NQPI News Archive 2014
Hla Chairs Successful NSS-8 Conference
December 17, 2014
NQPI member Saw-Wai Hla, a professor of physics and leader of the Electronic and Magnetic Materials and Devices group at Argonne National Laboratory, co-chaired the 8th International Workshop on Nanoscale Spectroscopy and Nanotechnology (NSS-8) held July 28-31, 2014, at the Gleacher Center in Chicago.
More than 100 researchers from 15 countries attended NSS-8, which featured four plenary speakers, 24 invited talks, over 40 contributed talks and 15 poster presentations focusing on novel nanoscale materials, systems and devices.
“It was a very successful conference, both in terms of scientific discussion and the program and venue, including the outing. People really liked it. It was clearly a very beautiful location, and the attractions after the conference were great. The venue was located right next to the most beautiful part of downtown Chicago,” Hla said.
The 3½ day workshop focused on novel nanoscale materials, as well as on the techniques used to study them. Topics discussed included electronic, optical, magnetic, mechanical, and transport properties of nanoscale systems and nanoscale devices, as well as nano manipulation.
“The conference environment was stimulating in terms of scientific discussions in the latest advancements. Many of the invited speakers and contributed speakers reported great results in the latest advancements in nanotechnology and nanoscience. Many of them are leaders in their respected nanoscience-related fields,” Hla said.
Six Ph.D. students from the Department of Physics and Astronomy attended the conference: J. Perry Corbett, Heath Kersell, Kyaw Zin Latt, Sneha Pandya, Yuan Zhang and Ramana Thota. In addition to presenting their own research, the students also assisted in the conference organization and in the registration of conference attendees.
Pandya, a fifth-year Ph.D. student, enjoyed the conference as a more intimate environment to discuss her research about wide area deposition of homogenous nanoparticles using the inert gas condensation process. “It was a smaller conference focused on a specific area of research, and that’s why I liked it. In our field, you need to make contacts. We got to interact with a lot of professors and a lot of people in this field individually. It was a good experience, giving a presentation to all the people in your research area. It’s basically an exchange of science ideas,” she said.
The conference was hosted by Argonne National Laboratory and sponsored by Ohio University’s NQPI. The next installment of NSS will be held in 2016 in Asia. Previous workshops have been held in Trieste, Italy; Tokyo, Japan; Washington, D.C.; Rathen, Germany; Ohio; Kobe, Japan; and Zurich, Switzerland.
Please visit the website for more information.
Botte Unveils New Transmission Electron Microscope at CEER
December 4, 2014
After nearly $1.7 million in funding and four years of planning, NQPI member Gerardine Botte unveiled Ohio University’s new high resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM) at an open house at the Center for Electrochemical Engineering Research (CEER) in October.
The JEOL JEM 2100F TEM can perform in-situ electrochemistry analysis, making CEER the only facility in the state with a TEM that allows observation and characterization of electrochemical reactions in progress. Normally, researchers would only be able to view images of the materials before and after, not during, the electrochemical reaction.
“What we offer our clients is the know-how, the expertise, on what properties make sense from an electrochemical perspective for the process that they are designing or working with. If they want to push it to the next level, that now it becomes research and not just an analysis, we can view electrochemistry in situ,” said Botte, the Russ Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and director of CEER.
The microscope will be used to characterize new nanomaterials with applications in energy, alternative fuels, superconductors, environmental remediation and the biomedical industry by many departments in the university, including chemical and biomolecular engineering, electrical engineering and computer science, physics and astronomy and the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service.
The microscope was funded by a $1.16 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), $250,000 from the Ohio Board of Regents Technology Action Fund, and another $250,000 from the Ohio University Vice President of Research.
Many NQPI members are excited about the research opportunities presented by the much sought after piece of technology.
Botte will use the microscope to understand the synthesis of graphene from coal, the synthesis of nanomaterials for wastewater remediation, and developing catalysts for batteries.
Savas Kaya, a professor of electrical engineering and co-investigator on the TEM grant, plans to use the microscope to investigate nanowires and nanosensors for applications in optical and electronic devices.
The transmission electron microscope is well suited to the task, because it can perform the precise crystal analyses that are necessary for this research.
“It comes down to finely thinned down materials to investigate, so you can see if the analysis is coming up with the atomic structure you want without defects,” Kaya said.
Meanwhile, other NQPI members are already thinking about how the transmission electron microscope can be utilized in the future.
“We should consider running this facility as a cornerstone for work in matter characterization,” said Wojciech Jadwisienczak, an associate professor of electrical engineering.
“To achieve these goals, the facility needs to be upgraded in the future with sample preparation equipment.
Currently, the microscope facility is limited to materials not requiring prior extensive preparations. The standard sample thinning apparatus will be needed to support various research projects across campus focused on thin film materials deposited on substrate,” he said.
The journey to bring the microscope to Ohio University is now four years in the making. Botte and her team of investigators applied for the NSF grant in January 2011, and the grant was accepted in July of that year.
Immediately, Botte’s team began researching companies that could provide the transmission electron microscope. It took a year and a half to decide upon a company, send researchers to test equipment and negotiate prices.
During this time, CEER had moved to its new 20,000-square-foot facility on Mill Street. The TEM, which was originally supposed to be in Stocker Center, was also moved to CEER. This provided a unique opportunity to customize the room that would house the TEM. There are shock absorbers on the ground floor, special walls to block out noise and vibrations, and even an electrostatic cage to block out electromagnetic waves.
“The floor where the microscope is was built independently of everything else in CEER. If I start dancing in my office right now, you won’t feel the vibrations in that room,” Botte said.
Now that the TEM is in operation, Botte is looking forward to the advantages it will bring for education, research and collaboration. She is excited that her students will have access to such an advanced piece of machinery, and that researchers will not have to travel to another university to conduct research with a TEM.
“It’s going to be a tremendous asset from different perspectives. I think it is going to enable us to do in-house advanced characterization research that we couldn’t do before. In addition, I think it is going to enable our network to start working closer together,” she said.
Not only can researchers conduct analyses with the TEM, but they can also earn a certificate on how to operate the TEM.
For information on education, training and use of the TEM, contact Yuxuan Wang, microscopy and advanced instrumentation scientist, at wangy6@ohio.edu.
Chen Featured Speaker in CMSS Colloquium Series
November 15, 2014
NQPI member Jixin Chen, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, will present “Super-Resolution Fluorescence Imaging: Seeing Single-Molecule Dynamics at Interfaces” at the Condensed Matter & Surface Sciences Colloquium Series on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 4:10 p.m. in Walter Lecture Hall 245.
Abstract: Super-resolution optical microscopy/nanoscopy has greatly extended our understanding of many systems, such as living cell structures and dynamics, and catalytically hot-spots on a nanoparticle. Super-resolution techniques allow the capture of images with a higher resolution than the diffraction limit, ~250 nm for a typical fluorescence image.
In this talk, Dr. Chen will first introduce the principles of super-resolution optical microscopies, especially the single-molecule localization method. Then he will share his experience in the application of a super-resolution imaging technique in the measurement of single protein-ligand interaction, which is motivated by the pharmaceutical industry for protein separation with ion-exchange chromatography. He will also share his plan to apply super-resolution microscopy in DNA imaging and sequencing.
Livshits to Present Research on Photochromic Compounds for 3-D Information Storage
November 4, 2014
Max Livshits, a fourth-year doctoral student in chemistry, will present his research, "Photochromic Ruthenium Sulfoxide Linkage Isomerization in New Unconventional Photodiffraction Materials" at the next Nano Forum on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 4 p.m. in Clippinger 259.
The presentation is open to the public. Free pizza and beverages will be provided.
Abstract: Continued research and development of photorefractive (PR) (change in refractive index when exposed to light) materials is important to the development and implementation of 3-D information storage. Information storage in PR materials has been demonstrated by two wave degenerate mixing, where the signal wave encodes information and reference wave encodes phase. Traditional research has focused on the development of PR single crystals and polymers, which by definition must contain non-centrosymmetric space symmetry and electro-optical charge migration.
Alternatively, the Kramers-Kronig relation predicts that materials that feature large changes in absorbance (or transmittance) should also exhibit large changes in the refractive index. However the development of such materials has not been widely explored. Photochromic compounds exhibit a reversible transformation in their electronic structure between two forms (A to B), which lead to dramatic change in their absorbance. Herein, we demonstrate that photochromic ruthenium sulfoxide molecules incorporated into polymer materials are a new class of materials for 3-D information storage.
Zhang to Present STM Study of Artificial Dipolar Molecular Rotors and Dipolar Molecule Self-Assembly Mechanisms
October 30, 2014
Yuan Zhang, a doctoral student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, will present “Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Study of Artificial Dipolar Molecular Rotors and Dipolar Molecule Self-Assembly Mechanisms" at the next Nano Forum on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m. in Clippinger 259.
The presentation is open to the public. Free pizza and beverages will be provided.
Abstract: One of the goals of nanotechnology is to assemble billions of nanomachines packed in a tiny area that can be operate under control; their rotation can be synchronized and information can be coherently transferred to multiple destinations within nanometer range. Realizing this goal requires developing a system in which nanomachines can communicate with each other. Here we show that by exploiting dipolar interactions between the rotor arms of self-assembled double-decker class molecular motors in a hexagonal network, synchronized and coordinated rotations of the motors can be performed using an electric field of a scanning tunneling microscope tip as an energy source. Remarkably, all the rotors can be simultaneously rotated when the applied bias is above 0.9 V at 80K due to the degeneracy of the ground state rotational energy in the hexagonal dipole network. Below this bias, slight reorientations of individual rotors can occur. A careful analysis reveals that the rotor reorientations here are not random, but they are coordinated to minimize the energy within the hexagonal dipole network, and the rotation direction is dependent on the initial rotor alignment. This work is a step forward for the development of solid state compatible and responsive multi-component molecular machines.Molecular self-assembly happens in a pre-defined manner. Self-assembled structure and properties are pre-defined by the nature of molecular chemistry, and this imposes nanoengineering limitations. Therefore, an important objective of molecular self-assembly research is to seek possibilities to control or even alter molecular self-assembly processes. To achieve this goal, a comprehensive understanding of the forces responsible for the individual molecules to self-assemble is required. By introducing a slight atomic modification (replacing two hydrogen atoms with two fluorine atoms), 6Ps self-assembly structure can be completely altered. The assembly structures of two isomers meta-2F-6Ps and ortho-2F-6Ps reveals that by positioning two fluorine atoms at different sites isomer molecule assembly behavior can be altered completely. This study reveals that atom-atom interaction at interfaces plays a more dominant role over the localized dipole interactions in this system.
