D. degree in 2009 and is now a Senior Scientist at ECI Biotech in Worcester, MA.

Huanan Duan received his Ph.D. degree in 2010 and is now a Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell Univer-sity in Ithaca, NY.

Dawei Zhang received his Master of Science degree in 2009 and is now a Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University in College Sta-tion, TX.

Zhiyang Rong received her Master of Science de-gree in 2009 and is now a graduate student at Acad-emy of Art University in San Francisco, CA.

Qiming Yang has finished his research work and ex-pects to receive his Master of Science degree in 2011. He currently works as a Battery Product Engineer at EaglePicher Medical Power in Plano, TX.

Siddharth Sudhir Mesh-ram received his Master of Engineering degree in 2010 and is now working at the IBM Microelectronics Re-search Laboratory in York-town Heights, NY.

Sara Gouveia received her Master of Engineering degree in 2010 and is now working as an engineer at Tegra Medical in Franklin, MA.

Design and preparation of Fe3O4/TiO2 composite nanoparticles and its application in wastewater treatment Team: Jieying Jing, Jianyu Liang

The use of core-shell nanoparticles are exploited as a promising and important approach in separating and recycling nanoparticles from treated water in a slurry-type reactor. In this research pro-ject, we aim to synthesize high quality hybridized Fe3O4/TiO2 nanoparticle with superparamagnetic property and treat the non-biodegradable nitrogen-containing organic compounds using these materials. The magnetic core is useful for enhancing the separation of suspended particles from solution, whereas the photocatalytic properties of the TiO2 are used to destroy organic contaminants in wastewater. It permits easy recovery of TiO2 photocatalyst from the treated water by magnetic force, without the need for further downstream treatment processes. The ob-jectives are to produce magnetic hybridized nanocrystal with a simple, reliable, and environmentally friendly method and to employ it to decompose nitrogen-containing organic compounds.

TEM image of Fe3O4 core

Highly Controllable Fabrication of CNT Arrays for Interfacial Mechanical Properties Investigation

Advisor: Jianyu Liang Student: Yuqin Yao

Interfacial properties of nanostructured materials have been vigorously studied by scientists and researchers because of their important role in understanding the unique behaviors and devising novel applications of those materials. In this report, arrays of carbon nanotubes(CNTs) embedded in anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates have been util-ized as a platform to study mechanical interfacial properties of importance to nanoimprinting and nanostructured rein-forced composites. In order to systematically and experi-mentally study the interfacial mechanical properties, a highly controllable fabrication protocol to create uniform and free standing CNT arrays with well-defined morphology has been developed based on the previously well-studied tem-plate-assisted chemical vapor deposition method (CVD). The microstructure and the morphology of the CNT based nanocomposite materials are characterized by scan-ning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The influence of fabrication conditions on the microstructure and the morphology of the nanomaterials, such as the property of the AAO templates, the CVD growth conditions, and the post growth treatments are systematically studied. The effect of the material morphology and microstructure on the measured interfacial mechanical prop-erties is also investigated.

Exposed and Free- standing Carbon Nanotubes

Surface Metrology International Conference on Surface Metrology

The Surface Metrology lab is hosting an International Conference on Surface Metrology (www.surfacemetrology.org) October 25-27, 2010, which is intended to include diverse disciplines with common interests in measuring and analyzing surface topography and roughness. There is one day of tutorials and two days of technical presentations.

The objectives of the conference are:

• to exchange ideas on surface metrology between people with a diverse set of applications

• to provide educational opportunities at all levels of surface metrology

• to disseminate advances and insights in surface metrology fundamentals, methods, equip-ment, software, and applications.

This will be the second time that WPI hosts the conference to afford researchers from a wide vari-ety of fields the opportunity to gather and discuss their common interest in surface metrology. The first International Conference on Surface Metrology in October 2009 was a great success with over 40 technical presentations from 8 countries and over 80 attendees. The presentations explored a wide range of applications of surface metrology, including materials science, nanotechnology, bio-engineering, archaeology, anthropology, tribology and art conservation.

Brendan Powers awarded E. Wayne Kay Graduate Scholarship

Brendan Powers was awarded the E. Wayne Kay Graduate Scholarship for the amount $8,000. This scholarship is awarded by the Society of Manufac-turing Engineers (SME) Educational Foundation to students pursuing a gradu-ate degree related to manufacturing or industrial engineering who have “proven scholastic ability, exemplary character and leadership capability, and who have demonstrated their potential for future leadership in the profes-sion.” This award recognizes his leadership of the WPI student chapter of SME and his publications in SME’s NAMRC. Currently, his research area is developing strategies for achieving multiple roughness tolerances in tape finishing.

Strategies in achieving multiple roughness tolerances with tape finishing

Advisor: Christopher Brown Student: Brendan Powers Tape finishing sometimes referred to as belt finishing, superfinishing, or microfinishing is a manufac-turing process used typically after turning, grinding, or coating processes to improve the perform-ance of engineering surfaces. The advantages of tape finishing over many other finishing processes is the low process variation in many profile and roughness parameters, low material removal, low heat generation and improved part geometry. The applications of this technology are mostly in mechani-cal part such as, bearings, sealing surfaces (rotating and sliding), rollers, cams, and clutches.

The resulting surface roughness from this process is of particular importance. Increasingly designers of rotating and sliding seals, cam shafts, and rollers are specifying multiple double-side tolerances to specify surface finish. Due to the correlated nature of surface roughness parameters, changing the tape finishing process to move one roughness parameter into tolerance can move other roughness parameters out of tolerance. This work develops and tests strategies for achieving multiple rough-ness tolerances.

