NQPI News Archive 2012
Smith and Wang Comment on their Cover
December 3, 2012
On January 26, 2012, professor Arthur R. Smith and (at that time) post-doctoral researcher Kangkang Wang published an online paper in Nano Letters.
The paper is motivated by the need to understand exchange bias effect and its ability to modify the switching behavior of ferromagnets.
“In pursuit of miniaturizing magnetic devices, nanomagnetism is attracting significant attention…With reducing size and dimensions, novel orderings and magnetism often emerge because of the intricate competition among various spin-dependent interactions” Smith and Wang wrote.
Their purpose was to examine antiferromagnetic nanostructures and to find the elusive vanishing net magnetization that antiferromagnetic nanostructures possess. Using Spin Polarized Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (SP-STM) Wang and Smith were able to map out the magnetization of the nanostructure Mn3N2 in three dimensions.
By growing thin Mn3N2 films on an MgO substrate, Wang and Smith were able to grow high density nanopyramids. These nanopyramids have lateral size consistency and each square-like terrace is separated by single atomic steps. The geometrical step heights should have fixed values, however, STM analysis revealed a strong and differing electronic effect. In discordance with bulk properties, they found that the magnetization of every third terrace in the grown nanopyramids reorients in relation to the other two terraces.
Interestingly enough, the discovery was made based upon changes in the magnetic conductance observed in testing. These changes were rendered using a color scheme to represent contrast. Wang and Smith were able to conclude that the contrast was contributed by the magnetic structure.
This meticulous look into antiferromagnetic nanostructures brings “great challenges as well as future opportunities for nanoscale spintronic devices” Wang concluded.
Not only was the paper published earlier this year, but the authors artwork images landed on this month’s cover of Nano Letters. Both Wang and Smith were available for comment on such an honor.
“I feel very fortunate that our work is selected to be on the cover of this month's issue. Being the cover article certainly helps the work attract more attention from the scientific community. Furthermore, artistic rendering is a powerful way to convey the idea behind such a complex physics phenomenon, and can help the work reach out to a much broader audience” Wang said.
"Getting a cover is not an everyday event, it highlights your work, and it's something to celebrate for sure" Smith agreed.
NQPI Student Studies Solar Cells
November 14, 2012
Would it not be great if one day a scientist said ‘poof! I give you renewable energy’? Oh wait, I guess we would have to call him or her a wizard… We all know that the path to renewable energy sources looks pretty much like a phylogenic tree. Many scientists in many different fields are working on such a topical and necessary discovery. Ohio University physics student Austin Way is one of those scientists. Working under Physics & Astronomy professor Marty Kordesch, Way is studying how to create a new type of solar cell that produces an electric current when exposed to light by a process called sputtering.
Sputtering is a process whereby atoms are ejected from a solid target material due to bombardment of the target by energetic particles. Sputtering is used to create a variety of technologies, including the optical coating on lenses, displays for phones and circuit boards and parts for electronics. However, it is a complicated process and though scientists have already used the technique to create certain types of solar cells, they strive to make it easier and more financially beneficial.
Sputtering would allow multiple steps to be accomplished with one machine rather than continuously moving the sample. Way said, “What we want to try to do is take it from beginning almost to the end in one go”.
Way places a copper cup filled with indium gallium metal below a glass substrate. He then introduces a rapid array of energetic nitrogen gas ions, which push the atoms in the material upward. The energetic nitrogen gas ions create a nitrogen plasma that reacts with the sputtered molecules and this then creates a thin layer of a new material on the glass.
Sputtering could be used to create multilayered solar cells, with each layer made to absorb a different region of the solar spectrum, Kordesch explained.
Nano-Art in Paris
October 2, 2012
By Alex Jeanneret; full story by Andrea Gibson at Ohio Compass Points
NQPI member and scientist within the biochemistry department at Ohio University received some international acclaim after he presented a talk on Nano-Art in Paris.
Yes, you have read that correctly—Nano-Art. Dr. Tad Malinski has always been a long-time advocate of the arts and does not hesitate to share that he first became interested in the nanoworld with an experimental attempt to correct small fissures that occur as a work of art ages.
Currently Malinski works with nanosensors that can detect nitric oxide in the body. This research has helped fuel a better understanding of medical ailments such as heart disease or stroke.
When Malinski gave a talk in Paris last year about his study of nanomedicine, it is doubtful that he expected to reach the art world. Nonetheless, Roi Doré Gallery hosted a competition in which they encouraged artists to submit pieces based upon Malinski’s scientific endeavors in medicine and bodily health.
Exhibit "10? Nano Art” was held at the Paris gallery in early June, showcasing the work of 10 different artists.
Malinski worked with art restoration in the 1980s, prior to becoming engulfed in nanomedicine, as an analyst for private collectors, museums, and auction houses. It was through this work that Malinski created a non-destructive means of restoration.
The “ultra micro sensor” that he created was able to probe the hairline cracks in paintings.
Malinski has caused quite a stir in the art community. Roi Doré Gallery plans to host a science-inspired exhibit every two years. The winning artist will receive the Malinski Art and Science Award.
From Proposals to Building Plans: A NanOstUdio is Born
By Alex Jeanneret
October 1, 2012
A new state of the art NanOstUdio will soon find its home in Stocker Center. The name of the new studio exercises the creative side of the brain, which is just what proposer Dr. Savas Kaya (professor at Russ College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) intends.
The proposal, made two years ago, sought to build an interactive learning space for undergraduate students that would emphasize the creative sides of nanotechnology. Creativity may not be a term explicitly associated with the nanoworld, yet, Kaya wants to change this notion and bring a better comprehensive aspect to nanotechnology. “I want to show students why nanotechnology affects their lives each day” Kaya said, “and still make it fun.”
After suggested alterations to the plans and bylines, he was officially offered a grant from NSF this year. Dr. Kaya’s initial interest in the production of such a place began with this question “How do you turn research into education?”
“I was with my kids at COSI” Kaya said “when I realized how much we needed a relaxed atmosphere for students to interact on a nanoscale.”
Sterile lab settings can seem unapproachable to undergraduates and this coupled with the daunting notion of nanotechnology could shun students from the field entirely.
In the last five years things have gotten smaller and smaller. Think about the life span of the ipod, remember when they were bigger than our cell phones? Nanotechnology has a huge impact on our lives, and unfortunately many students have not been given the opportunity to delve into it.
“They don’t know why it matters yet,” Dr. Kaya states, “the only way is to show them.”