Solar Hydrogen Production Topic of Next Nano Forum
October 21, 2014
Mayur Sundararajan, a doctoral student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, will present "Solar Hydrogen Production using Nanoporous Glasses" at the next Nano Forum on Tuesday, October 28, at 4 p.m. in Clippinger 259.
The presentation is open to the public. Free pizza and beverages will be provided.
Abstract: Hydrogen has many advantages as a fuel source such as zero emission, renewability, clean. Even though it is abundant, it occurs mostly in the form of compounds in nature. This means there is an expense of energy to generate hydrogen as a fuel. Solar energy is non-exhaustible and clean, so it can be used to split the compound and generate hydrogen. One of the techniques for obtaining hydrogen by solar energy is splitting up of water by photocatalysis which is a photo induced chemical reaction. These photocatalysis occur due to the presence of semiconductors known as photocatalysts. Photocatalysts exist in many different forms, using them in the form of nanoporous glasses expands the range of materials that can be used for this technique. Optical bandgap of the photocatalyst plays a vital role in the efficiency of solar water splitting application. Some interesting properties of nanoporous glasses can be used to tune the bandgap of the photocatalyst and increase its efficiency.
Khorashad Presents Research on Optical Properties of Complex Plasmonic Studies
October 14, 2014
Larousse Khosravi Khorashad, a doctoral student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, will present his research, “Theoretical and Computational Study of Optical Properties of Complex Plasmonic Studies,” on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. in Clippinger 259.His Nano Forum talk, which covers the research for his dissertation, will cover an introduction of how plasmonic structures can be simulated computationally with computers.
“In my talk, I will discuss basic electrodynamics of the system, which is applied to most of the plasmonic structures. I will also discuss how we can apply theoretical equations for computational analysis. The exact analytical calculations are available for some specific and simple geometries like spheres and cylinders, but it cannot be generalized to any arbitrary geometry.
“Then I will introduce four different computational schemes to be able to study the physics of complex plasmonic structures with arbitrary geometry. I will apply these computational schemes to study two complex plasmonic structures,” he said.
Khorashad’s talk will then move on to theoretical and numerical studies of complex nano-structures, such as nano-ring geometries composed of metallic nano-spheres and nanorods.
“Then I will talk about the building blocks of plasmonic structures such as rings of nanoparticles and also nanorods. We will theoretically and computationally study these two structures and compare our results with experiments for the plasmonic nano-rings,” he said.
Plasmonic nanorings have unique optical properties, including collective plasmon modes in the visible spectrum and high artificial magnetic resonance. Meanwhile, nanorods are useful in measuring circular dichroism, which is the differential absorption of left and right circularly polarized light.
The presentation is open to the public. Free pizza and beverages will be provided.
Abstract: Research on plasmonics science and study of optical properties of photonic devices at the nano-scale have become extremely demanding over the past few decades owing to the introduction of innovative plasmonic devices and their vast applicability. The quest for light manipulation in metallic nanostructures has grown greatly due to the creation of novel optical devices for applications ranging from metamaterials and cloaking to optical sensing and plasmonic waveguides. In this talk, I will present theoretical and numerical studies of complex nano-structures such as nano-ring geometries composed of metallic nano-spheres, and nanorods. We used the point dipole approximation, discrete dipole approximation, and finite element method for computational implementations. For each of the structures, we have obtained the plasmonic resonance modes. In the case of the nano ring, we have compared our results with experiment. Our simulation is in good agreement with the experimental measurements.
Botte to Teach at European Summer School on Electrochemical Engineering
October 7, 2014
An NQPI member has been selected to teach at the 7th annual European Summer School on Electrical Engineering.
Gerardine Botte, the Russ Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, will teach at the prestigious program, which will be held June 21-25, 2015, in the Netherlands.
The summer school program is held once every three years by the European Federation of Chemical Engineers to teach Ph.D. students and young researchers about advanced concepts in the field of electrochemical engineering.
Meanwhile, Botte was also named a fellow of The Electrochemical Society over the summer.
The award was established in 1989 for advanced individual technological contributions in the field of electrochemical and solid-state science and technology, according to The Electrochemical Society.
“It’s the highest honor that anybody could get in the society. I thank my students, because they are so passionate about my research. It has enabled this success,” Botte said.
