John Berg: Surfaces, Colloids and Nanoscience

Current students have access to Process Simulators with embedded thermodynamic information as well as advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics simulators. Come to Benson 125 and see demonstrations of what students can do with modern-day tools. They might even solve a problem you pose!

A play on words, really, the emerging field of organic electronics will help produce some of the brightest and fastest displays of tomorrow. Current flat panel displays use either liquid crystal (LCD) or plasma technology. Organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays are brighter and faster, but achieving the proper color--especially blue--requires precise understanding of the optoelectronic properties of organic semiconductors and an ability to synthesize the materials and process them into ultra-thin films.

Interfacial interactions affect nearly every part of our lives: in the ability of a lubricating fluid to slide over a surface, or proteins to absorb and isolate a foreign surface, or an antibody to find a specific lock-and-key site on a virus. Molecular engineering those interactions involves computational chemistry and atomic force microscopy to predict, measure, and understand the nature of forces in attraction (sticking), repulsion (non-sticking), and patterned attractive-repulsive regions important in bio-recognition, biosensors, and biomaterials.

Now that the human genome has been sequenced, how do we understand how that information leads to protein expression and the myriad of functions necessary for life? This is chemical engineering on a cellular scale. Studies of simpler organisms, such as Methylobacterium extorquens AM1, help provide the clues as to how genetic information is decoded and turned into microbiological chemical factories.

Future technologies are driven by novel ideas and material properties, cost effectiveness and speed. Hence it is not surprising that Nanotechnology plays an integral part of future developments. This presentation illustrates impacts of nanotechnology and nanoscience in the area of fuel cell technology (miniaturization), optoelectronics/photonics and data storage beyond the superparamagnetic limit. The presentation is accompanied by "running" experiments utilizing an atomic force microscope.

Advances in computers have enables ever more sophisticated schemes for controlling chemical processes. One of the most powerful methods is Model Predictive Control, in which a mathematical model of the process is used to guide the behavior of the controller. This method has been applied to biological systems, municipal waste-treatment, and semiconductor materials production.

Imagine pipes, pumps, heat transfer, mass transfer, and reactions occurring in chemical plants smaller than a postage stamp! A new paradigm for chemical engineering, microchemical processing lies opposite traditional economy-of-scale approaches. The idea here is to achieve economy by making many customizable but without the weight. This makes polymeric composites ideal for aerospace and sporting goods, such as in the 7E7, where polymeric composites will be used extensively, and in stronger/lighter tennis racket handles.

Fuel cells have the potential to radically change how we get our electric power. Attend a discussion and demonstration of fuel cells and learn about their uses in automobiles, laptop computers, household power, and micro-power applications. The latest research along with possibilities and problems of fuel cells will be discussed. To develop these "plants-on-a-chip" requires thorough understanding and precise control of electrochemistry and transport phenomena at millimeter and sub-millimeter length scales.

Jim Seferis: Polynanomers and Polynanomeric Composites

Come and see the development of the material used in the 777 airplane between Boeing, Toray and the PCL.  This material is now the baseline for the exciting new development of the Boeing 7E7.  The future, however, is the concept of polynanomers currently under development where metals, ceramics, and polymers blur lines of distinction.  Applications will include not only structural materials for airplanes, but also sporting goods, food, and the management of diverse global teams for rapid implementation.