Though the plans for the studio are still in the beginning stages, Dr. Kaya hopes to have a working SEM (scanning electron microscopy) system, a table top AFM, and other forms of spectroscopy teaching equipment.
“Most undergraduate students do not get to work with these types of equipment until their senior year” which is hardly enough time for a seed of passion in microscale and nanoscale studies to sprout.
The studio is intended to be a comfortable place where undergraduates can lead seminars and teach their peers how to operate different pieces of research equipment. They will be encouraged to show contrasting samples and how the nanoscale differs from those on a micro or macro scale.
“Nano is much more sensitive” Kaya said “which is sometimes misconstrued as more difficult” (instead of just different).
But how do you make nanotechnology interactive? “We want to involve computer science in the studio.” Not only will interaction between students be encouraged, but also virtual interactions will be made readily available. There could be an ipad station where students may browse through folders of information compiled on specific subjects. “We also want to have a station where we project images that can be viewed through 3D goggles.”
The NanOstUdio strives to ultimately be mobile. “We could take it to high schools, show it in expos, and open houses in addition to the fixed hours we will be operating in Stocker,” Kaya said.
NQPI, CMSS, the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, as well as the Office of Academic Research are providing additional funds for the project.
Fish DNA and Frozen Dinner
By Emma Dean
September 24, 2012
While a chill in the air is a general welcoming of the arrival of autumn, for gardeners and farmers, it is the first frost that solidifies the end of summer. For many plants, the first frost can be an icy kiss of death unless the plants have freeze tolerance properties due to antifreeze proteins (AFPs).
AFPs influence and control the growth of ice crystals, although not all AFPs behave the same. Plant AFPs often serve the purpose of freeze resistance, but the antifreeze proteins found in insects prevent the organism from freezing altogether. This slight, but important difference is due to varying structures, sequences and sizes.
“They have even evolved in separate routes and there is no evolutionary correlation between most of them. Therefore their activities with ice differ,” said Dr. Maya Bar Dolev.
Dr. Bar Dolev and colleagues (including Dr. Ido Braslavsky) recently wrote an article entitled “New insights into ice growth and melting modifications by antifreeze proteins” which was published by the Royal Society in July. The experiments conducted by the team focused on how the presence of hyperactive AFPs influence ice crystal shape.
The experiments confirmed that ice shapes form during growth, but unexpectedly, distinct formations occur during melting as well.
“We did not anticipate shape formation during melting,” said Bar Dolev, “because for many years, fish AFPs were believed to form ice shapes during growth, which turned to out to be true. It was intuitive to believe that other AFPs which have similar activities like the fish AFPs will also form ice shapes during growth.”
The team studied fish AFPs by utilizing AFPs from the white flounder as well as moderately active AFPs from the sea raven and ocean pout. A sample of an antifreeze glycoprotein (AFGP) which had been extracted from the blood plasma of rock cod was examine din addition to the ice-binding protein from ryegrass, a member of the expanding group of ice-binding proteins closer associated with freeze tolerance than with freeze resistance. The hyperactive AFPs studied were taken from a beetle, spruce budworm, Antarctic bacterium and a snow flea.
A fluorescent protein marker was attached to the tail of the AFPs which allowed the visualization of the chimera protein on ice. After a drop of the protein solution was injected into an oil-filled well, the sample was placed on a temperature-controlled stage and observed beneath the lens of a microscope.
“We can freeze and thaw our samples in a highly controlled manner, which allows us to inspect directly the interactions of the proteins with ice,” explained Bar Dolev.
The samples were cooled between -27 and -35 degrees Celsius then slowly warmed until only one ice crystal remained. This single ice crystal endured several warming and cooling sessions.
From the repeated heated and cooling, it was evident that the moderately active AFPs created bimyramidal ice crystals in growth, but when melted, the corners disappeared and the vertical tips shrank. When the temperature was again lowered, the diamond shape reappeared.
The AFP associated with ryegrass followed suit with the other moderate AFPs in developing the bipyramidal shape and in losing its corners when melting. However, both the rate of growth and dissolution were somewhat slower due to unusual burst patterns than other moderate AFPs.
The hyperactive AFPs underwent the same process. It was observed that a very precise shape develops when an ice crystal becomes small enough. This occurred repeatedly to such a point of distinction that the researchers found it possible to discern between the varying samples of hyperactive AFPs merely by monitoring the melting process and resulting unique ice crystal shape.
For instance, the hyperactive AFP associated with the beetle produced a lemon-shaped ice crystal which could be maintained as long as melting continued. Even when the ice crystal is merely a few micrometers in length, the lemon shape persists.
Without the sharp corners and points of moderate AFPs that can damage cellular membranes, hyperactive AFPs have a future in improving any field requiring ice growth control.
This also applies to frozen foods and how the proteins can help to maintain a desired food texture during freezing and thawing cycles. In fact, low-fat ice creams and fruit-based popsicles already take advantage of AFPs.
AFPs have a promising future in agriculture as well. With the use of these proteins crops may no longer dread the first frost or frost damage. These proteins may also increase the growing area for crops which currently cannot survive low temperatures.
NQPI Outstanding Dissertation Award Gives Doctoral Students Added Drive
By Alex Jeanneret
September 21, 2012
How many times have we heard a graduate say “all that hard work just for a piece of paper?” College lends itself to rewarding students in a behind-the-scenes way, very rarely recognizing achievement with say ... cold hard cash. But not anymore. In an effort to recognize the exceptional work performed by doctoral students, NQPI is opening up its wallet.
One NQPI Outstanding Dissertation award will be given out each year to a doctoral student who embodies the highest levels of scholarship, research, and writing. Students will be nominated under the following conditions.
* The student author of the dissertation works in one of the groups belonging to NQPI.
* The research reported in the dissertation falls within the scope of NQPI research.
* The dissertation is submitted in its final form to Ohio University’s Graduate College (ETD) within the academic year under consideration (between the start of Fall semester of one year and the first day of Fall semester the following year).
* An NQPI faculty member of the PhD dissertation committee nominates the dissertation for this award.
Nominations may be submitted by email to the NQPI Dissertation Award Committee chair, Sergio Ulloa. A nomination requires a cover letter describing why the dissertation was chosen, two letters of support from an adviser, department chair, or a dissertation committee member, and an electronic copy of the full dissertation.
Though the committee planning is still in its early stages, Ulloa is accepting nominations. The deadline for the first dissertation award is November 1, 2012. Oh, and the best part … the award winner will receive a $500 gift certificate. How’s that for a piece of paper!