NQPI Member Shares Knowledge of New Library Exhibit
October 2, 2014
NQPI Member Katherine Cimatu, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was quoted about her knowledge of a new collection at Ohio University’s Alden Library.
The Jeanette Grasselli Brown Collection features personal correspondence, photographs, speeches, books, honors, and scientific papers from Dr. Brown, who graduated from Ohio University in 1950.
Dr. Brown worked in research and management at Standard Oil, where she created jobs for women who wanted to work and have a family. Her research at Standard Oil focused on alternative energy sources, like fuel cells, electric cars and solar energy.
Brown also worked in the field of spectroscopy, the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Cimatu, who considers Brown one of her role models, also conducts research in spectroscopy.The exhibit is located on the fifth floor of Alden Library in the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections. The Mahn Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
You may view the Ohio University Compass article here.
Alhashem to Present Research at First Nano Forum of 2014-2015
September 25, 2014
Zakia Alhashem has plenty to celebrate. This third-year physics Ph.D. student has recently completed her master’s thesis and will now present the results of her research at the first Nano Forum of the 2014-2015 school year.
Alhashem will present “Growth and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies of Novel Trench-Like Formation and Relation to Manganese Inducted Structures on w-GaN (0001)” Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 4 p.m. in Clippinger 259.
Her research seeks to understand how the trench-like structure forms on GaN (0001) surfaces. In previous research, this structure was believed to have formed because of Manganese (Mn) deposition. However, Alhashem believed that the structure was caused by annealing.
To test her hypothesis, Alhashem grew GaN samples on sapphire (0001) substrates using ultra high vacuum molecular beam epitaxy. Growth was monitored using a reflection high energy electron diffraction system, and STM images were taken using a tungsten tip under a constant current condition.
Alhashem observed the trench-like structure on the GaN sample annealed at 800 degrees Celsius, but she did not observe the structure on the non-annealed GaN sample that underwent Mn deposition.
“It’s confirmed that Mn deposition is not required to form the trench-like structure, but annealing the sample at a high temperature is the main requirement to form the trench-like structure on w-GaN (0001),” she said.
NQPI Member to Introduce Particle Fever
September 22, 2014
NQPI Member David Ingram, chair of the Physics and Astronomy Department, will introduce an encore screening of Particle Fever Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m. at the Athena Cinema in downtown Athens.
Particle Fever is a 2013 documentary about a group of scientists and their hunt for the Higgs boson, also known as the God particle.
The screening is free to the public, but seating is limited. Members of the public are encouraged to arrive early.
For more information, visit the Athena Cinema website.
New Process Allows Ohio Coal to Produce Graphene
September 20, 2014
At 200 times stronger than steel and only one atom thick, graphene is both the hardest existing substance and the thinnest material ever obtained. Graphene is light, bendable, transparent, and extremely conductive.
“Graphene has excellent properties. The market applications are enormous,” said Gerardine Botte, the Russ Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and director of the Center for Electrochemical Engineering Research (CEER), during her Physics and Astronomy Colloquium presentation Friday Sept. 12 in Walter Hall.
Because of its unique combination of properties, graphene holds promise for any number of nanomaterial applications from electrochemical electrodes in lithium ion batteries to solar cells. It’s no wonder this novel substance has been labeled the “wonder material.”
“So if it is so exciting, if it has all these different market properties, what is the problem? Why aren’t we using it every day?” Botte asked.
While graphene has amazing potential for applications in nanotechnology, it also has an amazingly high cost. The current cost of bulk graphene is estimated to be $230 per kilogram. In order to be used for market applications, graphene would need to cost around $11 per kilogram, according to BCC Research.The high cost of graphene is linked to the cost of graphite, which has risen from $1,000 per ton in 2009 to $3,400 per ton in 2014. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms, extracted from graphite, so as the cost of graphite rises, so does graphene.Botte’s research team has come up with a novel solution to retrieve graphene without the high cost of graphite. They can use coal electrolysis to extract graphene from coal char. She calls it C2G, or the Coal to Graphene process.
“The beautiful thing about using coal, because coal has such a small price compared to graphite, is we can get the price of graphene to under $11 per kilogram,” she said.
Coal electrolysis is a process used to convert coal to hydrogen, liquid fuels, and high-value products with carbon capturing.
“What we’re doing is we’re manipulating the surface of the coal by introducing hydrogen that creates aromatic compounds. We’re basically aromatizing the coal. When you heat the coal with this layer, those aromatic compounds lift the coal and now become graphene. They synthesize. It grows,” Botte explained.
Since Ohio has a strong coal industry, Botte has already partnered with the Ohio Coal Development Office to refine and optimize the C2G synthesis process. This research is slated to begin a Phase 2 in November.If successful, Botte’s team has plans to turn CEER into a production facility that will sell graphene samples commercially through its website and trade shows. This should accelerate the commercialization of the technology by leading to a commercial partnership with Ohio University.
