The hosted students, their paired PIs, and research topics may be found below:
Thomas Metke, Vanderbilt – Host PI: Todd Sulchek - Research Topic: High throughput cell separation with microfluidic devices
Cooper Thome, University of Tennessee – Host PI: Elsa Reichmanis - Research Topic: Cellulose Nanocrystal Liquid Crystal Templating of Conductive PEDOT:PSS
Michael Vander Zwaag, University of Michigan – Host PI: Kim Kurtis - Research Topic: Making "Greener" Concrete Using Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles
John Nance, University of North Carolina – Host PI: Peter Hesketh - Research Topic: Characterization of NiFe Artificial Cilia
Elizabeth Tom, University of Michigan – Host PI: Michael Filler - Research Topic: Plasmonic-Phononic Hybrid Nanowires: New Materials for Extreme Infrared Light Focusing
Yaneira Gonzalez, University of Puerto Rico – Host PI: Todd Sulchek - Research Topic: Effects of Metal Presence on the Structure, Reactivity and Transformation of Magnesium Oxides
After the conclusion of the program, the students will present talks and posters on their research and attend a joint, one day convocation on July 28th, along with the College of Engineering’s SURE REU program.
Please join us in welcoming the attendees to Georgia Tech as we host them over the 2016 summer session.
- Christa M. Ernst
]]>The 4 winning projects, from a diverse group of engineering disciplines, were awarded a six month block of IEN cleanroom and lab access time. In keeping with the interdisciplinary mission of IEN, the projects that will be enabled by the grants include research in materials, biomedicine, nanoelectronics, and packaging applications.
The Spring 2016 IEN Seed Grant Award winners are:
Awardees will present the results of their research efforts at the annual IEN User Day in 2017.
For more information about IEN cleanroom facilities, research capabilities, and collaboration opportunities please visit www.ien.gatech.edu.
]]>These new methods of communication, which can reach anyone in the world, effectively for free, spurred Dr. Michael Filler to launch the Nanovation podcast.
Although the term nanotechnology refers to the science of the small, matter at the nanometer scale, the research has broad applications across scientific and technological boundaries. Solar cells, batteries, anti-cancer drugs, smart textiles, cosmetics, concrete, and household paints are just a few of the varied products that are currently using, or may soon use, nanotechnology. According to Dr. Filler, “…the technologies that emerge from our capability to manipulate matter at ultra small scales will profoundly change everyday life. Nanotechnology is a more precise way of doing everything — making things, assembling things, measuring things, sorting things, etc. From construction and energy to health and information technology, few industries will be immune to its influence.”
The Nanovation podcast is a forum to address the big questions, challenges, and opportunities of nanotechnology. By bridging the gap between what’s happening in research labs and commercial technology development, the podcast ultimately aims to understand where the nanotechnology road leads and how it will impact society. The podcast is conversational in format and aimed at a general, yet technically-savvy audience.
Visit the Nanovation Podcast website or subscribe via iTunes.
]]>Many orders of magnitude smaller than household wires, nanowires can be made from a variety of semiconducting materials including germanium and silicon.
For years, the synthesis of nanowires has been somewhat mysterious, requiring scientists to experiment with reactor settings, modulating temperature and pressure, to see what would work best – a slow, arduous process of trial and error. “It’s been like cooking something in the oven without ever being able to look in until it’s done hours later,” explains Michael Filler, associate professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering.
However, a team working in the Filler Laboratory has gained unprecedented insight into the nanowire growth process through the use of real-time infrared spectroscopy. They found that surface species, specifically hydrogen atoms and methyl groups, decorate the nanowire’s surface and are essential for the stable growth of nanowires made from germanium.
According to the study’s findings, without the presence of hydrogen and methyl adsorbing (or adhering) to the nanowire sidewalls, the liquid droplet that sits atop the nanowire could slip, causing growth to cease. “These surface species, hydrogen and methyl molecules, act like a layer of Rain-X, keeping the droplet in place,” Filler explains.
“Our work shows that without these surface adsorbates, growth doesn’t happen. No one knew that before,” says Filler, whose research team published its findings in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. “For as long as scientists have been using this growth method – more than five decades – we didn’t know that anything was present on the wire surface.”
Now that the scientific community is aware of this key aspect of nanowire synthesis, researchers will be able to better design processes and precursors to choreograph nanowire growth, Filler says. As obstacles to the production of nanowires are overcome, they can be manufactured on a greater sale and incorporated into commercial products.
“The fundamental chemical knowledge provided in our study promises to advance the rational synthetic design of nanowire structure and function,” Filler says.