OU Students Meet Nobel Laureates
By Emma Dean
September 4, 2012
Hundreds of researchers gathered in Lindau, Germany during the first week of July to attend the 62nd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. Ohio University was represented by graduate students Greg Petersen and Andrew DiLullo who were two of only 75 students from the United States to receive an invitation.
The nearly 600 young researchers united from 69 countries all over the world to meet with 27 Nobel Laureates.
The conference’s format is particularly unique in that its research focus is on a four-year rotation. While this year’s meeting was dedicated to physics, next year’s will focus on chemistry. Another distinctive attribute of the meeting is its environment not only provides the opportunity to discuss research ideas but also to build international professional contacts. Besides the exchange of new topics and discoveries, the conference maintained a social aspect by allowing young researchers to mingle and converse informally with the Nobel Laureates.
“I wish I had that opportunity when I was a student,” said Dr. Nancy Sandler, Ohio University physics and astronomy associate professor and Petersen’s adviser. Sandler noted that it is not easy to earn an invitation to the highly esteemed meeting, especially in coming from a smaller institution.
In order to receive an invitation, Petersen and DiLullo underwent a rigorous multi-step application process which included seeking funding through a national organization that specializes in sponsoring scientific research and the pursuit of educational development. DiLullo and Petersen were both sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
“The selection criteria are based on their accomplishments and their potential to become a leader in science,” said Dr. Saw Hla, Ohio University physics and astronomy professor and DiLullo’s adviser.
In addition to attending, DiLullo also presented a talk on the first day about results on how molecules interact with each other and along a chain on a surface with magnetic properties. Through the SPIRE program which has connected Ohio University with the University of Hamburg as well as Argentina’s University of Buenos Aires, DiLullo has studied in Germany three consecutive times for up to 10 weeks, twice in Hamburg and once in Berlin. His presentation focused on results from his first year of research.
“It was very stressful to know that I was going to present to Laureates and to physicists my age,” said DiLullo.
Petersen studied in Argentina through the SPIRE program and had hoped to gain new ideas for potential projects from the Lindau Laureate Meeting. Petersen’s own work centers on new types of materials that are low-dimensional as well as one-dimensional chains of atoms and nanowires. Despite not finding new research ideas at the meeting, he learned about different techniques and research he could possibly study further from the talks which were mostly general.
“For instance, I’m not an astrophysicist, but it was nice to hear somewhat introductory talks on the problems in astrophysics and dark matter,” said Petersen.
Workshop on Photochromics: Rack's Success
By Alex Jeanneret
September 1, 2012
When asked what prompted him to organize a Photochromics workshop in Telluride, Colorado, this July (2-6th), Jeff Rack responded “I was going to all of these workshops and conferences in Photochemistry, and I was never meeting the people whose research I had been reading.”
So he took matters into his own hands. Photochromics straddles multiple divisions and once the idea of hosting a workshop strictly devoted to the study of photochromic compounds and materials took root in Rack’s mind, there was no stopping him.
Photochromism is a reversible chemical transformation between two forms. This transformation is dependent on the absorption of electromagnetic radiation, in which both forms have differing absorption spectra. To the laymen, it’s a chemical or natural compound that changes color when it is exposed to light.
In order for the compound to be declared photochromic, the absorption band (a range of wavelengths, frequencies or energies which are able to excite a transition) must undergo a drastic change within a visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. In other words, it is photochromic if the human eye can see a shift in color.
“I initially wanted to do a symposium” Rack said, “But I found that the organization and work behind one would have been too much”, especially coupled with teaching and the continuous strive for publication. “I was fortunate enough that someone held their hands up and said ‘no, this is what you want to do.’”
Thus the “Breaking and Making Bonds with Light” workshop at the Telluride Science Research Center was born. Rack had planned on hosting the workshop in the summer of 2011; however, with the delightful news that a new edition to his family was expected, he set the dates for 2012.
Photochromism is present in both organic and inorganic compounds and is often studied in terms of quantum yield. Quantum yield is a measure of color change with respect to how much light is absorbed. Quantum yield is difficult to study because it is heavily dependent on three tricky factors: fatigue resistance, photostationary state, and polarity/solubility.
Fatigue resistance is much like a soccer player’s inability to change direction efficiently once their leg muscles are depleted of energy. In photochromic materials, fatigue refers to the loss of reversibility of the reaction. All photochromics experience fatigue to some extent. The rapidity of fatigue can impede experimentation and thus needs to be mitigated—hence the study of photochromics in inorganic compounds. Inorganic substances have much better resistance to fatigue.
Photochromics have two states and the interconversion between these two states can be controlled using different wavelengths of light. Once a material is excited with a particular wavelength of light, a mixture of the two states will present itself as a specific ratio called the photostationary state. Since absorbance bands overlap within the electromagnetic spectrum, the ratios are never quantified as whole numbers.
Photochromics are also difficult to study within working systems because they are often charged in one or more states and have high and changing polarities. The conjugated nature of their systems limit solubility as well.
Up until this summer, the only gathering of scientists who study these interesting compounds and their applications was the International Symposium on Photochromics (held every three years). Rack first started with his list of scientists he wished to invite.
“Everyone I invited came” he said. 25 researchers attended the workshop, each from a varied field and organization. “I tried to get a wide array of people” he said. Rack was even asked by an attendee why people from such differing fields of computer science, physics, and chemistry were invited? “This is how I read the literature” he replied.
The workshop was organized into individual 50 minute sessions, eight times a day. Speakers were grouped into like clans of four and sessions were split between mornings and afternoons. Sessions took on an informal atmosphere almost immediately, “It was more of an open dialogue” Rack confirmed. Everyone attended every session. The relaxed structure of the presentation allowed speakers to explain their research while being questioned by interested listeners.
The study of photochromics has been pertinent to supramolecular chemistry. The ability to give a reversible shape change allows for the creation and destruction of molecular recognition motifs and to affect surroundings. Photochromic units have even been demonstrated as molecular switches, proving to have the ability to turn enzymes on or off by altering their shape.
At the end of the conference, Rack also hosted a closing banquet at the New Sheraton hotel. Money given by key contributors covered the costs. Rack even raised enough money to offset attendees travel fees and refund everyone’s registration. He would like to thank NQPI, The VP of Research, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry, The Condensed Matter and Surface Sciences Institute, University of Memphis, and a local section of the American Chemical Society for making this workshop possible.
“Because it's cool” Savin states
By Emma Dean
August 6, 2012
Dr. Tatiana Savin, Ohio University mathematics assistant professor and NQPI member, has been exploring the properties of mathematical objects in a reflection. From this research, Savin has recently published a paper entitled “On non-local reflection for elliptic equations of the second order in R2 (the Dirichlet condition).”