The lab is grateful to Supfina Machine Co. in North Kingston, RI for their support of this project and to Olym-pus for the use of the LEXT 4000 scanning laser confocal microscope for this and other projects.

Brendan Powers (left) and Carolina Morano of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (right) install a laser triangulation sensor on a horizontal scanning microscope.. Director Christoper Brown (back) observes the procedure.

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Mason Andruskiewicz using Olympus LEXT 4000 confocal scanning laser microscope

Caption describ-ing pic-ture or graphic.

Materials Advantage

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The Material Advantage organization at Worcester Polytechnic Institute held a series of events to interest those students who may have a desire to learn more about the behavior of materials or even study in the field of materials science and engineering.

The first event related to Nitinol, a shape memory alloy made of nickel and titanium. You can “train” the material Nitinol into a shape, deform it, and then it will spring back to its shape with just a little bit of heat! This is used in many industrial applications, including elec-tronics, eyeglass frames, and stents to open clogged arteries and veins. This event on making Nitinol wire creations happened on Friday October 30th from 11am-1pm in the lobby of Washburn – 2nd floor.

On Thursday, March 25, the organization held a Materials Carnival which had several stations and presentations about the different parts of material science. The demonstra-tions included a density experiment, goo (polymer) lab, and a lesson on how to make rock candy. The concepts of nucleation and growth were also discussed in regard to rock candy and materials science. During the materials identification experiment, five 20 gram cubes each made of a different material (copper, aluminum, zinc, iron, and brass) were passed around the room. Students were then asked to try to figure out which cube was made out of which material by using their own knowledge and CES Edupack (computer software - materials database) to get information (color, density) about these materials. This was the Spring Materials Challenge event where the WPI’s Materials Advantage Chapter was able to gain twelve new members.

The Materials Advantage Organization received a $500 award for their entry in the Materials Radio Podcast Contest. They sub-mitted a script and a .mp3 audio version of their entry on the topic, “biomedical applications of materials science”. Members of Materials Advantage volunteered to assist with the ASM Materials Camp New England Area which was held on May 10, 2010 to excite and encourage young people to pursue careers in materials science and/or applied science and engineering disci-plines. The students selected to attend this materials camp participated in various learning areas designed to demonstrate the nature of materials and how materials are engineered through processing to perform as desired. The 54 students participated in eight Materials Science based learning modules on topics from shape memory alloys to cryogenics. Due to the expertise of 35 professional people and WPI students who volunteered, the 5th anniversary of the camp was a quite success!

Alpha Sigma Mu The ceremony was held in Odeum A at WPI on November 12, 2009. Alpha Sigma Mu is the international professional and aca-demic honor society for the field of materials science and engi-neering. This society is dedicated to encouraging and recogniz-ing excellence in the materials engineering field. Members con-sist of students, alumni, and other professionals who have dem-onstrated exceptional academic and professional accomplish-ments.

Inaugural Meeting of Chapter at WPI Host: Prof. R. D. Sisson, Jr.

Induction Ceremonies Host: Prof. D. Apelian

Inductees: Lance Wu, Ning Sun, Anastasios Gavras, Shimin Li, Kimon Symeonidis, Danielle Belsito, Xiaoshu Dai, Jamie Mayer, Xiaolan Wang, Jodi Lowell, Shelley Dougherty, Prof. M. M. Makhlouf, Prof. I. Bar-On, Dr. Libo Wang, Dr. Boquan Li

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Commencement 2010

Materials Science and Engineering PhD RECIPIENTS Student : Paul Cotnoir (Manufacturing) Title : Ambulance Vibration Suppression via Force Field Domain Control Advisor : Prof. Mustapha Fofana Student : Shelley Dougherty Title : Template-assisted Fabrication of Bio-nanomaterials Advisor : Prof. Jianyu Liang

Student : Huanan Duan Title : Synthesis, Integration, and Characterization of Functional Inorganic Nanomaterials Advisor : Prof. Jianyu Liang Student : Shimin Li Title : Hot Tearing in Cast aluminum Alloys: Measures and Effect of Process Variables Advisor : Prof. Diran Apelian Student : Lori Pelletier (Manufacturing) Title : Information-enabled Decision-Making in Health Care: EHR-enabled Standardization,

Physician Measurement and Medical Home Advisor : Prof. Sharon Johnson Student : Timothy Spence Title : The Effect of Machining Residual Stresses on the dimensional Stability of aluminum

Alloys used in Optical Systems Advisor : Prof. Makhlouf Makhlouf Student : Tracey S. Vincent Title : Transmission Line Features And Their Influence on GHz Conductor Loss Advisor : Prof. Isa Bar-On Student : Bowang Xiao Title : Numerical Modeling and Experimental Study of Quenching Aluminum and Steel Parts Advisor : Prof. Yiming Rong

MASTER’S RECIPIENTS Danielle Belsito Anita Minakyan Sara Gouveia Telly Mitsis Isaiah Janzen Erin Sullivan Chris Lammi (Mechanical Engineering) Yingying Wei Hua Li (Manufacturing) Lisa Whitcomb Amy Lockwood (Mechanical Engineering) Mu-En Yang Jonathan Longabucco Hao Yu Jodi Lowell Jiu Zhao Jamie Mayer

W P I M A T E R I A L S S C I E N C E A N D E N G I N E E R I N G

Commencement 2010 May 15th, 2010 PhD Recipients

Master’s Recipients

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