August 13, 2018,

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

Gilbert “Rip” Collins, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the University’s Institute for Matter at Extreme Energy Density, reports more exciting research developments. In a paper in the Astrophysical Journal, Rip and Mohamed Zaghoo, a research associate at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, describe their studies of metallic hydrogen — and specifically how the oceans of this material on Jupiter give rise to that planet’s enormous magnetic field. Read more here. Rip is a co-author of another paper, in Physical Review Letters, describing a new way to explore matter at increasingly high pressures using spherically converging shock waves at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Kevin Parker, the William F. May Professor of Engineering and dean emeritus of engineering, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to further refine his exciting H-scan ultrasound technology, which matches different classes of echoes from various cells and structures to different display colors. This makes it easier for clinicians to visualize and recognize subtle changes from normal to diseased tissues. The NIH funding will enable Kevin to address optimization issues to establish the technology as a viable diagnostic technique. This project will involve in-depth collaboration with the Medical Center’s departments of biostatistics and computational biology and pathology and laboratory medicine.

A collaborative effort involving four Hajim faculty members has resulted in National Science Foundation funding for a variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometer, which will provide unparalleled thin film characterization capabilities for a host of research projects. These include study of thermophysical properties of polymer thin films deposited by a unique chemical vapor deposition technique, in situ characterization of responsive coatings in biomedical devices, comprehensive characterization of two-dimensional materials for photonic devices, and the study of laser-induced damage in optical coating materials for high power laser applications. Thanks to Wyatt Tenhaeff, assistant professor of chemical engineering, and co-PIs Jaime Cardenas, assistant professor of optics; James McGrath, professor of biomedical engineering; and Alexander Shestopalov, associate professor of chemical engineering, for this winning proposal. The funding is through the Major Research Instrumentation Program, which supports the acquisition or development of a multi-user research instrument that is, in general, too costly or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. I strongly encourage other Hajim faculty members to check out this program.

Congratulations to Elysia Masters, a biomedical engineering PhD student who is co-advised by Hani Awad, professor of biomedical engineering, and Edward Schwarz, the Richard and Margaret Burton Distinguished Professor in Orthopaedics. Elysia has received a Donald M. and Janet C. Barnard Fellowship from the College of Arts, Science and Engineering. The fellowships recognize outstanding achievement by PhD students in engineering and science, as evidenced through their coursework and their dissertation research work. The fellowship provides a $3,000 stipend top-off for the 2018-2019 academic year.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman