[BNC-all] MONDAY MEMO: 03.03.08

[Deborah S. Starewich]

WEEKLY MEMO, March 3, 2008
 
 
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1. Announcements
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1.1:  BNC-all mailings:  Please note that I received a request to post a
message ³from a frustrated mailman list user²:  ³ALL... and may I repeat
that... ALL mailman lists managed by Purdue have links at the end of the
message to go to the list's mailman site. At that site you can do things
like edit your options to receive a digest instead of every message, and
even unsubscribe. There is no reason to send and unsubscribe message to the
entire list.²
         Please note that all users and occupants are required to remain on
these lists.
 
1.2:  TOUR TRAINING:  A make-up tour training session has been scheduled for
Wednesday March 5th, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. ­ 12:00 p.m.  If you could not
make the first training session, this is your next opportunity to attend.
The session will be held in MRGN 121. Please RSVP to Valerie Lawless,
lawlessv at purdue.edu.
In addition, all training materials have been posted:
<http://www.purdue.edu/dp/trainingGuide.php>.  Check out this site for lots
of information regarding visits: they¹ve even included an events calendar.
Feel free to join any of the posted tours.  Lastly, a Discovery Park video ­
made available during the training session ­ is posted on the Discovery Park
homepage: <http://www.purdue.edu/dp/index.php>
 
1.3:  Would you like exceptional undergraduates participating in your
research?  DURI project deadline is Monday, March 10, 2008; for additional
information, please visit http://www.purdue.edu/dp/duri.
 
 
1.3:  CLEANROOM AND LAB PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE: MONDAY, 03.31.08
TO FRIDAY, 04.04.08
         Monday, 03.31.08, 10:00 AM: All materials must be removed from
cleanroom solvent hoods.
          Monday, 03.31.08, 4:00 PM: All materials must be removed from the
remaining cleanroom hoods.
         CLEANROOM CLOSED. Tuesday, 04.01.08 7:30 AM: No ultrapure water
available. No acid processing in laboratories. No hazardous gases available.
         CLEANROOM CLOSED. Wednesday, 04.02.08, all day: No ultrapure water
available. No acid processing in laboratories. No hazardous gases available.
         Wednesday, 04.02.08, 4:00 PM: All materials must be removed from
laboratory hoods (including biosafety cabinets; all bio materials must be
removed from exhausted enclosures).
         Thursday, 04.03.08, 8:00 AM: Cleanroom will re-open, barring
unforeseen circumstances. All solvent hoods and processes will remain down
for general exhaust upgrades.
         LABORATORIES CLOSED. Thursday, 04.03.08
         Friday, 04.04.08, 8:00 AM: Laboratories will re-open and Cleanroom
general exhaust should be operational, barring unforeseen circumstances.
Questions or comments? Contact Mark Voorhis (mvoorhis at purdue.edu)
 
 
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2.  TOURS/VISITORS
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2.1:  Monday, 03.03.08, 1:00-3:00:  Purdue¹s for Me visitors ­ admitted
students and parents; please make them feel welcome.
2.2:  Thursday, 03.06.08, 10:00:  Council for Manager Development
2.3:  Thursday, 03.06.08, 9:45:  EDPS105S Class, Div. 1
2.4:  Thursday, 03.06.08, 2:15:  EDPS105S Class, Div. 2
2.5:  Friday, 03.07.08, 2:00:  Emily Beemsterboer and father.
 
 
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3.  SEMINARS
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3.1:  Monday, March 3, 2008, 6:00PM, MRGN 121:  Bioethics Seminar,
³Nanotechnologies and Medical Ethics,² by Nigel M. de S. Cameron
 
3.2:  Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 6:00-9:00PM, CL50:  Movie Showing and Panel
Discussion, ³Sicko,² with Michael Moore; panel discussion featuring Dr.
James Anderson, Professor of Sociology and Communication; Jennifer
Coddington, MSN, RN, CPNP, Director of Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program;
Dr. Steven Witz, Director for the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare
Engineering.
 
3.3:  Friday, March 7, 2008, 3:30 refreshments; 3:45 seminar, ARMS 1010:
³Processing of bulk nanostructured oxide ceramics with novel magnetic and
optical properties,² by J. E. Garay, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Materials Science, and Engineering Program, University of California,
Riverside.
ABSTRACT:  Nanocrystalline ceramics display significantly different
properties and behaviors than their microcrystalline counterparts, yet they
have been difficult to produce in bulk sizes so that some of the underlying
property-microstructure relations are not entirely clear. One technique that
has proven effective for producing high quality material with very small
grain sizes is based on the application of large current densities and
mechanical pressures to consolidate nano-powders. After an overview of the
processing method, I will discuss several nanocrystalline oxide materials
that we have been working on for structural-optical and magnetic
applications. Properties presented will include improved visible light
transmittance, altered thermal and electrical conductivity and highly
temperature dependent magnetization. The results will be discussed in terms
of crystal length scale effects, grain boundary structure differences and
proximity of nanoscale phases.
SHORT BIO:  Prof. Garay received his B. S. in Mechanical Engineering (1999),
M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering (2002) and Ph.D. in Materials
Science and Engineering (2004) all from the University of California, Davis.
During his doctoral studies he also worked in the Physics Directorate of the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In 2004 he was appointed assistant
professor in the Bourns College of Engineering at UCR where his research
focuses on advanced material processing and synthesis. His laboratory is
equipped with state of the art material processing and testing equipment
including high vacuum chambers, a PVD system, furnaces, tensile testers,
hardness testers and a novel electric current consolidation apparatus.
Recently Prof. Garay¹s interests have been in producing nanostructured
materials with tailored properties for optical, electrical/magnetic and
structural applications. He, his students and co-workers also conduct
fundamental studies on material defects and electric current effects on
material processes. In 2005 he received the Army Research Office Young
Investigator Award (ARO-YIP) for research on nano-crystalline oxide
materials. 
 
 
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4.  KUDOS
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4.1:  Congrats to Kalapi Biswas for her first-place award in the Engineering
Sciences Graduate Student Poster Competition, sponsored by Sigma Xi.
First-place winners were awarded $200.  The judges were unanimous in their
praise of the posters and presentations.
 
2008 Graduate Student Poster Competition Results
Behavioral Sciences
1st Place: Megan K. Macpherson
1st Place: David Vachon
Honorable Mention: Nicole L. Rheaume and Ana Paz G. Martins
Engineering Sciences
1st Place: Jianming Li
1st Place: Kalapi Biwas
Honorable Mention: Hui Ouyang and Navneet R. Singh
Life Sciences
1st Place: Timothy J. Smyser
1st Place: Kristin Hamann
Honorable Mention: Ningxia Du and Mi Zou
Physical Sciences
1st Place: Thomas Dautermann
Honorable Mention: Emre Unal
 
For information regarding future competitions, please contact Brian F.
French, Assistant Professor, frenchb at purdue.edu.
 
 
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5.  LIFE ON THE OUTSIDE
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5.1:  Name change: please note that Melissa Lane is now known as Melissa
MARRIS; her e-mail address remains unchanged (lanem at purdue.edu) and she
still is that smiling face as you enter the front doors of Birck J