In addition to creating a new use for Ohio coal, Botte is also excited by another benefit of the C2G process: the ability to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.“It’s a new market and industry for Ohio Coal. It could bring the cost of graphene to the commercial needs, and it is helping to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. One of the ways is that we’re not funneling coal into power plants. Instead of using the coal to burn it, now you use coal to create a material that is more efficient than other materials. So you can save energy,” she said.
Botte to Present Research on "Coal to Graphene" Process
September 9, 2014
NQPI Member Gerardine Botte, the Russ Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and director of the Center for Electrochemical Engineering Research, is Friday’s featured Physics and Astronomy Colloquium Series speaker.
Her presentation, “Graphene from Coal Char: Synthesis and Applications,” summarizes her research group’s development of a new technology to extract graphene from coal.Abstract: Graphene continues to emerge as the most promising nanomaterial due to its unique combination of superb properties, which opens the way for its exploitation in a wide spectrum of applications ranging from nanoelectronics, composite materials, sensors to electrochemical electrodes in lithium ion batteries, solar cells, transparent electrodes, energy cells, barriers, heat radiation, conductive inks, capacitors, ultracapacitors, etc. Despite its superb properties, the use of graphene is limited by cost. Currently, graphene is being produced from graphite. Graphite utilizes an expensive process that has contributed to the limited use of graphene. Additionally, there are limited sources for graphite in the United States; with 70 to 80 percent coming from China. To confront these issues, Botte and members of her research group are working on the development of a new process, the “Coal to Graphene” process. In this talk, a summary of the development of the technology and the process will be presented along with the characterization of the material and its performance in different electrochemical devices.
The presentation will be held Friday, Sept. 12, at 4:10 p.m. in Walter 245.
NQPI Members Present the Science of Music at Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery
September 7, 2014
Two NQPI members participated in a special Physics Day presentation about the Science of Music at the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery on Saturday, Sept. 6.Martin Kordesch, a professor in Physics and Astronomy, presented “From Mouthpiece to Bell: The Shapes of Wind Instruments."
Eric Stinaff, an associate professor in Physics and Astronomy, presented “Shattering Glass with Sound.”
Located within the Market on State Street, the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery in a non-profit museum with interactive exhibits for children and their family.
To view a video of Stinaff's demonstration on how to shatter glass, visit the NQPI Facebook page.
Malinski Receives Fourth Doctor Honoris Causa Award
August 29, 2014
An NQPI member earned his fourth Doctor Honoris Causa award this summer in his home country of Poland.
Tadeusz Malinski, the Marvin & Ann Dilley White Professor of Biomedical Sciences, earned the award June 3 from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan for his contributions to biomedical engineering.
Malinski gave a lecture entitled, “Nanomedicine: An Inside Look into the Pyramid of Life,” to more than 300 people from a dozen countries.
For more information, visit the Ohio University College of Arts & Sciences Forum story.
SP-STM5 a Success!
July 30, 2014
The fifth Spin-Polarized Scanning Tunneling Microscopy international conference brought a wealth of knowledge to the SP-STM community. Scholars from around the world heard information from 25 speakers and 15 poster presentations during the four-day conference held July 15-19 at the Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron, Ohio.
"The conference was a great success, in large part to the significant hard-working efforts of the conference staff -- Kay Kemerer, Angie Faller, Jeongihm Pak, and Erin Noell. Of course its success also hinged on the outstanding invited speakers, which were recommended by the international program committee," said Arthur Smith, conference chair and professor of physics at Ohio University.
"I have received very positive comments about our conference. We had a great technical program and a highly successful networking excursion. The Sawmill Creek staff as well took very good care of us. You know it is a memorable event when you return home and already you regret that it is over. I had that feeling," Smith said.
SP-STM5 topics focused on SP-STM theory and simulation, generalized scanning probe microscopy techniques being applied to study nanomagnetics and nanospintronics, and SP-STM instrumentation and special techniques.
J. Perry Corbett, an Ohio University graduate student in physics and astronomy, said that he enjoyed the chance to discuss international politics with conference attendees from Europe and Asia.
“My favorite presentation was Ileana Rau’s, and my favorite poster was Tobias Markl’s,” Corbett said. Rau, of IBM, presented a paper entitled “Toward Single Atom Magnets,” while Markl, of Physikalisches Institut in Germany, presented a poster on “Beyond Uniaxial Anisotropy Hamiltonian: Finding a Stable System.”
“I really liked the theoretical work as a function of the element. It’s an efficient way to search for magnetic particles,” Corbett commented.
Rau also enjoyed the diversity of the conference presentations.“I thought it was great. I really liked the talks. They were the perfect length. It was a nice mix of topics. Some I was quite familiar with, and some I got to expand out of my area. It was nice to have it at a beautiful place where you can see green scenery,” Rau said.
The conference included a visit to South Bass Island and the village of Put-in-Bay. South Bass Island is the site of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Conference members took a tram tour of the island and visited the Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial.
