2008
Welcome Marco Rolandi, new assistant professor (August 2008)
Marco Rolandi joined the faculty of the UW Department of Material Science in August 2008 as an assistant professor, bringing the department his finely-tuned curiosity in nanoscale phenomena. Rolandi comes to UW from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked as a postdoctoral research fellow since 2005. He earned his doctorate in applied physics at Stanford University in 2005 and his master’s degree in physics at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, in 2000. More...
Mehmet Sarikaya co-edits May 2008
special issue
of MRS Bulletin on biomimetics (May 2008)
Mehmet Sarikaya, UW professor of materials science and engineering, and Candan Tamerler, chair of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), co-edited the May 2008 issue of the Material Research Society’s MRS Bulletin. The topic of the special issue is molecular biomimetics. More...
New NIMS office makes UW a crossroads for materials research (May 2008)
Japan’s National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) opened an Overseas Operation Office in April 2008 at the University of Washington (UW) Roosevelt Commons Building, establishing UW as an international crossroads for materials research and development. “This is the first-ever attempt for a Japanese national laboratory, such as NIMS, to establish an office outside of Japan,” said Fumio Ohuchi, the UW professor of materials science and engineering who will oversee operations for the office. “This office will act as a showcase model for international collaboration.” More...
U.S. Department of Energy plans to invest $900,000
in solar energy research as part of Solar America Initiative (May 2008)
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to invest $900,000 in solar energy research at the University of Washington as part of the Solar America Initiative (SAI), which aims to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional sources of electricity by 2015. “We plan to use interfacial engineering to improve the efficiency of polymer-based photovoltaic devices,” said Alex Jen, chair of the Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) and leader of the research team. “These devices will make use of hybrid nanostructures that combine organic and inorganic materials.” More...
Kannan M. Krishnan named recipient of
Rockefeller Foundation Scholarly Residency (April 2008)
Kannan M. Krishnan, UW professor of materials science and engineering and adjunct professor of physics, has been named the recipient of a prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Scholarly Residency at the Bellagio Center in Lake Como, Italy. Krishnan’s one-month residency will begin on Monday, Sept. 22, 2008. The Rockefeller Foundation chooses scholars who have demonstrated a history of significant achievement in their respective fields. More...
Raj Bordia receives Humboldt Research Award (April 2008)
Raj Bordia, UW professor of materials science and engineering, has been awarded a Humboldt Research Award for senior scientists by Germany’s Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The international honor, one of the most prestigious given by Germany, recognizes Bordia’s career accomplishments in materials science and engineering. More...
Christine Luscombe wins DARPA Young Faculty Award (April 2008)
Christine Luscombe, UW assistant professor of materials science and engineering, won a Young Faculty Award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to support her research on organic photovoltaic devices. Luscombe, one of 39 researchers nationwide to win a Young Faculty Award in 2008, will receive $150,000 to support her research group, which is developing techniques to make semiconducting organic polymers. These polymers have promising applications in the fabrication of improved organic solar cells. More...
Popcorn-ball design doubles efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (April 2008)
A new approach is able to create a dramatic improvement in cheap solar cells now being developed in laboratories. By using a popcorn-ball design -- tiny kernels clumped into much larger porous spheres -- UW researchers are able to manipulate light and more than double the efficiency of converting solar energy to electricity. The findings were presented on April 10 in New Orleans at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society. "We think this can lead to a significant breakthrough in dye-sensitized solar cells," said lead author Guozhong Cao, UW professor of materials science and engineering. More...
Micron invests additional $775,000 in materials laboratory (February 2008)
Micron invested an additional $775,000 in the Micron Laboratory for Combinatorial Materials Exploration at UW in February. The funds will help the lab pursue its goal to test new combinations of materials for use in smaller and smaller microchips. More...
Christine Luscombe wins NSF CAREER Award (January 2008)
Christine Luscombe, UW assistant professor of materials science and engineering, won a five-year, $495,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support her research on organic polymers. Luscombe’s work holds promise for improving electronic displays, solar cells and more. She also will use the award to develop science writing instruction for UW undergraduates and online outreach to teens in Seattle, Japan and the United Kingdom. More...
