[BNC-all] WEEKLY MEMO: week of 03.24.08

Tue Mar 25 12:05:48 EDT 2008

WEEKLY MEMO, March 24, 2008

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1. Announcements
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1.1:  ******REMINDER****** HAPPENING NEXT WEEK:
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)

1.2:  Autoclave Training for the month of March registration is online.
Class size is limited to 5 people.
Friday, March 28, 2008, 4-5PM: Register here:
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/training/registration/?offeringid=2688
<http://www.itap.purdue.edu/training/registration/?offeringid=2688>
To register, click on the link and log in using your career account. The
description of the course pops up and is called ³Getinge Autoclave
Training.² Click on ³Register for this course.² The registration page will
come up. Make sure your contact information is correct and click on
³Submit.² You will receive a confirmation in your email for this class.
Christy Cooper will offer her training in either April or May and may be at
different times and days according to what best fits her schedule. She will
send an email at the appropriate time regarding her classes. Christy and I
have both agreed that we will try offering this course every other week for
the rest of the Spring Semester. This will help streamline our time so that
we can concentrate on our research and other responsibilities.
Contact Lisa Reece, 66786, 532.5932; lreece at purdue.edu with any questions or
concerns.

1.3:  Kitchen refrigerator to be cleaned on Friday, 03.21.08. Please be sure
that anything you want kept is dated.  In addition, please take any items
home that you don¹t want put into the trash. Thanks for your cooperation in
keeping our kitchen clean and sanitary.

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2.  TOURS/VISITORS
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2.1:  Monday, 03.24.08, 1:00-3:00:  Purdue¹s for Me visitors  admitted
students and parents; please make them feel welcome,
2.2:  Thursday, 03.27.08, 2:30PM, BRK 1001:  Cummins Engine
2.3:  Friday, 03.28.08, 12:00PM lunch BRK Atrium, 1:00PM tour:  ECE Graduate
Open House
2.4:  Friday, 03.28.08, 2:00-5:00PM, BRK Atrium: Medicinal Chemistry and
Pharmacology Poster Session

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3.  SEMINARS
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3.1:  Friday, 03.28.08, 10:30AM, BRK 1001:  ³Actuation and Cooling of
Micro/Nano Mechanical System Based on Electro or Opto-Mechanical Coupling,²
by Joel Chevrier, Grenoble University.
ABSTRACT: Fabrication of Nano-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (NEMS) of high
quality is nowadays extremely efficient. These NEMS will be used as sensors
and actuators in integrated systems. Their use however raises questions
about their interface (actuation, detection, read out) with external
detection and control systems. Their operation implies many fundamental
questions related to single particle effects such as Coulomb blockade, light
matter interactions such as radiation pressure, thermal effects, Casimir
forces and the coupling of nanosystems to external world (thermal
fluctuations, back action effect). Here we specifically present how the
thermal fluctuations of an oscillating cantilever can be damped using three
radically different ways: i) an electro-mechanical coupling in the presence
of a strong Johnson noise ii) an external feedback control of thermal
fluctuations. This is the cold damping. It is closely related to Maxwell's
demon iii) a cavity Fabry Perot induced photothermal pressure that can
quench the brownian vibrational fluctuations of an AFM lever. This shows how
the interplay between MEMS or NEMS external control and their coupling to a
thermal bath can lead to a wealth of effects that are nowadays extensively
studied in different areas.