The conference ended with a banquet and special presentation by Eric Lapp, an engineer at Cedar Point, who discussed the physics of roller coasters.In his closing remarks, Conference Chair Art Smith thanked NQPI and Ohio University for sponsoring the conference.
“This conference helped NQPI's ongoing mission to realize international collaborations, conferences, and workshops. What’s next for SP-STM? There are many new and exciting things on the horizon, and we will see in the next two years!,” Smith said.
The next SP-STM conference will be held in Japan in 2016.To view a slideshow of images from SP-STM5, please visit www.spstm.org.
NQPI Member Chairs Upcoming NSS-8 Conference!
July 24, 2014
An NQPI member is organizing the 8th International Workshop on Nanoscale Spectroscopy and Nanotechnology (NSS-8), which will be held at the Gleacher Center in Chicago from July 28-31. NSS-8 is a biennial meeting series that shares the latest research advances of science and technology in the nanometer regime.
The conference is being organized by Saw-Wai Hla, a professor of physics at Ohio University and leader of the Electronic and Magnetic Materials and Devices group at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois.
The conference is being hosted by Argonne National Laboratory, and sponsored by Ohio University’s NQPI, which is also sponsoring the travel of six physics and astronomy graduate students to the conference: J. Perry Corbett, Heath Kersell, Kyaw Zin Latt, Sneha Pandya, Yuan Zhang, and Ramana Thota.
This 3 ½ day workshop will have sessions focused on novel nanoscale materials, as well as on the techniques used to study them. Topics include electronic, optical, magnetic, mechanical, and transport properties of nanoscale systems and nanoscale devices, as well as nano manipulation.
“Nanoscale materials are at the forefront of current research, as well as the keystone for whole new classes of applications. Research discussed at this conference might lead to more powerful cell phone batteries, intelligent molecular machines, or even a better understanding of how bacteria react to antimicrobial agents,” said Volker Rose, NSS-8 co-chair and a physicist in the X-ray Microscopy Group at Argonne National Laboratory.
Keynote speakers include Maki Kawai, a researcher at RIKEN, Japan; Peter Littlewood, the director of Argonne National Laboratory; Edward Vicenzi, a research scientist at the Smithsonian Institute; and Roland Wiesendanger, a professor at the University of Hamburg, Germany.
Previous workshops have been held in Trieste, Italy; Tokyo, Japan; Washington, D.C.; Rathen, Germany; Ohio; Kobe, Japan; and Zurich, Switzerland.
Please visit the NSS-8 website for more information.
SP-STM5 Kicks Off in Huron!
July 16, 2014
The highly anticipated SP-STM5 Conference began Tuesday at Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron.
The first full day of SP-STM5 on Wednesday featured talks on magnetic skyrmions studied with spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) techniques, the benefits of Joule-Tomson Scanning Probe Microscope, the emergence of classical behavior in magnetic adatoms, and two-dimensional Manganese Gallium quantum height islands with one-dimensional atomic chains.Wednesday also featured poster sessions by:
1. Zakia Alhashem of Ohio University: STM Study of Trench Formation on N-polar GaN (0001)
2. Tobias Markl of Physikalisches Institut: Beyond Uniaxial Anisotrophy Hamiltonian: Finding a Stable System
3. Ilya Drozdov of Princeton University: Search for Majorana Fermions in Chains of Magnetic Atoms on a Superconductor
4. Andrew Foley of Ohio University: First Results for Custom-Built Low-Temperature (4.2 K) Scanning Tunneling Microscope/Molecular Beam Epitaxy and Pulsed Laser Epitaxy System Designed for Spin-Polarized Measurements
5. T. Kawagoe of Osaka Kyoiku University: STM/STS Studies of Ultrathin Pd(001) films on Au(001)
6. K.A. Ziq of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals: On the Magnetic and Superconducting State of FeSe Superconductor
Q & A Session with Outstanding Dissertation Award Winner Andrew DiLullo
June 18, 2014
Andrew DiLullo is the second recipient of the NQPI Outstanding Dissertation Award for his dissertation entitled “Manipulative Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Molecular Spintronics.”
DiLullo is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the Electronic and Magnetic Materials and Devices Group in the Nanoscale Sciences and Technology Division at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Ohio University in 2013, where he worked with Saw-Wai Hla, a physics professor and DiLullo’s dissertation adviser.
Q: What were your thoughts upon learning you won the Outstanding Dissertation Award?
A: I was really excited when I was notified that I was selected for the NQPI Outstanding Dissertation Award! It is a great honor, considering the excellence of the work of my fellow Ph.D. students. Also, it meant to me that a number of the NQPI faculty members considered the work I spent much time on to be of a high quality and argued its, and my, merits — which I think would make any person feel a bit proud and very grateful.
Q: Can you describe your award-winning dissertation?
A: The most interesting research I presented in my dissertation was an experimental study of the electromagnetic properties of covalently linked individual molecular units containing single magnetic atoms, which form larger ‘macromolecular’ systems containing multiple magnetic atoms. These macromolecular systems were formed by a surface supported chemical reaction - where all molecules were confined to the 2-D plane of a metallic substrate. The macromolecules I studied were linear, resulting in magnetic cobalt atoms linked through an organic molecular framework.