Savin was interested in how the characteristics of mathematical objects either change or do not change when reflected. Her research was particularly concerned with the reflection resulting from a curved mirror.
“When you look at your reflection in a mirror, you feel like you have another reality and if you have a mirror that is curved, some parts will be stretched more than others,” explained Savin. “Like in the house of mirrors.”
With an uneven surface such as a curved mirror, some portions or the entire image becomes altered. Savin’s publication focused on those properties that vary and become unusual.
“It is true that behind the mirror space—a non-physical space—objects do not have some properties that they have in the real or physical space,” Savin said.
Savin offered a line from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass to relate to the perception of reflections. Alice muses at her reflection in the mirror, before she has tumbled down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, and asks her kitten if it would like to live in the looking-glass house and ponders if the dwellers of the house would give it milk to drink.
“Perhaps Looking-glass milk isn’t good to drink,” Alice says as she considers if the milk in the alternative reality of the Looking-glass would be the same.
For Savin’s work this meant, for example, that a fundamental solution of an elliptic differential equation typically becomes a multiple-valued function in the non-physical space. Consequently, a point-to-point reflection known as a celebrated Schwarz symmetry principle for harmonic functions fails for solutions to general elliptic equations which results in a non-local reflection formula.
Similar to Carroll’s fictitious Alice, Savin’s curiosity played an instrumental role in pursuing her research of reflected mathematical properties.
“I had some conjectures and wanted to test them out to find out if they’re true or not,” said Savin. The solutions she arrives at can be utilized to determine results for applied mathematical problems. Besides her academic contributions, there was one other reason Savin decided to study mathematical reflections.
“Because it’s cool,” she said.
New Hire!
July 23, 2012
We all know how important the tech staff is here at Ohio University. NQPI is continuing to enhance performance by the addition of a new team member. Mike Myers has accepted the position of Mechanical Systems Technician and will be working in the shop area. NQPI would like to extend a warm welcome and express our gratitude for his insight and skills. Welcome to OU Mike!
Jeff Rack appointed Director of CMSS
July 2, 2012
The Physics and Astronomy department is pleased to welcome Jeff Rack, professor of Chemistry and NQPI Member, to his new position as Director of the Condensed Matter and Surface Sciences (CMSS) Program. Rack was appointed on July 1 and is replacing Gregory Van Patten, who has relocated to Middle Tennessee State University.
CMSS is a special program that crosses department and college lines emphasizing research in a broad scope. Everything from glasses and disordered materials, surface structure and dynamics, and chaos are examined in detail and given a public outlet.
The CMSS program offers a colloquium series in which researchers from all over the US (and sometimes internationally) speak of their scientific endeavors. Colloquiums are held each Thursday in Walter Hall at 4pm and are widely attended by students and professors alike.
NQPI and CMSS have very similar goals: to educate on a nanoscale. NQPI hopes that collaboration with CMSS will further progress our aims for the future.
Viral Never Looked so Good
May 15, 2012
Want to know what NOT to do with your microwave? How about how to go Up! Up! and then back into Clippinger labs by way of our new helium liquefier system?
The Department of Physics and Astronomy has launched a new mini-movies series about things just as that … and some stuff about lasers, sharks and liquid nitrogen. The series of 10 short excerpts were taken from this year’s Physics and Astronomy Open House.
"Open House gives visitors and our volunteers a chance to explore the world in a new ways and have fun at the same time," said Physics Professor and movie organizer Mark Lucas.
Movies were edited by undergraduate video production students from the School of Media Arts and Studies under the direction of Associate Professor Frederick Lewis. Filmmaker Jean Andrews from the Department of Physics and Astronomy served as executive producer.
"We intend for this new series of short movies to highlight an important function we hold every two years. Our open house event is a source of pride for the students, faculty, and staff in our department, and demonstrates a sense of our commitment to our local community," explained Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy David Ingram.
Check out the movies here!
New Scientists disguised as Undergrads
May 12, 2012
The 2012 Undergraduate Research Conference was successfully held on Saturday, May 12, and showcased some of Ohio U’s younger scientists.
“I am delighted to announce that Keith Hawkins and Vincent Roberts share the Best Paper Award of the conference. I would also like to thank Profs Markus Boettcher and David Tees for judging the presentations and all those who attended this event” said Dr. Gang Chen in an interdepartmental email.
Keith Hawkins paper, titled “Measuring Stellar Parameters of Stars via a Bayesian Approach,” gave some planetary insight.
“One of the most interesting correlations that has come out of large statistical studies of exoplanets is a relationship between the occurrence rate of giant planets and the metallicity of their host stars. The primary goal of this project is to develop an automated pipeline to measure stellar parameters (e.g. effective temperature, surface gravity and metallicity) of a large number of stars.
We use a spectral index-based method that employs a Bayesian approach to determine the stellar parameters of stars. This method will be applied to a large number of target stars in the Kepler field in order to determine the nature of the planet-metallicity correlation for small planets for the first time.”
Vince Roberts paper, titled “Work Function Evolution of Metallic+Organic Semiconductors” appealed to growing necessity of ‘green’ energy.
“Today’s commercially available solar panels are not only expensive, yet they are most importantly inefficient. Costing thousands of dollars for only a 20% energy efficiency does not make solar technology much of a viable alternative to fossil fuels. However, there is a growing market of research into nanoscaled, monolayered semiconductors that may solve both economical and efficiency problems. Most panels use arrays of doped silicon materials, but an increasing fraction of research has strayed from Si to new materials. The developing field is looking now into combinations of materials, utilizing properties of charge transfer between monolayers that give rise to new work functions of the materials, which may then become viable solar cell candidates.
Currently, organic molecule F4-TCNQ has been tested with a multitude of metallic substrates, most numerously with ITO. However, research with F4-TCNQ has begun with another metallic semiconductor, ZnO. Starting at the lowest, most fundamental level, the combinations of ZnO along with F4-TCNQ are to be measured in order to see how the two interact, specifically in terms of changing work functions. In order to measure such a change, the Kelvin Method, as theorized by Lord Kelvin, was used to accurately get an estimate of work function reactions.”
Congrats Keith and Vince! And a special thank you to the professors who edged them on their way to such exemplary research.
Creativity Anyone?
May 4, 2012
More than 600 Ohio University students presented original work at the Student Research and Creative Activity Expo Thursday, May 3. The annual event showcased projects on topics such as electric hybrid vehicles, rock operas, yo-yo dieting and how media shapes American political discourse.
