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We’re back! With a round up of the news featured in the May issue of Materials Today. 14 May 2012

Round up of the news featured in the January-February issue of Materials Today. 21 February 2012

Interview with: Prof Jackie Ying, Editor of Nano Today. 01 February 2012

Interview with: Prof Ian Robertson from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 11 January 2012

Round up of the news featured in the December issue of Materials Today. 04 January 2012

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Exclusive partnership now offers highly specialized, durable, World-Cup-winning downhill rim

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The world’s first molecular nanotechnology company, Zyvex Technologies, and ENVE Composites announced an exclusive partnership to provide a bicycle rim specifically for downhill mountain biking that uses the latest advanced materials comprised of nano-enhanced carbon fiber. This new bicycle rim gives a significant competitive advantage to the downhill cycling market as proven during the last year in development and testing. The ENVE DH rim provides performance benefits to all downhill cyclists including those that compete at the highest levels of World Cup racing.

ENVE used Zyvex Technologies’ nano-enhanced carbon fiber technology called Arovex, which is a carbon nanotube and graphene engineered composite material that uses the proprietary Kentera technology to create chemical bonds on the carbon nanotubes. It provides an advantage in toughness without compromising strength. It also protects from fracture damage. ENVE has an exclusive license for this advanced technology for cycling applications.

ENVE developed the first nano-enhanced carbon fiber downhill bike with the intention of its riders winning a World Cup. After being in development for over a year, the rim carried ENVE sponsored rider Greg Minnaar (see photo) to victory at the 2012 World Cup opener in South Africa.

“The ENVE-Zyvex partnership introduces the first carbon fiber rim specifically designed for the downhill cyclist. During development and testing the wheels have won over 50 podiums in competitions around the world. These results validate ENVE’s success using Zyvex’s Arovex. Downhill racing is extreme in nature. The fact that these new rims have survived the most challenging tracks in the world make them truly one-of-a-kind,” noted Jason Schiers, founder of ENVE Composites.

Most notable is an unprecedented increase in durability, strength, and stiffness over traditional alloy offerings on the market. Often, top level teams will need to change rims more than 180 times during a season. World Cup downhill racing champion Steve Peat raced on one pair of the ENVE DH wheels during the entire 2011 season. Traditional aluminum rims historically lasted him a mere one to three runs.

“Nano-enhanced carbon fiber wheels are changing what people expect from a bike’s ride quality. Being the first nano-enhanced carbon fiber downhill clincher to win a World Cup is difficult. We are changing the game. The new DH rims are the best riding and the most durable rims on the market today,” concluded Schiers.

The new rim design shows significant technical and competitive advantages in this demanding market.

Some scientists believe the ability to move and combine individual atoms and molecules will revolutionize the production of every human-made object leading to a potential new technology revolution.

“The use of carbon atoms in the 21st century will be as significant as the use of silicon in the 20th century.Zyvex Technologies is the first company to globally commercialize nano-enhanced products from carbon atoms,” said Lance Criscuolo, president of Zyvex Technologies. “The value of building a $40-billion supply chain in less than four years means that partners like Composites One convey these advances to companies like ENVE that are constantly innovating products. Our advanced materials weigh less and have increased strength. We are changing the way products are manufactured and perform,” said Criscuolo.

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Zyvex Technologies and ENVE Composites Introduce the World's First Nano-Enhanced Carbon Fiber …

President Barack Obama, accompanied by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, holds a silicon wafer, as they tour the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at State University of New York at Albany’s Nano-Tech complex, Tuesday, May 8, 2012, in Albany, N.Y., with Chris Borst, assistant V.P. for Engineering and Integration. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

President Barack Obama, accompanied by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo,…

President Barack Obama and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right, tour the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at State University of New York at Albany’s Nano-Tech complex, Tuesday, May 8, 2012, in Albany, N.Y. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

President Barack Obama and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right, tour…

President Barack Obama acknowledges New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after being introduced at the University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, May 8, 2012. Photo: Mike Groll / AP

President Barack Obama acknowledges New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo…

President Barack Obama, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right, tour the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at State University of New York at Albany’s Nano-Tech complex, Tuesday, May 8, 2012, in Albany, N.Y. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

President Barack Obama, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right, tour…

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo listens at left as President Barack Obama speaks during their tour at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at State University of New York at Albany’s Nano-Tech complex, Tuesday, May 8, 2012, in Albany, N.Y. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo listens at left as President Barack…

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Obama, Cuomo bond over vision of economic future

Posted at: 05/09/2012 5:08 PM | Updated at: 05/09/2012 6:24 PM By: Andrew Murphy

By mere coincidence, Wednesday was career day at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. About 300 middle and high school students roamed around as the staff recounted their day with the leader of the free world.

