Ohio State Awarded NSF Center for Emergent Materials

Center for Emergent Materials (CEM) The Center for Emergent Materials (CEM) at The Ohio State University is an National Science Foundation (NSF) supported Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). CEM performs integrated research on emergent materials and phenomena in magnetoelectronics, creating new paradigms in computing and information storage. The research activities conducted at the CEM focus on a new understanding of electron-spin injection and transport, and the synthesis and exploitation of multifunctional properties of innovative double perovskite heterostructures. Education is an important component of our research activities. Our programs take an interactive, constructionist approach to address the nature and cognitive cause of the misconception of materials science concepts. [more about the NSF MRSEC award | more about Dr. Nitin Padture]

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What is Materials Science and Engineering?

Silicon chips, artificial limbs, body armor, nanomachines, fuel cells, aerospace alloys, biomaterials, "green" technology--materials are everywhere! All that we see and use is made of materials. This field, so fundamental to all engineering, seeks to understand the structure of a material and thus be able to tailor-make desired properties. Go to more about the field of materials science and engineering

 

 

Ohio State Awarded NSF Center for Emergent Materials

A new $10.8 million interdisciplinary research center at Ohio State University will study and develop materials for tomorrow's electronics.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that Ohio State would receive funds over six years to establish a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). With this the university will join a national network of 27 MRSECs that foster active collaboration between universities and industry. To the $10.8 million in NSF funds, the university will add a $6.2 million cost share, bringing the total funds to $17 million.

CEM Director Nitin Padture, left, works with doctoral student Jenny Dorcena on materials that would boost computer memory and processing speed while consuming less power.

The Ohio State MRSEC will be called the Center for Emergent Materials (CEM), and it will marshal Ohio State's considerable expertise in electronic materials. From plastics to semiconductors to unique hybrid materials, the CEM faculty are experts in understanding and manipulating materials on the atomic, molecular, nanometer, and micrometer levels. Ohio State CEM is among five new MRSECs that were awarded by NSF out of 87 applications, in a national competition that is held every 3 years. "This is a first for Ohio State and the state of Ohio," said Nitin Padture, professor of materials science and engineering at Ohio State and director of the CEM. Ohio State is already home to another NSF-funded materials-related center, the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC), which supports research in nanotechnology. Only eight universities nationwide boast both an NSEC and a MRSEC: University of California, Santa Barbara; Cornell University; Harvard University; University of Pennsylvania; Northwestern University; University of Massachusetts; University of Wisconsin; and now Ohio State University. [more about the NSF MRSEC award | more about Dr. Nitin Padture]

D. Scott MacKenzie, 2008 Distinguished Alumni

2008 Distinguished Alumni D. Scott MacKenzie

On November 21^st the MSE department was pleased to award alumnus D. Scott MacKenzie the MSE Distinguished Alumni Award for 2008. Scott received his BS degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Ohio State University in 1981. Later he received MS and PhD degrees From the University of Missouri-Rolla. He is currently a Technical Specialist at Houghton International in Valley Forge, PA, where he directs laboratory investigations on new products and solutions to customer problems. Scott is an active member of technical societies and in 2008 was named a fellow of ASM International. He was cited by ASM for his seminal R&D work on the heat treatment of nonferrous alloys.

Scott presented a talk to the faculty and students entitled, "Application of CFD and FEA to Predicting Distortion in Heat Treated Gears" [view abstract]. The MSE department was pleased to host Scott and his wife Pat during their stay, including dinner and an OSU-Michigan game.

J.-C. Zhao part of select NAE Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

Dr. Ji-Cheng (J.-C.) Zhao

Dr. J.-C. Zhao was among eighty-two of the nation's brightest young engineers selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) 14th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium. The participants -- from industry, academia, and government -- were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations and chosen from more than 230 applicants.

"America's competitiveness will largely depend upon the next generation of innovators," said NAE President Charles M. Vest. "The U.S. Frontiers of Engineering program brings some of the country's rising-star engineers, from a diverse range of disciplines, together for an exchange of ideas that will surely help contribute to keeping us at the forefront of technological advancement and may even spark a breakthrough that changes the way we live."

The symposium was hosted Sept. 18-20, 2008 by Sandia National Laboratories at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and will examine emerging nanoelectric devices, cognitive engineering, drug delivery systems, and understanding and countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. [view press release | go to Dr. Zhao's bio page]

Upcoming events

• 6/5: Seminar: Elvin Beach, PhD Candidate advised by Dr. Patricia Morris "Picoliter Drop Deposition Of Oxide Nanoparticles: A Route To High Performance Microsensor Arrays"
• 6/5: Last day of SP09
• 6/8-11: Finals Week
• 6/12-21: Break between SP and SU09
• 6/14: SP09 Commencement
• 6/22: Start of SU09
• 7/3: Independence Day Holiday observed, no classes, offices closed

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"Fuelcells," "corrosion," "composites," "nanotechnology," "metallurgy," "ceramics," and many more--forward, backward, up, and down, can you find them all? The new MSE mug features a word search puzzle highlighting the many areas of study in the exciting field of materials science and engineering. Go to MSE word search puzzle.