Holding the physics and astronomy hat held high, prize winners Keith Hawkins (The Planet-Metallicity Correlation in the Kepler Field) & Paul Adams (Kinematically-collimated neutron source reactions) from HTC along with graduate students Kevin Cooper ( Measurements of source reaction cross-sections for use in active interrogation of hidden fissile materials) , Antony Paul Ramirez (Level Density Study of 74Ge through particle evaporation), Binay Prasai (Structure of Ag-doped Ge-Sb-Te alloys: a combined experimental and theoretical study) and Ameneh Mohammadalipour (Investigation of mechanical properties of breast cancer cells using micropipette aspiration ) represented excellent departmental research.
Networking and Madness
May 3, 2012
By Emma Dean
Every four years, we’re gifted with one extra day nestled between February and March. This year, Athens spent Leap Day under a Tornado Watch while some of Ohio University’s finest joined thousands of physicists in Boston gathered at the American Physical Society’s (APS) 2012 March Meeting. The conference, which took place February 27 through March 2, drew its largest turnout to date with nearly 11,000 attendees.
David Ruiz, an Ohio University student enrolled in the PhD program, made the trip to the March Meeting along with the rest of the research group headed by Dr. Sergio Ulloa, an Ohio University professor in the department of physics and astronomy.
Being larger than the average convention, the March Meeting is comprised of serial ten minute talks based on selected submitted research abstracts. Longer thirty-minute invited talks are given by individuals invited for an invited talk. Though divided into two-hour sessions relating to a particular subject matter, nearly 500 talks occur at once. Beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m., there is an abundance of information being transmitted so Ruiz and his group members attended different presentations individually and then reunited at a later time.
“We all get together to discuss and tell each other what we found out, what was new, and what people are working on. This way you get more of the general picture [of the March Meeting] because by one’s self, it’s just impossible. The conference is too big,” said Ruiz.
Ruiz and his colleagues also took their turn sharing their own research. They presented their talk, entitled “Dynamical magnetic anisotrophy in spin -- 1 molecular systems,” which was a continuation of last year’s presentation. The group worked with others outside their own lab as well through the SPIRE “Spin Triangle” project.
“I, personally, was working with people in Argentina,” said Ruiz. SPIRE also collaborates with individuals in Germany too.
Ruiz’s research focused on what occurs to a molecule with certain magnetic properties when it is deformed by mechanical means.“It’s interesting because these are things nobody could do years ago and now we are exploring our new capabilities and how those can be applied to different things,” said Ruiz.
Having one March Meeting under his belt, Ruiz felt more comfortable at the well-populated conference which, with twenty-one units comprised of ten divisions, six forums and five topical groups participating, can be overwhelming. Ruiz noted that not only is the event’s size a challenge but the opportunity to network arises as well.
The aspect of introducing yourself to people who may later on offer employment or collaboration appealed to Ruiz in making his second APS March Meeting different than his first attendance, which he confessed was more of a formality.
“This year was different because I actually got to meet and discuss with people,” Ruiz said.
Other than the educational experience of networking, Ruiz doesn’t recommend the March Meeting for sheer learning purposes. The sessions are continuous and are mostly updates and opportunities to learn about interesting experiments pertaining to or outside of one’s field.
“The general philosophy is to look for specialized sessions that are related to your work and then you kind of go for the big ones like a planetary session in which there is a very famous physicist. You can act as if you were a groupie seeing your idol speak,” said Ruiz who, depending on where the course of the next year finds him, may be in attendance again for his third consecutive March Meeting.
Academia Rising!
April 23, 2012
By Emma Dean
Ohio University’s foray into men basketball’s NCAA Sweet Sixteen tournament wasn’t the only newsworthy media topic this month. Academia likes to brag too! Heath Kersell, a physics doctoral student, received a 2012 Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award from the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) for his research on molecular machines. Kersell's research surrounds molecular rotor operation.
“I just wanted to succeed in defending my thesis,” Kersell said of pursuing his Master’s Degree which he earned in 2010. Kersell works with Saw-Wai Hla, an Ohio University physics professor, studying the development of machines on a nanoscale.
After the defense of his thesis, Kersell was nominated by Daniel Phillips, an Ohio University department graduate chair and professor of physics and astronomy. Kersell didn’t think he’d be picked as Ohio University’s nominee, as the competition was stiffer than ever with each department having a candidate.
Through e-mail, Kersell learned that he was OU’s candidate, but again thought his chances were slim due to the amount and quality of competition. Forty-two midwestern universities and colleges each submitted a nominee for recognition of academic excellence and research at the master’s level. Again Kersell received congratulatory news via e-mail.
“That was a surprise to me, actually,” Kersell said.
Megan Tesene from Northern Iowa University also received the 2012 Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award. Honorable mention went to Kelly Harper Berkson from the University of Kansas. The awards were presented at the 68th Annual Meeting on April 11 in Chicago.
Kersell is currently interning at Argonne National lab and working with STM technology. Kersell is constructing a specific STM that utilizes lasers within its internal makeup so that the manner in which materials interact with light can be studied.
“The hope is that within some time I’ll be able to finish it and use (the STM) to do extra research while I’m here,” said Kersell.
Kersell’s research on molecular machines holds the potential for technological advance. Though Kersell doesn’t know what research he wants to pursue in the future, he does know that whatever research he studies must be both interesting and important.
“It’s been my goal for a long time to pick an interesting career and do something that can somehow benefit society; something useful to people” Kersell said.
Mahdi Zarea Holds Court
April 20, 2012
By Emma Dean
Mahdi Zarea returned to Athens last Thursday to speak at the weekly colloquium sponsored by the Condensed Matter and Surface Science (CMSS) program at Ohio University.
Currently based at Northwestern University, Zarea shared with the audience his research concerning quantum biology. The biological application of quantum mechanics helps to explain physical processes and occurrences. For those whose closest encounter with quantum physics is the snappy dialogue of The Big Bang Theory, quantum biology attempts to understand physical processes found in nature by mimicking them through simulated experiments.
Zarea focused on dephasing and quantum interface in the Photosystem I reaction center. “The ultimate goal was to make artificial molecules which look like PSI, to see if one can factionalize them in conditions at which quantum interference still persists,” said Zarea.
Photosystem I (PSI), named for being the first discovered, follows Photosystem II (PSII) at the end of an electron transfer chain. PSI utilizes electron transference as an essential role in the final stage of cellular respiration. Also, PSI is symmetrical with two nearly identical bridges whereas PSII is not.