Were they nervous, of course, But Chris Borst and Warren Montgomery got some great advice from the Secret Service before they guided the Presidents tour. A tour which included the Clean-Room and millions of dollars of equipment used in nano-research.

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Kids visit Nano College after Obama

ALBANY Instead of a new initiative or a dose of fresh funding, President Barack Obama used his third trip to the Capital Region to offer a “to do list” for Congress that included tax incentives and action to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling.

The Democratic President took the stage Tuesday in a half-finished clean room at the University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering to offer his election-year vision of the future.

“Now I want what’s happening in Albany to happen all across the country places like Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Raleigh,” Obama said. “I want to create more opportunities for hardworking Americans to start making things again, and selling them all over the world stamped with those proud words: Made in America. That’s the goal.”

The NanoCollege started as a bold idea several decades ago that today is helping to transform the region into a 21st century technology powerhouse.

While Obama didn’t spend much of his 22-minute speech detailing the work in the facility, the President book-ended his remarks with praise about how the NanoCollege and New York state have helped create a high-tech manufacturing sector in upstate, with billions of dollars of both government and private sector investment. The site is undergoing a $4.8 billion expansion.

NanoCollege officials are hoping the visit could help convince the Obama administration to establish a Department of Defense presence at the school, a move that would open the door to billions of dollars in additional investment.

The President made no public mention of expanding the facility, but Alain Kaloyeros, the CEO of the NanoCollege, said Gov. Andrew Cuomo pitched Obama on the idea of DOD funding as he led the President on a tour of the school’s facilities.

“The visit sets the stage for future partnerships with the federal government,” Kaloyeros said. “The federal government is the only anchor tenant that is missing here. But it’s not that we need them. They need us. There is so much that the Department of Defense could benefit from by being here.”

But there were no new proposals on the President’s “to do” list. Obama asked Congress to make it easier for homeowners to refinance their mortgages; create or extend tax credits for businesses that expand from overseas operations, hire new workers or use renewable energy; and create a job corps.

Republicans attacked the speech for its partisan tones, and criticized Obama for policies that would not apply more broadly.

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Obama, Cuomo touring Nano college

ANN ARBOR, MI–(Marketwire -05/09/12)- This month, the Naval Engineering Education Center heads south to check in on the progress being made on a collaborative project involving Tennessee State University and Florida Atlantic University where NEEC investigators and students are looking at ways to detect explosives using nano-sensor technology while protecting troops, saving lives and building the future of our engineering workforce.

Explosive devices, like Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), are responsible for a significant amount of causalities to United States and NATO forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, according to a USA Today news story published last year, IEDs accounted for more than 40% of all deaths caused during the war in Afghanistan in 2010.

“Urban warfare has changed how we deal with wartime strategies,” says Dr. S. Keith Hargrove, the NEEC Principal Investigator on the project and Dean of the College of Engineering at Tennessee State University. “Our NEEC research team is investigating methods to develop a new, improved, efficient way to detect explosives.”

According to Professor Malkani Mohan, a Co-PI on this project from Tennessee State University, “Detecting explosives is a challenging task, which is complicated by low vapor pressures, frequent introduction of new explosive compositions, and novel concealment techniques. Trace detection of explosives usually requires collecting vapor or particulate samples and analyzing them with a sensitive sensor system. Many different techniques are currently used but they are bulky, expensive and difficult to deploy.”

But this team’s collaborative approach is unique in that they investigate micro- and nano-cantilever beam sensors for detection. Micro- and nano-cantilever beam sensors offer a distinct advantage in that they are small, very responsive and very sensitive. Furthermore, their sensitivity and selectivity can be tuned by modifying the surface treatment.

Both universities are both exposing underrepresented minorities to critical engineering challenges and careers which will benefit our country and the Navy. While Tennessee State University is an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), Florida Atlantic University is a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI).

The full article that can be found at http://goneec.org/News/FeaturedResearch.aspx

The Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC) is a consortium comprised of 15 institutions of higher education and two professional societies. Our goal is to develop the next generation of civilian engineers for the Navy through project-based education, collaboration, and curriculum development.