Q: What are the major findings of your research?
A: I found that the magnetic interaction, as measured experimentally through scanning tunneling microscopy, varied as the number of molecular (and thereby magnetic) units in each ‘chain’. These results alone do not lead directly to any practical application, however many scientists believe that molecular magnetic systems will be useful in, among other areas, electronic devices such as computer processors or data storage. There are many reasons for the interest that some researchers, including myself, have in molecular systems. I do plan to continue research toward the development of functional molecule-based magneto-electronic devices as I progress in my career.
Q: Are there any faculty members at Ohio University that were particularly helpful in your dissertation?
A: Of course my advisor, Prof. Saw-Wai Hla, was instrumental in the planning and support of my dissertation research. I can hardly say enough of the opportunities and guidance that he has afforded me, such as planning and supporting my research at the University of Hamburg and Freie University in Berlin through the NSF PIRE (National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education) grant, and in directing my research ambitions towards truly interesting projects.
Q: What will you do with your $500 in prize money?
A: I’d like to say that I’d spend the award money on something fun, but it will probably trickle into paying some debt and eventually saving for a home.
Q: What are your future career plans?
A: After my postdoctoral appointment at Argonne, and possibly a second postdoctoral period elsewhere, I would most like to find a position as a university professor. Both scientific research and teaching are extremely challenging and rewarding activities that promote a lifestyle of continuous learning and experimentation. I don’t think, for me, that there is any more enjoyable career path if I am fortunate enough to be able to succeed.
Weaver Wins NASA Fellowship Two Years in a Row
June 2, 2014
NASA has set a goal of humans setting foot on Mars during the 2030s. One day, that interplanetary space voyage could be made safer by the research of an Ohio University student.
Matt Weaver, a senior electrical engineering major in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, is the two-time recipient of NASA’s Space Technology Research Fellowship. The grant is awarded to student research with significant promise to contribute to NASA’s goal to create innovate space technologies.
Weaver has been conducting nanoengineering research with NQPI Member Wojciech Jadwisienczak, an associate professor of electrical engineering, for three years. They are developing a boron nitride-based nanomaterial, a phosphor that will generate deep ultraviolet light (UV), which can be used in water treatment and sterilization.
“The idea is to develop a material which will glow in deep UV light spectrum. There is a need for using UV for multiple purposes. One is disinfection. UV is a harmful radiation. At the same time, it can be very useful, because any object that absorbs energy can be disruptive to the DNA. The system is established using mercury-based technology,” Jadwisienczak said.
NASA’s interest in this project comes from the potential benefits to deep space travel. In essence, the light disrupts the DNA of living organisms, like viruses and bacteria, which prevents them from reproducing.
The new phosphor could one day replace mercury, a neurotoxin that is used in fluorescent lamps and to recycle wastewater into clean water. The new phosphor could allow water to be treated without the potentially harmful effects of mercury-based technology, which would be far safer for astronauts in deep space travel.
“If a mercury-based, ultraviolet lamp breaks and it vents mercury, when you are in the middle of space, and you have nowhere to go. You are in trouble,” Weaver explained. “On top of that, mercury lamps are more susceptible to ionization energy that is found in deep space travel. Humans do not have the layers of atmosphere to protect us from ionization energy in space like we do on Earth. Boron nitride is not as susceptible to ionization, so the risk is lessened.”
This research is still in the development phase, where Weaver has been using a ball mill purchased with his $4,000 in NASA fellowship money and additional funding from Russ College to learn how to produce a higher quality boron nitride in a more efficient and cost effective way.
In order to create the phosphor, the researchers grind boron nitride (BN) down to a manageable nanoscale, mix the material with ethanol to produce an “ink” that is then heated. The heat converts the material into a crystalline material, the BN phosphor, and produces UV light under impact excitation.
The group has also been testing which one of four applications to substrates is best used to create the phosphor materials for testing in the deep UV-spectrum, which will hopefully be used to replace mercury technology in fluorescent lamps in the future.
Jadwisienczak has plans to continue this research with his other student researchers. Meanwhile, Weaver has accepted a position as an electrical and systems engineer at RoviSys, a company that provides comprehensive process automation solutions and services, in Aurora, Ohio.
NQPI Member Will Spend Summer Conducting Research in Canada, China and Singapore
June 2, 2014
After winning two prestigious awards and a visiting professorship, one NQPI member will spend his summer vacation traveling to Canada, China and Singapore to conduct research.
Alexander “Sasha” Govorov, a professor of physics and astronomy at Ohio University, was appointed to the Chang Jiang Chair Professorship of the Scholar Program of the Ministry of Education of China for 2014 to 2017. Each year, 100 distinguished professors are appointed to the program. The recipients must have a high more standard, serious attitude on doing research, and personal integrity.
In May, Govorov will travel to two research institutes in China, the Institute of Semiconductors of Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing and the University of Electronic Science and Technology in Chengdu, to begin collaboration on research projects concerning nanostructures made with lithography and molecular beam epitaxy.