“You see it in the tree leaves,” Zarea responded to a question posed about where the compound is located in nature. However, the compound he experimented with was concocted in the lab.
The natural compound located at the PSI reaction center has a donor molecule situated on the top and connects through bridges to a lower cluster. As chlorophyll molecules at the reaction center absorb energy, one of its electrons becomes excited and is transferred to an acceptor molecule.
Zarea’s compound is similar. In a shape comparable to a baseball diamond, the donor is located at second base with the acceptor molecule in position at home plate. The path from second to first base and first to home is the c2 bridge while the path from second to third and third to home is the c1 bridge. These bridges indirectly connect the donor molecule to the acceptor molecule.
As the donor electron fluctuates, so does the bath or surrounding environment. The energy also changes and has, as Zarea explained, noise. This noise is not an audible sound but rather the same as friction. The friction is necessary to propel the electrons along, but too much friction stalls the movement along the wave.
With two bridges, the rate of the oscillation increases from two to four via superexchange. Superexchange occurs when electrons come from the same donor and are then coupled with the acceptor’s spin.
During superexchange, the two bridges are not populated with electrons even though the two paths are possible options for the electrons. The acceptor molecule is dephased so that the transfer can only occur directly from the donor to the acceptor. The electrons move from second base and walk over the pitcher’s mound to home plate.
The donor loses electrons but the acceptor becomes more populated. After the acceptor gains a population then the bridge will begin to obtain a population as well. By reaching the acceptor, Zarea found that constructive quantum interference was then achieved.
“The compound can be used as a very sensitive chemical sensor,” said Zarea.
Zarea’s discussion initiated a series of colloquiums presented by CMSS throughout the duration of spring quarter. Following installments will take place each Thursday at 4 p.m. in room 245 of Walter Hall.
Kersell receives regional Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award
April 12, 2012
By Andrea Gibson
Heath Kersell, a doctoral student in physics at Ohio University, has received the 2012 Distinguished Master's Thesis Award from the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS). The award recognizes his research on molecular machines, a promising new area of nanotechnology.
Forty-two colleges and universities across the region nominated outstanding graduate student theses from a wide variety of disciplines. Kersell and Megan Tesene from Northern Iowa University received the award during a ceremony April 11 in Chicago. Kelly Harper Berkson from the University of Kansas received honorable mention.
"For Heath, this is a big deal professionally because his work is being recognized as significant, not just within the STEM or physics community, but as a major contribution to the body of human knowledge," said Daniel Phillips, an Ohio University professor of physics and astronomy and department graduate chair. "The award also provides external recognition that the work being done at Ohio University is competitive with work that's being done at the best universities in the country."
Phillips led the committee that nominated Kersell from the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Based on an internal selection by the Graduate Council, the Graduate College forwarded Kersell as Ohio University's nominee for the competition. Kersell is the institution's first recipient of the award in more than a decade. Past recipients have been students at schools such as Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, University of Missouri, Columbia and Purdue University, according to the association.
Kersell, who works with physics professor Saw-Wai Hla, studies the development of machines at the nanoscale, where matter behaves in unexpected ways.
"Just like other machines, they need some sort of energy to operate," he said. "My research focuses on a type of molecular rotor that's a candidate for not only a source of energy inputs for nanoscale machines, but also as a potential component for other more complicated devices under development at the molecular scale."
Kersell's work involved depositing single molecular motors on a metallic surface and operating them with electrons, Hla explained.
"Heath has done extraordinary work for his master's thesis. This is pioneering work that will result in a quantum leap for nanomachine research," said Hla, who noted that the team is working with scientists from France and Singapore on the project.
Working in the Hla lab not only led to interesting new findings in nanotechnology, but helped Kersell gain experience with the scanning tunneling microscopy equipment necessary to carry out the experiments, he said. His research also exposed him to issues in chemistry and biology, as well as physics.
That experience led Kersell to his current internship at the Argonne National Lab near Chicago, where he is building a new scanning tunneling microscope that he anticipates using for a few experiments before returning to Ohio University in the fall.
Kersell's nanoscience research has opened the door to international travel as well. While Kersell was still an undergraduate student, Hla selected him for a three-month internship at the Institute of Applied Physics at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Last year, he participated in another three-month research experience at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Both trips were funded by a National Science Foundation PIRE grant awarded to Hla and colleagues in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Kersell, a native of Logan, Ohio, began his education at the Ohio University-Lancaster campus.
"The experience at OU-Lancaster was great," he said. "The physics class had only four students, so we got a lot of personal attention from the professor."
His education and research in the applied area of nanotechnology has helped him realize a longtime dream to use science to uncover the mysteries behind the way our world works.
"I wanted to do a career that helps me find out those secrets, but also do something useful for the world," he said. "I thought that physics could do both."
See the article in its original posting by Andrea here.
Graduate Student Ginetom Diniz published in Physical Review Letters
April 11, 2012
By Gabriel Weinstein
Physics doctoral student Ginetom Diniz has thrown researchers studying the twist and spin of electrons through a new, unanticipated loop. In a recently published paper, Diniz proposes how to obtain spin-polarized currents in a carbon nanotube-DNA hybrid structure.
Diniz arrived at his finding by investigating how an electron’s spin was affected while traveling through a carbon nanotube wrapped by a DNA strand. Carbon nanotubes are made up of carbon atoms in a hexagonal pattern and then rolled into tubes. Spin is a fundamental property of every electron, just like mass and electronic charge. Electrons can be ‘seen’ as spinning either up or down. Researchers have previously studied the relationship between DNA strands and carbon nanotubes in order to facilitate the separation and classification of different kinds of nanotubes. The wrapping DNA molecule on the nanotube generates an electric field that mirrors the DNA strand’s helical structure and produces spin-polarized currents. The carbon nanotube DNA structure environment determines whether the currents’ electrons will spin either mostly up or down. Though researchers were aware that carbon nanotube-DNA hybrids generated spin polarized fields, they did not investigate how they influenced electronic spin of a passing current. The lack of research in this area intrigued Diniz.
“I was initially looking at another aspect of carbon nanotubes,” Diniz said. “But after hearing about research in this area I became interested in the idea of showing that the DNA’s wrapping pattern could identify the spin of the electron after traveling through the nanotube.”
Diniz found that electrons’ spin changes drastically because of their interaction with the helix shaped electrical field. The more wrappings of the DNA strands and the greater the length, the larger effect there is on the spin of the electron.
“Because of the electric field generated, electrons with certain spin directions will preferentially be able to get through the nanotube, this mechanism opens the possibility to build a spin filtering device or even a molecular sensor” he said.
