Purdue MSE, CGT, and ECE researchers have demonstrated geometries that suppress the pyroelectric and piezoelectric-induced Stark Effect from nanorods for (In,Ga)N-based light-emitting diodes. By controlling the aspect ratio of the deposited layers, their deleterious effects on optoelectronic performance can be mitigated.

First-year MSE graduate student Tony Chung (R. Edwin Garcia, graduate advisor) has explored the underlying physics that govern a recently developed characterization technique, electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM), that utilizes the strong coupling between ionic current and anisotropic volumetric chemical expansion of lithium-ion electrode materials to dynamically probe the sub-one-hundred-nm interfacial kinetic intercalation properties. The performed analysis demonstrates that the local intercalation dynamics within a LiCoO2 thin film and the implications that such kinetics have on the macroscopic power density performance of currently used Lithium-ion batteries.

The School of Materials Engineering at Purdue University is pleased to announce Dr. Elliott Slamovich has been named the School's Interim Department Head, effective August 15, 2011.

The Purdue Center for Metal Casting Research (PCMC) is hosting a one-day workshop on July 21st at Stewart Center, Room 320 from 8:00 a.m.— 3:00 p.m to discuss with potential industry partners possible future projects, our capabilities, and our upcoming proposal to the National Science Foundation for an Industry/University Collaborative Research Center in metalcasting.

MSE student Joseph Muth has received the 2011 Bruce Helfert Memorial Award as THE outstanding junior student in the Purdue Colleges of Engineering and Science.

The School of Materials Engineering is happy to celebrate the career advancements of all Purdue faculty, but especially MSE and MSE-affiliated faculty. The promotions are effective beginning with the 2011-2012 academic year.

Doctoral candidate Yuanyuan Jing has published research on mapping local electrical polarization and polarization changes in ferroelectric thin films.

The approach is capable of rapidly detecting biomarkers in the parts per billion to parts per million range, at least 100 times better than previous breath-analysis technologies according to Carlos Martinez, an assistant professor of materials engineering at Purdue who is working with researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.