[BNC-all] WEEKLY MEMO: Tuesday, 012208

Tue Jan 22 08:29:34 EST 2008

WEEKLY MEMO, January 22, 2008

****************
1. Announcements
****************

1.1:  Birck Nanotechnology Center Card Reader System and Fire Panel: as of
3:00PM on Monday, 01.14.08, the card reader system is connected to the fire
alarm system.  When there is an active fire alarm in the building, all
external doors will lock down (key access only) and internal card reader
doors will unlock.  This will keep unauthorized people out of the building
during a fire emergency and open the inside doors to help the emergency
response team to move easily inside the building.  Please contact Mark
Voorhis (mvoorhis at purdue.edu) should you have any questions or concerns.

1.2:  Best Gen-Nano Game Competition:  The Network for Computational
Nanotechnology (NCN) is accepting proposals from students on Purdue's West
Lafayette campus interested in designing a storyboard for an interactive
K-12 learning activity to be published within one of the learning modules of
the generation-nano.org Web site, which aims to excite middle school
children about science by teaching them nanotechnology concepts.  The
individual or team authors of the three winning storyboards will receive
cash awards of up to $300.  Additional prizes will be awarded to authors of
activities selected for implementation.  The competition is open to all
students on Purdue's West Lafayette campus. The deadline for proposal
submission is March 15.  Storyboard proposals are accepted from individual
participants or teams. The goal of the proposed activity should be to
accomplish a well-defined learning objective in one of the suggested topics,
including structure and properties of matter, dominant forces and
self-assembly; and involve a level of challenge appropriate for middle
school children. The activity may either be exploratory or competitive,
require user interaction and provide appropriate feedback to the user about
his or her efforts.  Detailed rules, guideline documents and competition
entry form are available on the competition website:
http://www.generation-nano.org/competition.

1.3:  RAT reservations:  when requesting rooms or resources in Birck, please
do not change the administrator listed on the resource.  Melissa (Marris)
Lane is keeping a back up calendar for us so we have most of our room
reservations running through her.  If you contact Annie Cheever (68327) or
Deborah Starewich (43509) by phone to make a reservation, we can check the
room availability and make the request to Melissa for you.  Thanks for your
cooperation.

1.4:  Discovery Park NEW logo and templates:  Birck¹s new letterhead and
memo templates have been posted to the faculty resources page
<http://www.purdue.edu/dp/Nanotechnology/Resources/fac_resources.php
<http://www.purdue.edu/dp/Nanotechnology/Resources/fac_resources.php> >.
Posted to the visual resources page
(<http://www.purdue.edu/dp/Nanotechnology/Resources/PPT_resources.php
<http://www.purdue.edu/dp/Nanotechnology/Resources/PPT_resources.php>
<http://www.purdue.edu/dp/Nanotechnology/Resources/PPT_resources.php >  >)
is an updated powerpoint template the new logos.

1.5:  Wade Utility Plant To Implement Campus Heating Steam Curtailment
Level-1 was implemented on Saturday, January 19, 2008.
Per Physical Facilities:  Due to a combination of forecasted extremely cold
temperatures and limited steam production capability at the Wade Utility
Plant, we are implementing campus heating steam curtailment Level-1
beginning Saturday, January 19.  There is no immanent threat of a heating
steam supply shortage to campus! Curtailment Level-1 is essentially an
awareness alert asking the campus community to please take voluntary steps
to curtail heating steam consumption to help control costs.
Why the curtailment step? To meet anticipated campus heating steam needs,
due to the forecasted cold weekend weather, the Utility Plant will have to
operate its gas/oil Boiler No.3 at a substantially high load because one of
the plant's base-load coal fired boilers is not in service due to new
pollution controls installation project activities.  So, any reasonable
steps that may be taken to curtail unnecessary consumption of heating steam
save significant expense to the University.  Boiler No. 3 costs four times
as much to operate than one of our other boilers.
What will be happening?  During heating steam curtailment periods, Physical
Facilities services staff will be closely monitoring and adjusting building
operating systems in order to optimize heating steam demand without
significantly impacting building occupant comfort to conserve steam
consumption.
What are some things people can do?  Make sure outside doors are not left
open longer than necessary.  Make sure windows are closed.  Lower room
thermostats if occupants have the capability to do so.  If significant
sunshine is available, open window shades facing south if possible to catch
solar heating and close shades at sunset.
How long could we be asking for voluntary steam heating curtailment steps?
The current weather forecast has a return to more moderate temperatures
early next week. When that time arrives, Physical Facilities will most
likely return building heating controls to normal settings.