Diniz’s findings provide scientists with another method for controlling electrons, a crucial tool as scientists aim to manipulate electron spin to create stronger, sturdier and more efficient electronic devices. He hopes to see his theory implemented in a laboratory and eventually be used in consumer devices.
“Ultimately, I hope this research will play a role in creating faster, efficient devices that consume less energy.”
Diniz collaborated with Andrea Latge of Federal Fluminense University in Brazil and Ohio University physics professor Sergio Ulloa. He also received support from the National Science Foundation’s World Network Program.
Dr. Hla Featured on the Cover of APL
April 11, 2012
By Ben White
Observing one of the most fundamental aspects of atomic interaction recently earned NQPI member Dr. Saw-Wai Hla more international attention and the cover of Applied Physics Letters.
Hla’s research, conducted with Dr. Kai Felix Braun and Dr. Aparna Deshpande, measured visually for the first time what formulas have measured for many years: the strength of interactions between very close atoms.
“Before atoms or molecules form bonds, they already see each other, and they have a number of steps,” Hla explained, comparing the relationship to that of a young couple taking the necessary steps in a relationship before marriage. The strength of the prerequisite interaction determines if the atoms bond.
In the past, researchers predicted the strength of atoms’ interactions with a mathematical formula, and the only real-life measurements had been recorded with an atomic force microscope. Hla’s research, however, offered the visual picture of the phenomenon, shedding light on such atomic interactions.
Under a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), Hla and his team placed a single atom upon a flat surface. Then, in small increments they moved the tip of the STM read head as close to the single atom as physically possible and recorded the atom’s manipulation signals. The results proved consistent with the existing formula of atomic interaction.
Hla seemed pleased that he found nothing unexpected, thereby verifying the assumed information. “You still have to see it and prove it,” he said. “That’s how science works.”
Because scientists use STM images widely in nanoscale research, Hla said this experimental technique will “add a little more flavor” to existing knowledge. Future researchers could soon use the method to study interactions between molecules, learning invaluable information in a variety of cutting-edge fields.
Hla, who recently attained full professorship at OU, spends about three quarters of his time at Argonne National Laboratory, the sprawling hub of science in Chicago run by the U.S. Department of Energy. There, he manages a team of scientists and is setting up a low-temperature STM laboratory in order to study next-generation battery storage and nanotechnology.
In 2006, Hla won OU’s College of Arts and Sciences' “Outstanding Teacher” award after arriving at OU in 2001.
NQPI chemist gives talk to general public at OU's Baker Center
March 9, 2014
By Benjamin White
Ohio University chemist and NQPI faculty member Dr. Gregory Van Patten completed one of the most challenging lectures of his career as he spoke to an eclectic mix of adults and children during a recent Science Café lecture.
The lecture, held at the Front Room Coffee House in OU’s Baker Center, drew a large number of local grade schoolers eager to learn about nanoscience. The topic of Van Patten’s talk was “the big deal of small stuff,” an explanation of the basics of the tricky world of quantum phenomena. WOUB, OU’s public access television station, taped the talk for future broadcast.
“The properties of materials can be affected as much by their size as by their actual composition,” Van Patten said in his introduction.
Throughout his lecture, Van Patten focused on the properties of ultra-small physics that change the materials’ behavior: a material’s surface area in relation to its volume, the scaling of forces and quantum mechanics. Several times, Van Patten included live demonstrations to drive his points home.
When speaking about how surface area in relation to volume can change the properties of certain kinds of matter, Van Patten told a wary audience that corn starch can be flammable. To demonstrate this, he lit a candle and placed it in a large container partly filled with corn starch. Van Patten then used an air pump to gently puff the powder into a small cloud, where it immediately produces a decent-sized fireball. “It’s all about the particle size,” he explained.
Van Patten also passed around small vials filled with two types of liquid that would not mix. One type of fluid contained tiny particles of iron (making it a ferrofluid), which reacted in various ways when manipulated with a small magnet held near the vial.
Finally, Van Patten discussed his true passion in research: quantum phenomena – quantum dots in particular. These colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals are manipulated so that they do not bond together, and they boast unique electronic and optical properties influenced not only by their composition, but also by their size and shape. These quantum dots have many potential applications, including biomedical imagine, next-generation solar panels and high-efficiency light-emitting diodes.
“When your iPad is still the same size but you can roll it up and put in in your pocket, it’s because of materials like these,” he said.
OU’s Science Café series features scientists from all discipline and included NQPI member Dr. Eric Stinaff (who lectured on quantum computing) in November. Van Patten, who was awarded OU’s Brown Teaching Award in 2004 and the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers in 2008, maintained that the audience presented a new challenge for him.
“It’s harder speaking to the general public,” he said. “It’s great to speak to kids, though -- it’s important.”
Chirality
February 11, 2012
By Gabriel Weinstein
When people first hear the word chirality, they probably think it is another abstract scientific term. But it is something we obliviously notice throughout our lives. One experiences it as a toddler waddling around with a left shoe on a right foot. It is the reason a left thumb gets trapped when it is mistakenly jammed into a right-handed glove.
Chirality, which means handedness, stems from the Greek word for hand, kheir. Scientists define chirality as any object that cannot be super imposed over its mirror image. Everyday examples of chirality are our hands and feet.
One aspect of chirality nanoscientists study is its impact on electron motion. Electrons are subatomic particles found in all atoms and molecules. Every electron has a mass, a negative charge and a property akin to ‘spinning’, called ‘spin’. As a classical top can spin around different axis, the electron spin also has different directions. Usually, electrons’ spin direction is independent of the direction of the motion in which it travels. Electron motion becomes chiral when the spin direction gets entangled with electron’s velocity. In scientific jargon, both velocity and spin are vectors: mathematical objects that describe two aspects of an object’s property. In the case of motion, a velocity vector describes speed and direction in the same footing.
Imagine watching two tilt-a-whirl rides at an amusement park. Pretend the cars on the tilt-a-whirl are electrons. The cars spin as the rides circle around in opposite directions. The motion of the cars is chiral because the directions of their spin and velocity (two independent motions) are now connected together.
When a chiral electron’s motion is changed, the direction of its spin is automatically altered. In household appliances and cars, electrons move because of forces from externally applied electric fields. In the future, scientists hope to use electrons’ charge and spin to control electrons. This will give scientists another way of controlling electron motion and information flow in electronic devices.