2007
Soo Yeun Kim receives Boeing Flight Award (December 2007)
Ms. Soo Yeun Kim,
MSE graduate student,
has just received a 2007 Boeing Flight Award from the Boeing Company,
with a commendation as "Boeing Engineering
Student of the Year". Soo Yeun has been a dedicated researcher for
the Boeing Smart Window Project, helping to successfully deliver the demo
version according to a tough Boeing delivery schedule. Her faculty advisor is
Prof. Chunye Xu of Mechanical Engineering. MSE congratulates Soo Yeun on her
accomplishment!
Alex Jen Named OSA Fellow (October 2007)
Professor Alex Jen has been
elected by the Optical Society America (OSA) to be a 2008
OSA Fellow. He is being recognized with this prestigious honor for his
pioneering contributions to the field of organic materials for optics,
including conducting polymers, organic electro-optics, and organic LEDs.
Alex Jen Named to Changjiang Endowed Chair
Professorship (July 2007)
In June 2007, Prof. Alex Jen was awarded a Changjiang Endowed Chair
Professorship by the Ministry of Education, P.R. China. Click here for article
Materials
Scientists Go Global (July 2007)
From the 7/5/07 issue of University Week, the article "Materials world: Materials scientists going places as part of the UW's global
scope" provides an overview of how the
Department of Materials Science and Engineering offers many ways for students
to conduct research on other continents.
Alex Jen Named 2007 COE "Faculty Innovator for Research"
(April 2007)
Alex Jen
was awarded the College of Engineering "Faculty Innovator for Research" on
April 24, 2007, in a ceremony at the HUB Ballroom. The ceremony program noted
that, "Alex has made significant contributions to the areas of organic and
polymeric functional materials and nanotechnology, Prof. Larry Dalton
describes Ale'; as the "sparkpiug and central figure" in winning several
multi-million dollar grant programs and numerous smaller programs. He has
developed and led several innovative, multi-disciplinary and large research
programs and is internationally known for his work in the areas of materials
science relevant to functional materials, photonics, and nanotechnology. He
has co-authored more than 250 referred publications and more than 100
proceedings and conference papers, has been published in some of the most
significant journals in the field, has presented more than 175 invited
lectures, Is co-inventor on 23 patents and has been instrumental in two local
start-up companies -- Lumera and Advanced Electroluminescent Sciences (AES).
Alex holds several significant awards and honors including SPIE Fellow, AAAS
Fellow, and Associate Editor of Advances in Optoelectronics. Alex actively
supervises and mentors postdoctoral research associates and Ph.D. scholars
and also serves as a mentor for junior and mid-career faculty. He
consistently encourages them to strive to become world-class researchers and
always supports them in their research and career development. Alex has
greatly enhanced the MSE department, the College and the University through
his tireless contributions to his research field."
Ohuchi
Opens Micron CME Lab (March 2007)
On March 19, 2007, Prof. Fumio Ohuchi opened his new Micron Laboratory for
Combinatorial Materials Exploration (CME) in Roberts Hall. The new lab
will be devoted to exploring new materials for use in semiconductor materials
in a nano-scale world that is demanding faster and smaller devices. Click here for more info.
Raj Bordia Wins Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award (March 2007)
On March 9, 2007, UW President Mark A. Emmert announced the selection of Prof.
Rajendra Bordia as the 2007 recipient of the Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished
Graduate Mentor Award. In his letter to Prof. Bordia, President Emmert noted
that “your students and colleagues nominated you with the highest praise for
your exemplary commitment to mentoring graduate students.” The Landolt award
recognizes one faculty member who excels at the intense, one-on-one teaching
that is the hallmark of graduate study. First awarded in 1999, the award was
renamed in memory of Marsha L. Landolt, who served as dean of The Graduate
School from 1996-2004. The recipient receives a stipend of $5,000. The award
will be officially presented on June 7th at the University Recognition
Ceremony in Meany Hall Auditorium and Prof. Bordia will also be recognized
during 2007 Commencement exercises on June 9th. Information about 2007 UW
Awards can be found here.
Ugrad Monika Marciniak Reports on TMS Annual Meeting
(March 2007)
Monica Marciniak, MSE undergrad, participated in the
2007 TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition held in Orlando, FL on February 26th-
March 1st, 2007. Monika attended the meeting to deliver a presentation that
summarized her research work with Prof. Fumio Ohuchi. She has written an
excellent report summarizing her experience
and has included photos from the meeting and the nearby Kennedy Space Center.
