Nanotechnology - Engineering Science and Mechanics

Message From
the Chair
Fall 2008 got off to a great
start with a new class of
82 juniors and seniors, the
largest group for several years.
Together with our selfdeclared
first- and secondyear
students, ESM has over a
100 students this year,
“Lopez has with 49 percent being
been selected Schreyer Honors scholars.
to train for the
It has been a year of many
2012 Olympics”
accomplishments. James
Moses (junior) and Jillian Woolridge
(sophomore, double major with German
and equestrian minor) received DAAD/RISE
fellowships to conduct summer research in
Munich and Heidelberg. James was also
awarded the ASME Melvin R. Green and
ASNE scholarships for his senior year. All
American gymnast captain and Big Ten
champion, Santiago Lopez, has been selected
to train with the Mexican gymnastics team
for the 2012 Olympics. Graduate Jonathon
Pitt received a DOD SMART Scholarship
and Michael Motyka won a Research
Excellence Award at the SPIE Optics and
Photonics Meeting.
Dr. Mirna Urquidi-Macdonald has been
appointed to the National Research Council’s
Research Opportunities in Corrosion
Science and Engineering Committee.
Dr. Chuck Bakis was elected Fellow of the
International Institute for Fiber Reinforced
Polymer Composites in Construction.
ESM alum Bob McGrath was appointed
deputy laboratory director
of the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory in Golden
Colorado, where he will be
responsible for all aspects of
the laboratory’s science and
technology development.
Congratulations to all.
Regards,
At the Forefront in Research, Education and Technology Transfer
Judith A. Todd
P.B. Breneman
Department Head Chair
Go S a n t i a g o !
Alumni Spotlight
While at Penn State, Yinghui Shan (Ph.D. E SC ’07)
developed a novel self-assembling, environmentally-benign,
and mass-manufacturable approach to synthesizing
nanowires. He successfully fabricated high-performance
nanowire transistors. Currently, Yinghui works on the
digital X-ray imaging system at Micro & Nano Structures
Technologies, GE Global Research Center.
For more information, visit: www.ge.com/
research/
Alumni Spotlight
Lori Bouchelle (BS E SC ’95) attributes her successful
implementation and improvement of 12 different
manufacturing processes in three different industries to
her multi-disciplinary E SC background. As a process
engineer, she has reduced product and process variation,
quantified and optimized production capacity, and
validated new equipment. Now at W. L. Gore and
Associates’ Industrial Products Division, Lori improves
laminating and converting operations for industrial
and medical vents that protect electronic equipment
in harsh environments and prevent contamination of
medical devices.
For more information, visit: www.gore.com/venting
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Tim Medina has been conducting undergraduate research
with Dr. Steve Fonash since his sophomore year to develop
micro- and nano-fluidic techniques for bio-molecular
separations. Taking advantage of new developments
in high precision fluid control technology, Tim and a
team of students developed a continuous-flow device
for the separation of DNA from biological samples.
Recognizing the enormous potential of nanotechnology,
Tim has decided to continue as a M.S. student in ESM’s
Integrated Undergraduate Graduate Program, where he
will earn his B.S. and M.S. degrees in five years.
Graduate Student Spotlight
M.S. candidate Christopher Winter is using a grow-in-place
method to achieve a high yield of nanowire sensors on
a single chip. Each sensor can be customized for ultrasensitive,
real-time detection of specific biological or
chemical species in a single fluid sample—a drop of saliva.
This technology promises a new generation of inexpensive,
point-of-care, biomolecular detection devices for use by
health-care professionals.
PA G E 2
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