********************
2.  SEMINARS
********************

2.1:  Thursday, January 24, 2008, 2PM, EE317:  ³Silicon Sprintronics,² by
Ian Appelbaum.
ABSTRACT: Despite Silicon¹s intrinsic advantages for spintronics, even the
basic elements of spin transport had not been achieved in this semiconductor
until recently.[1] I will discuss the specific challenges associated with
spin injection and detection in Silicon (Si), and our unique solution,
employing ballistic hot-electron transport through nano-scale ferromagnetic
metal ³polarizers.² Using this technique, we have observed unprecedented
coherence in spin precession measurements, and extracted very long spin
lifetimes of conduction electrons traveling over macroscopic distances.[2]
Whereas transistor scaling limits will soon suppress progress in
microelectronics using Si, spintronics may secure this semiconductor's
dominance for the future.  [1] Ian Appelbaum, B.Q. Huang, and D.J. Monsma,
³Electronic measurement and control of spin transport in silicon,² Nature
447, 295 (2007); [2] B.Q. Huang, D.J. Monsma, and Ian Appelbaum, ³Coherent
spin transport through a 350-micron-thick silicon wafer,² Phys. Rev. Lett.
99, 177209 (2007).
BIO: Ian Appelbaum obtained his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and Ph.D. in Physics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After spending one year as a
postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University's Division of Engineering and
Applied Sciences, he is currently an Assistant Professor of Electrical
Engineering at the University of Delaware.

****************
3.  Opportunities
****************

3.1:  Job Position at Hewlett-Packard, Corvallis, OR: Materials Science
(Entry Level)
Job description:  This is an R&D Materials design position in HP¹s imaging
and printing business with an emphasis on Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) Print head
technologies. TIJ print heads have many complex materials, and design
challenges. Polymers, ceramics, elastomers, multilayer films, and
electronics must provide state of the art mechanical, fluidic, electrical,
adhesion, thermal, chemically resistant, cost, and volume manufacturing
performance. We seek an individual with a solid, foundational understanding
of Material Science who can apply many different analytical techniques in
order to solve complex materials development questions. This job involves
the following: Application of a broad range of analytical techniques to
analyze, understand, characterize, and improve upon materials used in HP¹s
Thermal Inkjet Print Heads; Development of new analytical methods to probe
for unknown issues, failure modes, and material reliability factors;
Coordination of analytical testing between multiple labs, both external and
internal; and Communication of your work at periodic intervals and at the
appropriate forums.
Education:  Bachelors or advanced degree (preferred) in Materials Science
engineering (or related science). Highly desired would be an advanced degree
in Materials Science, with Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering . This
skill match would best match the interesting & challenging blend of
materials and mechanical design interactions in our products.
Desirable skills:  Demonstrated ability to summarize materials properties
that can lead to a successful search and development of a material for a
specific purpose; Experience in a developing and a testing materials for a
given application; Experience in developing activation energies to determine
the response life a material, and/or a system of materials; Experience in
mechanical design and its impact on material design; Ability to broadly
contribute in a fast-paced, industrial R&D environment; Excellent
communication and teamwork skills; Excellent planning, organizational, and
documentation skills; Ability to give clear and effective presentations to
inform and persuade peers and managers. If you are interested, please send
your resume to alok.sharan at hp.com <mailto:alok.sharan at hp.com> .

Deborah S. Starewich
Administrative Assistant to Timothy D. Sands, Director
Birck Nanotechnology Center
Purdue University

765-494-3509
dstarewi at ecn.purdue.edu

http://www.nano.purdue.edu/

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://eng.purdue.edu/ECN/mailman/archives/bnc-all/attachments/20080122/50f52884/attachment.html 