2006
Jen Named to WTC Board of Directors (Dec 2006)
Governor Christine Gregoire recently appointed Prof.
Alex Jen, MSE Acting Chair, to serve on the Board of Directors for the
Washington Technology Center (WTC). The board consists of representatives from
industry and higher education throughout Washington State and it's purpose is
to guide WTC in its commitment to becoming a nationally preeminent
organization, focusing state, federal, and private resources on the
development and commercialization of new products and technologies as a vital
part of Washington's economic growth. Alex's term runs from January 2007 to
July 2009.
Stoebe - ASM George
A. Roberts Award (Dec. 2006)
Professor Thomas G. Stoebe has been named the 2006 recipient of the George A.
Roberts Award by ASM International. Stoebe, MSE professor emeritus and
Fellow of ASM, is recognized for “his focus on using the materials of everyday
life to instill in students a basic understanding of how things behave,
demonstrating that we all have an innate knowledge of science through our
everyday experience.”
This award was established in 2003 to
highlight the importance of educational outreach and is presented annually to
an individual who has made a significant impact to reach students and
teachers, in efforts to increase awareness of materials and applied science
careers. The award is named for Dr. George Roberts, president of ASM in 1955,
who has served the materials community with great distinction for more than 50
years.
Yip & Jen, JACS Publication (Sept. 2006)
Grad student Angus Yip and his adviser Prof. Alex Jen had a recent
publication, "Patterning of Robust Self-Assembled n-type Hexaazatrinaphthylene-based
Nanorods and Nanowires by Microcontact Printing", published in the Journal of
American Chemical Society, 2006, 128, 13042. It has been referenced in a Nature Nanotechnology online article, 9/29/06
New DOE Grant for Kannan Krishnan (Sept. 2006)
Prof. Kannan Krishnan has just been awarded a 4-year DOE/BES grant in the
amount of $883,761 for a proposal title Exchange
Anisotropy, Engineered Coercivity and Spintronics in Atomically Engineered L10
Heterostructures.
Ohuchi Named AVS Fellow by AVS Trustees (Nov. 2006)
Prof. Fumio Ohuchi been selected by the American Vacuum Society Trustees to
receive the honor of “Fellow of the Society”. The Fellowship recognizes AVS
members who have made sustained and outstanding scientific and technical
contributions in research, engineering, technical advancement, academic
education, or managerial leadership for at least ten (10) years. This honor
reflects the profound impact of Prof. Ohuchi’s accomplishments as judged by
his colleagues and concurred by the AVS Trustees, and recognizes Prof.
Ohuchi’s advances in the surface and interface science of chalcogenide and
oxide thin films, along with educational leadership in nanoscience and
nanotechnology. The honor will be officially bestowed at the AVS Awards
Assembly on November 15, 2006, during the AVS Symposium in San Francisco.
Zhang's
Bio/Nanotech Aids Cancer Research (June 2006)
Prof. Miqin Zhang and her
reseach group have been recently highlighted in the NSTI Nano World News, Nature Nanotechnology, and the NCI Nanotech News for their work with
nanoparticles that can target cancer tumor cells. Go to links for full
articles.
Zhang
works on Nanofiber for Cartilage Repair (June 2006)
Prof. Miqin Zhang and her
reseach group have been highlighted in NanoWerk for their work in developing natural polymer based
nanofibers for cartilage repair. See full article.
New Faculty Members join the Department, 2006-07
MSE has just completed a national search to fill two positions in the area of
organic/polymeric photonic/opto-electronic materials and devices, with a
focus on device fabrication and physics. Funding for these positions comes
from the Advanced Technology Initiative (ATI) and the NSF STC-funded Materials
& Devices for Information Technology Research Center (MDITR). As a result of
the search, Christine Luscombe joins our Department as
tenure-track Assistant Professors in September 2006, and Vitaly Podzorov join
us in spring 2007. More information will
follow in our upcoming newsletter.