Titled “Direct Observation of Transient Surface Species during Ge Nanowire Growth and Their Influence on Growth Stability,” the study was led by Saujan V. Sivaram (PhD 2015) who collaborated with Filler, Naechul Shin (PhD 2013), and Li-Wei Chou, a former postdoctoral researcher at Georgia Tech.
Filler says their experiments provide insight into, and propose possible solutions for, long-standing challenges in selecting materials that catalyze the nanowire growth process; the delivery of impurities (e.g. phosphorous, boron) that influence electrical conduction; and the formation of heterostructures on or within nanowires, enabling better and possibly new combinations of materials.
The Filler Laboratory at Georgia Tech specializes in the synthesis, understanding, and deployment of nanoscale materials to enable new electronic, photonic, and energy technologies.
]]>
Follow this link to read more about the students and their research interests.
]]>
The Center for Understanding and Control of Acid Gas-Induced Evolution of Materials for Energy (UNCAGE-ME) is one of only 10 new Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) to be funded through the federal program and is the first EFRC to be led by Georgia Tech.
Krista Walton, a ChBE professor, will be the director for the center, which will advance the understanding of how acid gases interact with energy-related materials.
Five other ChBE professors — Christopher Jones, Michael Filler, Ryan Lively, Sankar Nair and David Sholl — and Thomas Orlando, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, also will serve as principal investigators at the center. The center will involve work at six partner institutions: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Oak Ridge, Tenn.; the Department of Energy’s largest multiprogram science and energy laboratory), the University of Florida, the University of Alabama, the University of Wisconsin, Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Washington University in St. Louis.
“The overall goal of our EFRC is to provide a fundamental understanding of acid gas interactions with a broad class of materials and establish strategies for extending material stability and lifetime,” Walton said. “These results will ultimately enable us to accelerate materials discovery for large-scale energy applications.
“Our multifaceted approach to this important problem is unique, and one of our proposal reviewers even pointed out that this will be the first research center in the world specifically dedicated to this topic.”
The awards announced on June 18 are the second round of funding for EFRCs. The 32 projects receiving funding were competitively selected from more than 200 proposals.
For more information about the EFRC program, click here.
]]>By providing a principal investigator with an award of $120,000 over two years to appoint a postdoctoral fellow in environmental chemistry, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation seeks to further the development of scientific leadership in the field of environmental chemistry.
Projects that are receiving funding involve innovative fundamental research in the chemical sciences or engineering related to the environment, including chemistry associated with the climate, the atmosphere, aquatic or marine settings, toxicology, soil or groundwater, and new or green approaches to chemical synthesis and processing, with a clearly stated relation to the environment.
Filler’s project proposes to investigate nanowire-based twinning superlattices as a new route to engineer the band structure of Si and achieve a direct band gap in this earth-abundant materials system. He anticipates that the appointed postdoctoral researcher will study superlattice synthesis with in-situ infrared spectroscopy.
After receiving his PhD from Stanford University in 2006, Filler completed a postdoctoral appointment in applied physics at the California Institute of Technology. He joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in 2009, where he focuses on the atomic-level engineering of nanoscale semiconductors for next generation energy conversion, electronic, and photonic applications.
]]>The CAREER Program offers the NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.
With Filler’s 2012 award, the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering faculty now includes 14 CAREER Award recipients.
The long-range objective of Filler’s project, “Process-Structure-Property Relationships for Rational Engineering of Semiconductor Nanowires,” is to establish an atomic-level understanding of the chemistry that governs semiconductor nanowire crystal structure and properties, as well as accelerate the timeline for realizing ultrahigh efficiency nanowire-based photovoltaic devices.
“Breakthrough renewable energy technologies could transform our energy systems and dramatically reduce their carbon footprints,” Filler says. “The insight gained during this work will enable the rational design of nanoscale components for next generation photovoltaic devices, making an important contribution to the goal of reducing global carbon emissions.”
Filler’s research focuses on the engineering of nanoscale materials for future energy conversion, electronic, and photonic applications. Additionally, he anticipates the research advancements from his CAREER grant will have applications in fields as diverse as optoelectronics, thermophysics, and photocatalysis.
“I also plan to use the funding to expand educational and outreach activities aimed at preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers for the impending shift to a renewable-based energy sector,” Filler says. He will develop lecture modules incorporating renewable energy fundamentals into the core chemical engineering undergraduate curriculum, create an upper-level comprehensive course on solar energy, and host a summer internship program for local high school chemistry and physics teachers to create solar energy-related learning modules and hands-on demonstrations.
This project was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award No. CBET-1150755). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigators and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.
]]>