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Nano-Sensors for Explosive Detection — University Collaboration Addresses Challenges in Explosive Detection

TORONTO, May 3, 2012 /CNW/ – University of Toronto Engineering Professor Kamran Behdinan was today named the NSERC Chair in Multidisciplinary Engineering Design. In his role, Professor Behdinan will establish real-world multidisciplinary senior design projects, which will utilize industrial collaboration and support. The projects will span all nine undergraduate engineering programs at U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

The establishment of multidisciplinary design projects will further unite design initiatives across the Faculty and encourage collaboration, design and innovation. The projects will encourage students to approach design on a national and international scale, addressing pressing issues such as sustainability.

“As the inaugural NSERC Chair in Multidisciplinary Engineering Design, I look forward to strengthening U of T Engineering students’ design education,” said Professor Behdinan. “We will encourage our students to provide innovative solutions to critical challenges that are being addressed by industry.”

Professor Behdinan is currently the Director of the newly established Institute for Multidisciplinary Design & Innovation in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering. The Institute, which opened in January, facilitates engineering student learning and industry collaboration.

As a researcher, Professor Behdinan’s focus is on improving aerospace and automotive systems by refining multi-scale simulation of nano-structured materials. He was previously the NSERC Engineering Design Chair-holder at Ryerson University. In addition, he serves as the President of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering.

“On behalf of the Faculty, I would like to congratulate and extend our gratitude to Professor Kamran Behdinan, who will bring tremendous expertise to his new role” said Engineering Dean Cristina Amon. “The support from NSERC, design faculty and industry partners are of critical importance to the Faculty, as we join efforts to enhance our multidisciplinary design education curriculum.”

The new chair was made possible thanks to the generous financial support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the following industrial sponsors: AMD, Bombardier, Cameco Corporation, Canadian Tire, Defence Research and Development Canada, Ford, Goodrich, Magna International, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Sensor Technology, Teknion, Thermodyne Engineering and the University Health Network.

“During the development of any innovation, the design stage is arguably the most important for delivering a product that meets the needs of the consumer,” said Suzanne Fortier, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). “As the NSERC Chair in Multidisciplinary Engineering Design, Dr. Behdinan is leading the integration of design education within all of the University of Toronto’s engineering departments. The students who receive training under these enhanced programs will find themselves in a unique position to understand and contribute to the needs of Canadian industries.”

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University of Toronto Engineering Welcomes New NSERC Chair in Multidisciplinary Design

Scientists say they have built a self-propelled “microsubmarine” that can scoop up oil from contaminated waters and take the droplets to a collection facility.

While environmental engineers have used bacterial dispersant to break down oil spills for decades and are developing genetically modified organisms to “eat” oil, this would be the first controllable spill-buster.

PHOTOS: Beauty of the Nano Art World

“These are autonomous self-propelled motors,” said Joseph Wang, distinguished professor of nano-engineering at the University of California, San Diego. “You can guide them back and forth to remove oil. It’s the first example of using nano-machines for environmental remediation and has opened the door to a new direction.”

The study by Wang and Maria Guix of the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology in Barcelona appears in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano. The project piggybacks off earlier experiments in the past few years in Wangs lab to build self-propelled devices to do DNA sampling and attack cancer cells in blood serum.

The new micro-subs have a special surface coating, which makes them “super-hydrophobic,” or extremely water-repellent and oil-absorbent. This new coating was applied to one of the existing micro-devices that Wangs lab had already developed.

“It’s like a big sub with a special coating,” Wang said.

The cone-shaped subs are 10 times smaller than the width of a human hair, use chemicals for fuel, and in the experiments, collected droplets of olive oil and motor oil and transported them to another area. If successful, Wang says the micro-subs could be used to clean up massive oil spills, without harming marine or coastal habitats.

PHOTOS: How NanoTech Can Make A Better You

The ultimate use for these devices could be found the 1966 sci-fi film ‘Fantastic Voyage’ in which a team of scientists (including Raquel Welch and Donald Pleasance) were put into a sub-like craft, shrunk and then injected into the human body to save a diplomat’s life, according to Thomas Mallouk, director of the Center for Solar Nanomaterials at Pennsylvania State University.

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Nano-Subs Grab and Move Oil Spills

Scientists say they have built a self-propelled “microsubmarine” that can scoop up oil from contaminated waters and take the droplets to a collection facility.

While environmental engineers have used bacterial dispersant to break down oil spills for decades and are developing genetically modified organisms to “eat” oil, this would be the first controllable spill-buster.