Professor Sergio Ulloa and his NQPI colleagues are studying how chirality affects the properties of carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes are made out of carbon atoms ordered in a honeycomb pattern. They are rolled sheets of graphene, the material that when stacked vertically like a deck of cards, makes up graphite, found in your pencil led and your dad’s golf club shafts.
Depending on how these graphene sheets are folded, nanotubes acquire a chiral structure. When the folding of the nanotubes changes, the orientation of the electrons’ velocity and spin also changes. What fascinates scientists about nanotubes is that their level of electrical conductivity strongly depends on their chiral structure.
If Ulloa unfolded one of his nanotubes, he would get another material called graphene. Graphene, like carbon nanotubes, is made up of carbon atoms organized in a honeycomb structure, however, graphene is flat. Under the right conditions, its electrons’ states can also be chiral.
Professor Nancy Sandler is studying how these chiral electron states are affected by changing the size of graphene. By applying electric currents and lasers to different graphene cuts, the NQPI group member hopes to find a graphene structure in which electrons carry information with its charge but also with its spin in a controllable manner.
Fiddling around with chirality in graphene led nanoscientists to discover topological insulators- a potentially revolutionizing material. Topological insulators are materials that only conduct electricity at certain points on its surfaces and edges. The material’s electrons are naturally chiral at the locations where it conducts electricity.
Ulloa explained topological insulators using the example of a piece of wood.
“If you had a piece of wood and cut it, you’d say ‘it’s wood,’ ” he said. “But if it is the right kind of wood and you cut it, that surface becomes conducting.”
Scientists are attempting to control electrons’ compact chiral configurations and spin directions in topological insulators to use in encryption devices and computers. This will allow them to create more robust hardware and faster computers, Sandler said.
“Materials in which we can manipulate the spin via the manipulation of their momentum…are very promising,” she said.
For thousands of years scientists have turned abstract ideas into practical solutions and products. By studying chirality and its applications in nanomaterials, nanoscientists are hoping to continue the longstanding tradition.
Recent graduate receives prestigious Hoffman award
February 3, 2012
By Benjamin White
Recent Ohio University physics graduate Kangkang Wang recently received the prestigious Hoffman Award at the American Vacuum Society’s (AVS) 58th International Symposium and Exhibition and a postdoctoral research position at Argonne National Laboratory.
Wang, who studied under NQPI director Dr. Arthur Smith, won the Hoffman Award for his research involving spin mapping of magnetic nitride surfaces and antiferromagnetic nanoscale pyramids.
“Our work is very well received,” Wang said of the distinction. “I am very happy to see that they like it and approve it. Standing on stage and receiving the award felt very good.”
By mapping the spin of magnetic nitride surfaces, Wang demonstrated how manganese atoms arrange themselves on the surface of gallium nitride. By depositing an ultra-thin layer of manganese, the surface of gallium nitride converts into a magnetic surface. Future scientists will be able to use this knowledge in the creation of spin injection devices, spintronics and high-density memories.
Wang’s recent research on antiferromagnetic nanoscale pyramids, recently published in Nano Letters, explores the details of magnetism of little surface pyramids between 20 and 100 nanometers.
Currently, Wang works as a postdoctoral researcher at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, where NQPI member Dr. Saw-Wai Hla recently accepted a position. Wang conducts cutting-edge research and pursues scientific innovations while continuing to publish papers. In the future, he hopes to become a research scientist in academia or industry.
The Hoffman Award, established in 2002, is one of five top-level “named awards” given by the AVS. Other finalists attended Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, Berkeley and Georgia. The award includes a cash prize funded by a bequest from Dorothy M. Hoffman, who served as president of AVS in 1974.
Graduate student featured on Physical Review Letters cover
January 25, 2012
By Benjamin White
Karina Avila-Coronado, an Ohio University graduate student studying physics under Professor Horacio Castillo, recently garnered the cover of Physical Review Letters – on her first published paper.
Karina's cover story, “Mapping Dynamical Heterogeneity in Structural Glasses to Correlated Fluctuations of the Time Variables” [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 265702 (2011)], showcases her research on strong fluctuations near the glass transition which are believed to be crucial in explaining much of the glassy phenomena. Much about the dynamics of the atomic configuration of glasses remains unknown, a mystery that Karina admits is one of "the deepest and most interesting unsolved problem in solid state theory."
Karina and Dr. Castillo concentrated their research on dynamical heterogeneities, the regions of the system that present different mobility with respect to each other and the whole bulk. Such research is highly theoretical but could be used in the future to create better magnetic or elastic glass materials for use in future industry.
“My research in this area, aiming to obtain further insights in their relaxation mechanisms, is very fundamental,” she said. “I hope I could contribute with my work to improve that picture.”
Though she is expecting a baby, Karina has kept herself busy by working on another paper while spending much of her time in Germany as part of a collaboration with Professor Annette Zippelius and other theorists from the University of Goettingen in Germany. After her full plate is clean and her doctorate degree is earned, she plans to continue into post-doctorate studies in a related area.
“It was important for me to see that my results had a good impact, especially because this is my first paper,” she said. “I already like my research very much and this motivates me more for working in my upcoming projects.”
Karina's cover paper can be read at http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v107/i26/e265702.
Dr. Saw-Wai Hla explains atomic nanostructures in New Professor lecture
January 22, 2012
By Ben White
Dr. Saw-Wai Hla's audience may have been somewhat different than most of his lectures, but his point remained the same: the manipulation of atoms on the nanoscale has exciting implications for many areas of science.
Hla's talk, held at Baker Center before an eclectic group of students and faculty, is part of the College of Arts and Sciences' New Professor Lecture series, which showcases the work of faculty which have recently attained professorship.
“Achieving the rank of professor is a mark of significant accomplishment,” said Howard Dewald, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences to the Post, OU's student newspaper. “It is indicative of excellent scholarship, effective classroom instruction, service contributions to the campus and the professional community.”
Hla stressed the interdisciplinary aspects of his research, focusing on the applications of his research in molecular superconductivity and nanomachines. His work with nanomachines has produced a molecular rotar which includes a ball bearing, rotator and stator which can be manipulated with an electric charge. Researchers can combine the rotars in synchronization to create larger machines.
Also included in Hla's presentation were images produced from his scanning tunnelling microscope of atoms manipulated into a smiley face and the initials “OU.”
Hla, who won the College of Arts and Sciences' “Outstanding Teacher” award in 2006, studied and worked in several European countries before arriving at OU in 2001. He recently began a joint appointment with the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago.
The quoted Post article can be found at http://thepost.ohiou.edu/content/ou-professor-smashes-atoms-molecules-together-lecture.