Current News

• Nuhfer Recipient of University Andy Award

  Tom Nuhfer was awarded a University Andy Award in the category of Outstanding Dedication on Friday, September 11, 2009. The Andy Awards, named for Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon, are a tribute to the spirit of teamwork and dedication embodied by the staff at Carnegie Mellon University. The category for Outstanding Dedication honors those staff who take great pride in their work. An unyielding commitment to quality performance allows them to unfailingly serve their customers. Nominees have a "can-do" attitude and consistently do whatever it takes to overcome obstacles in order to accomplish their goals. In some ways, they are the university's unsung heroes because their continuously outstanding work may have been overlooked in the past. Nineteen individuals and one team were nominated in this category.
  

• Carnegie Mellon’s Katayun Barmak Develops Novel Nanoscale Mapping Process for Tracking Structures

  Carnegie Mellon University’s Katayun Barmak, with the help of Microscopy Lab Supervisor Thomas Nuhfer, is one of the first materials scientists worldwide to successfully map polycrystalline structures on a nanoscale.

  This mapping ability has come at the same time that Barmak, a professor of materials science and engineering, and her colleagues found that physical properties of some structures change at the nanoscale.

  “This is a revolutionary research finding that will forever change the way we map polycrystalline structures of all the materials we use daily in our lives,” said Greg Rohrer, head of Carnegie Mellon’s Materials Science and Engineering Department.

  Polycrystalline structures are made up of three-dimensional patterns of atoms, ions and molecules called crystals, which take on a range of orientations in space. It is the homogeneous solid crystallites and the boundaries between them that Barmak is mapping.

  “I’m on the verge of harnessing the ‘Wild West’ as I drill down to analyze crystalline materials a thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human eyelash,” Barmak said.

  Her research, for example, shows that the minute grain boundaries of crystalline materials can obstruct the flow of an electric charge when subject to an electric field.

  “Because we can now monitor these changes in structure and form at the nanoscale level, we can begin to see how metallic elements like copper can be tailored to be an even better conductive agent,” said Barmak, who is also a member of the university’s Materials Research, Science and Engineering Center.
  Industry analysts report that better understanding of nanoscale structures can help make superior materials that are more economical to produce.

  “I can see major impacts from our work for a whole host of engineered systems that harness nanotechnology,” Barmak added. She said some examples of those important systems include silicon chips and data storage systems, photovoltaics and fuel cells, and medical devices and drug delivery systems.

• De Graef named MSA Fellow

  Professor, Marc De Graef was recently name as a Fellow of the Microscopy Society of America (MSA). MSA fellowship is limited to a small fraction of the membership who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the science and practice of microscopy. De Graef has been elevated the rank of Fellow for pioneering, seminal research in the development and application of quantitative Lorentz methods for magnetic materials characterization, theoretical magnetostatics for nanoscale magnetism, and graduate and undergraduate microscopy education.

• Davis Receives TMS Bardeen Award
  
  Robert F. Davis, J. Bertucci Professor of Materials Science and Engineering , has received the John Bardeen Award from The Mineral, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). This award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions and is a leader in the field of electronic materials.

• Laughlin Receives TMS Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award
  
  David E. Laughlin, ALCOA Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, has received the The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) Electronic, Magnetic, and Photonic Materials Division (EMPMD) Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award. This honor recognizes an individual for research excellence in one or several areas related to electronic, magnetic, and photonic materials science; technological impact; broad, sustained commitment to teaching or mentoring; service to TMS and/or the profession; and impact upon governmental or policy-making bodies.
  
  
• Rohrer Honored by ACerS
  
  Gregory S. Rohrer, W.W. Mullins Professor and Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been honored by the American Ceramic Society with its Robert B. Sosman Award, the highest recognition of scientific accomplishment given by the Society’s Basic Science Division. This award is given in recognition of outstanding achievement in basic science of an area that results in a significant impact to the field of ceramics. As part of the award, Rohrer will present a plenary lecture at the Annual Meeting, where a symposium will be held in his honor. This prestigious lecture is given each year by the awardee who has been deemed by the award committee to have made the most significant contribution to the field of ceramics.
  
  

• Islam Receives CIT Ladd Research Award

  Professor Mohammad F. Islam has been selected to receive the 2008-2009 George Tallman Ladd Research Award, which is made to a faculty member within the Carnegie Institute of Technology in recognition of outstanding research and professional accomplishments and potential.

• Fruehan Selected for Briggs Award
  
  Professor Richard J. Fruehan has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Charles W. Briggs Award for Best Paper for his paper entitled "Decarburization and Slag Formation Model for Electric Arc Furnace" (with Raimundo A. F. O. Fortes, Hiroyuki Matsuura). This award is presented to the author of a paper selected by the AIST Steelmaking Technology Division, and judged by the Electric Steelmaking Technology Committee to be the best technical paper submitted. As the recipient of this award, the paper will automatically be considered for the AIST Hunt-Kelly Outstanding Paper Award next year.