Banner Year for
MSE Research Funding, Sept. 2006
UW Engineering's Department of Materials Science & Engineering,
the oldest of the engineering disciplines on campus and a contributor to such
high-profile projects as NASA's Space Shuttle program, is reporting a banner
year for research funding, having garnered nearly $18 million since last
spring. A
string of recent grants to MSE faculty members by high-profile funding
agencies show how quickly the department's research star is rising, according
to Chairman Alex Jen. "Our people have always competed on the national stage
with other leaders in the field," Jen said. "These results show that we're
doing it at a greater volume with increasingly greater success". . . . Go to full article.
Alex Jen
Highlighted in April 2006 MRS Bulletin
Alex Jen's Feb. 2006 Nano Letters paper
(DOI:10.1021/nl052417e; p. 463), "Efficient
CdSe/CdS Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes Using a Thermally Polymerized Hole
Transport Layer " was highlighted in the April 2006 MRS Bulletin in an
article by Tao Xu titled "CdSe/CdS QD-LEDs
Fabricated Using a Thermally Polymerized Hole-Transport Layer".
Raj Bordia receives Graduate Mentor Award
Honorable Mention
Prof. Raj Bordia received honorable
mention for the 2006 UW Graduate Mentor Award in April 2006, 1 of only 3
honorable mentions out of a total of 79 nominees. This award was
established in 1999 to recognize outstandingcontributions to the education
and guidance of graduate students.
Alex Jen elected Fellow of SPIE,
2006
Prof. Alex Jen, MSE Acting Chair, has been
elected a 2006 Fellow of SPIE (International Society for Optical
Engineering) for his outstanding contributions in the field of optical
engineering.
2005
Fumio Ohuchi & Taisuke Ohta
appear in the ALS News, Dec. 2005.
Prof. Fumio Ohuchi and PhD graduate Dr. Taisuke Ohat, had their publication, Vacancy-induced Nanoscale Wire
Structure in Gallium Selenide Layers, selected by Advanced Light Source
to appear in the ALS News, 12/21/05 issue.
Kannan
Krishnan named Professor-at-Large, Nov. 2005
Prof. Kannan M.
Krishnan has been selected as a 2006 Professor-at-Large by the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Western
Australia. His initial appointment is for a period of two years and he will
be involved in the departments of Engineering, Physics and Chemistry. He
plans to make his first visit to UWA in March of 2006.
George Mayer Publication
appears in Science, Nov. 2005
Prof. George Mayer's publication, Rigid Biological Systems as Models for Synthetic Composites, appeared in the
NOVEMBER 18,2005, issue of Science magazine. Click here to view article.
Kannan
Krishnan Highlighed by Advanced Light Source, Sept. 2005
Prof. Kannan Krishnan, with P. Blomqvist
and H. Ohldag, has had his article, Direct Imaging of Asymmetric
Magnetization Reversal, published in Sept. 28, 2005 issue of ALS News.
Alex Jen &
Kannan Krishnan
Elected Fellows of AAAS, Oct. 2005
Professors Alex Jen and Kannan Krishnan were
awarded the distinction of Fellows of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science in October 2005. Prof. Jen was cited for pioneering
contributions to the filed of molecular photonics and for the development of
novel materials with unprecedented characteristics that have enabled new
photonics devices.
Prof. Krishnan was cited
for establishing fundamental correlations of magnetism, transport and
microstructure in technological materials, for developing novel electron
microscopy techniques, and for education of the next generation of materials
scientists.
2005 BS Recipient Mikkelsen Highlighted for Biodiesel Entrepreneurship
Ravi Mikkelsen, 2005 BS graduate from MSE,
was highlighted in an article in the Summer 2005 issue of Trend,
published by the College of Engineering, for starting his own biodiesel fuel
company. Click here for article.
2005 Materials Camp a Great Success
MSE's annual Materials Camp, held in July in
conjunction with ASM International, was another very successful week-long
event designed to introduce high school students to the world of materials. Click here for an article on this year's
camp.
2004
Kannan Krishnan Win Guggenheim Fellowship Award,
2004
Prof. Krishnan is the recipient of a 2004
fellowship award from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. These
prestigious awards are granted to men and women who have already demonstrated
exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative
ability in the arts and sciences. Prof. Krishnan's is using his award to
pursue a research project titled "Magnetic Nanoparticles for Cancer
Therapeutics"
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