3.2:  Friday, 03.28.08, 3:30 refreshments; 3:45 seminar, ARMS 1010: ³Getting
the Pb Out: Whisker and Hillock Growth from Sn Electrodeposits,² William J.
Boettinger, Metallurgy Division, NIST.
ABSTRACT: For many years, electronic component leads made of Cu alloys were
³pretinned² with a 3 to 10 micron layer of electrodeposited tin-lead (Sn-Pb)
alloy to maintain proper solder wetting during subsequent assembly. The
worldwide electronics industry is in the process of removing Pb from their
components.  When Pb is removed from the electroplated surface finishes, Sn
whiskers grow spontaneously from the surface finish. The whiskers are single
crystal filaments typically 1 µm in diameter and several mm long. Numerous
electronic failures due to shorting from whiskers have been reported,
especially in the high reliability realm of aerospace, military, and medical
device applications.  This lecture will describe progress being made towards
developing a fundamental understanding of Sn whisker growth and providing
industry with information needed for mitigation strategies. See
http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/ <http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/>  for general
information about the Sn whisker problem.
BIO: William J. Boettinger is a NIST Fellow in the Metallurgy Division of
the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory at NIST in Gaithersburg,
MD. He earned a B.E.S. (Mechanics) in 1968 and a Ph.D. (Metallurgy) in 1972
from The Johns Hopkins University. Before joining the permanent staff at
NIST, he was a NRC/NAE postdoctoral research associate at NIST from
1972-1974. From 1977 until 1995 he held a concurrent position as a
professorial lecturer at the George Washington University where he taught a
graduate course in phase transformations. His expertise includes the
thermodynamics and kinetics of metallurgical systems especially the
relationship of alloy microstructure to processing conditions. He has over
one hundred fifty publications on topics including dendritic, eutectic and
peritectic solidification, rapid solidification, phase diagrams, diffusion,
intermetallic compounds, measurement of crystal perfection using x-rays, and
soldering. Research with J. A. Warren on phase field modeling of
solidification was recognized in the 11 May 1995 issue of ŒNature.¹ Dr.
Boettinger was awarded the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal in 1980,
Silver Medals in 1983 and 1994, and Gold Medals in 1999 and 2003. He
received the Materials Science Division Award of the American Society for
Materials (ASM) in 1989 and was made a fellow of that society in 1994. He
co-chaired the 1994 Physical Metallurgy Gordon Research Conference with J.
H. Perepezko. He has received several honors from The Minerals, Metals and
Materials Society (TMS): the 1999 Champion Mathewson Best Paper Award, the
2001 TMS Bruce Chalmers Award for research in solidification and a Fellow in
2006. He was named a NIST Fellow in 2001, elected a member of the National
Academy of Engineering in 2006 and received the federal government¹s
Presidential Rank Award in 2007.

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4.  OPPORTUNITIES
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4.1: Four Available Positions of Foreign English Teachers:  South China
Agricultural University (SCAU) (http://english.scau.edu.cn/) in Guangzhou,
China, is seeking qualified foreign English teachers.  Starting work date:
End of August, 2008. Courses to teach:  English grammar, Reading, Oral
English, English writing.  Requirements: Native-English speaker, Bachelor¹s
degree in the field of language; 2 letters of recommendation from prior
employers; Minimum 2-year teaching experience.  SCAU will provide:  Monthly
income 7500~8000 Yuan (RMB) which covers salary, lodging and traveling
expenses,  Salary is commensurate with experience and degree,  Paid holidays
depending on working duration.  Please send your application
letter/resume/photo /and your contact telephone number to E-mail:
anne at scau.edu.cn/ <mailto:anne at scau.edu.cn/>
xinrongw at scau.edu.cn/wangscau at 126.com, we will only contact the proper
candidate for interview.

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5.  LIFE ON THE OUTSIDE
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5.1:  April 19 and May 3 Fundraising Event:  Area residents and Purdue
students will soon put their cabin fever aside to do handiwork during a
fundraising event to help a Purdue student.  The Purdue student from
Noblesville was diagnosed in February with a rare from of cancer. His
friends and family are rallying behind him to provide support by organizing
a fundraiser to help defray medical costs that are being incurred by the
family.

For $50 per person, volunteers will work up to five hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
on Saturday, April 19 and again on May 3. Potential jobs include yard work,
painting, building fences and cleaning out garages/basements.  To date,
there are 100 volunteers taking part.  Jobs will be filled on a first-come
basis.

This is a great opportunity for area residents to do some spring cleaning
and also help with this important project.  Many students have said they are
eager to help so this fundraiser will allow them to show their support and
make a difference for this family.

To request a volunteer, simply contact Amy Noah at arnoah at purdue.edu or at
765-479-3917.