PHOTOS: Beauty of the Nano Art World

“These are autonomous self-propelled motors,” said Joseph Wang, distinguished professor of nano-engineering at the University of California, San Diego. “You can guide them back and forth to remove oil. It’s the first example of using nano-machines for environmental remediation and has opened the door to a new direction.”

The study by Wang and Maria Guix of the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology in Barcelona appears in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano. The project piggybacks off earlier experiments in the past few years in Wangs lab to build self-propelled devices to do DNA sampling and attack cancer cells in blood serum.

The new micro-subs have a special surface coating, which makes them “super-hydrophobic,” or extremely water-repellent and oil-absorbent. This new coating was applied to one of the existing micro-devices that Wangs lab had already developed.

“It’s like a big sub with a special coating,” Wang said.

The cone-shaped subs are 10 times smaller than the width of a human hair, use chemicals for fuel, and in the experiments, collected droplets of olive oil and motor oil and transported them to another area. If successful, Wang says the micro-subs could be used to clean up massive oil spills, without harming marine or coastal habitats.

PHOTOS: How NanoTech Can Make A Better You

The ultimate use for these devices could be found the 1966 sci-fi film ‘Fantastic Voyage’ in which a team of scientists (including Raquel Welch and Donald Pleasance) were put into a sub-like craft, shrunk and then injected into the human body to save a diplomat’s life, according to Thomas Mallouk, director of the Center for Solar Nanomaterials at Pennsylvania State University.

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Nano-subs built to grab and move oil spills

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Video: N.Y. lab creating jobs with nano-technology

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEk-Wv8DsyE

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NYS Senator Joseph A. Griffo Visits Clarkson University Nanoengineering

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjV7zClkc4k

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URI Engineering Student Develops Self Healing Concrete – Video

Wichita State Universitys Center for Innovation and Enterprise Engagement, based out of the School of Engineering, has awarded grants to help develop four high-tech projects.

The grants range from $20,000 to $50,000 and were made after recipients were picked by the centers board of directors after a competition. They were chosen for their unique ideas, potential for commercialization and likely impact on the regions economy. Some of the federal grant money will fund graduate school engineering scholarships.

The award money comes from a $2 million federal grant to promote innovation that WSU won last year. In January, the center awarded grants to Nitride Solutions, JR Custom Metal Products, TSI Technologies, Kansas State University student Isaac Spear and WSU professor Mike McCoy.

The most recent grants went to:

Fairmount Technologies, to develop a study of stretch roll forming processes using experiments and finite element analysis.

Mid-Continent Composites, for accelerated fabrication of a full-scale prototype of a unique Light Sport Aircraft.

Ocianna International, for development and expansion of mooring/anchoring technologies for maritime applications in off-shore wind and wave generators, oil and natural gas exploration/production facilities, and universal water-based off-shore construction.

The center also awarded a grant to WSU faculty member Ramazan Asmatulu, for development of nano-composite spheres for application of self-healing composite materials for wind turbine blades.

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Wichita State hands out new round of high-tech grants

Public release date: 24-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Richard Merritt richard.merritt@duke.edu 919-660-8414 Duke University

DURHAM, N.C. — Microscopic particles are being coaxed by Duke University engineers to assemble themselves into larger crystalline structures by the use of varying concentrations of microscopic particles and magnetic fields.

These nano-scale crystal structures, which until now have been difficult and time-consuming to produce using current technologies, could be used as basic components for advanced optics, data storage and bioengineering, said the research team.

“Not only did we develop the theoretical underpinning for this new technique, but we demonstrated in the lab that we could create more than 20 different programmed structures,” said Benjamin Yellen, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering and lead member of the research team. The results of the Duke experiments were published online in the journal Nature Communications.

“Despite the promise of creating new classes of man-made structures, current methods for creating these tiny structures in a reliable and cost-effective way remains a daunting challenge,” Yellen said. “This new approach could open pathways for fabricating complex materials that cannot be produced by current techniques.”

The research was supported by the Research Triangle Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.

The traditional method for creating man-made crystals is described as “top-down” by Yellen, which means they are fashioned by lithography or molding techniques, and can’t be easily created in three dimensions.

“Our approach is much more ‘bottom up,’ in that we’re starting at the level of a model ‘atom’ and working our way up,” Yellen said.

By manipulating the magnetization within a liquid solution, the Duke researchers coaxed magnetic and non-magnetic particles to form intricate nano-structures, such as chains, rings and lattices.

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Creating nano-structures from the bottom up