He will then spend June and July in Montreal at INRS (Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique), one of the top-ranking scientific research institutions in Canada, studying ways to optimize quantum dots made from special materials.
Govorov is also the recipient of the 2014 Jacques-Beaulieu Excellence Research Chair Award. Created by the INRS Energy Materials Telecommunications Research Centre, this award seeks to foster cutting-edge research in optics, photonics, telecommunications, advanced materials and energy.
“This research centre works a lot on solar energy and tailored injecting rates of carriers. We already have one paper together on solar cells with special properties. We use nanostructures, namely quantum dots, of certain compositions that are made from special materials. We try to optimize these materials and find materials of the right properties. This is a very challenging task, to make it efficient. Materials don’t allow us to create solar cells yet with a high efficiency. It is an unsolved challenge,” he said.
Finally, Govorov will travel to Singapore in August for a visiting professorship at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, a research-intensive public university with more than 32,000 students, where he will conduct research on light emitting diode (LED) devices.
NQPI Announces Winners of the CMSS/NQPI Joint Poster Session
April 22, 2014
NQPI is proud to announce the winners of the CMSS/NQPI Joint Poster Session held April 17 in Clippinger Laboratories. There were a total of 42 posters presented by student researchers.
Graduate Student Category Group 1
First Place is awarded to Khan Alam, Andrew Foley, Wenzhi Lin, Joseph Corbett, YingQiao Ma, Jeongihm Pak, and Arthur Smith for their poster entitled “Direct Observations of Frozen GA Gas on Wurtzite GaN (0001) Surface Using Low Temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscopy.”
Second Place is awarded to Katharine Schleich, Jennifer Bowman, Natalie Kruse, Amy Mackey, Darcy VanDervort, Rebekah Korenowsky, and Dina Lopez for their poster entitled “The Effects of Remediation on an Acid Mine Drainage Remediated Stream in Southeastern Ohio.”
Graduate Student Category Group 2
First Place is awarded to Mahmoud Asmar and Sergio Ulloa for their poster entitled “Spin Dependent Scattering in Graphene: From Impurity Characterization to Birefringent Electron Optics.”
Second Place is awarded to Sudiksha Khadka and Shrouq Aleithan for their poster entitled “Thinning of MoS2 Flakes Down to a Few Layers Using Lasers.”
Graduate Student Category Group 3
First Place is awarded to Sean Krupa, David Nippa, Lee Oesterling and Eric Stinaff for their poster entitled “Entangled Photons for Data Security.”
Second Place is awarded to Lei Wang, Maksim Livshits and Jeff Rack for their poster entitled “Altering Excited State Dynamics and Photoproduct Yields in Ru Sulfoxide Complexes.”
Graduate Student Category Group 4
First Place is awarded to Ramana Thota and Eric Stinaff for their poster entitled “Tunable Exchange Interaction and Fine Structure Studies of Quantum Dot Molecules.”
Second Place is awarded to Rami Amro and Alexander Neiman for their poster entitled “The Role of Bidirectional Coupling in Bullfrog’s Saccular Hair Cells.”
Graduate Student Category Group 5
First Place is awarded to Andrada-Oana Mandru, Jeongihm Pak and Arthur Smith for their poster entitled “Mechanical Deformation Analysis of Human Breast Cancer Utilizing Novel Micro Fluidic Devices.”
Second Place is awarded to Sneha Pandya and Martin Kordesch for their poster entitled “Wide Area Distribution of Homogeneous Nanoparticles Using Multiple-Hole Inert Gas Condensation Process”.
Undergraduate Student Category Winners
First Place in Group 1 is awarded to Sarah Maj, Dina Lopez, Natalie Kruse, Katharine Schleich and Jen Bowman for their poster entitled “Acid Mine Drainage from Abandoned Mines is Discharged into Hewett Fork Stream Located in Raccoon Creek Watershed. This Study Examines the Reaction Rate of Fe II to Fe III and Preciptation of Iron Minerals Along the Stream after Alkalinity Additions with a Doser.”
First Place in Group 2 is awarded to Samuel Johnson, Hugh Richardson, Arwa AlAulamie and Susil Baral for their poster entitled “Nanoscale Temperature Resolution through Erbium Oxide Photoluminscence.”
First place winners of the Graduate Student category will receive $200, and second place winners will receive $100. In addition, the first place winners of the Undergraduate Student category will receive $150.
NQPI Student Researchers Win Awards at Ohio University's 2014 Student Expo
April 22, 2014
NQPI would like to congratulate its student researchers who received awards during Ohio University’s 2014 Student Expo:
Austin Way received first place at the Student Expo for his presentation on photovoltaics by plasma sputtering.
Joseph Corbett, 2nd place, Physics and Astronomy, Smith Group
Helen Cothrel, 1st place, Physics and Astronomy, Stinaff Group
Komal Garg, 1st place, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Rack Group
Chandrasiri Ihalawela, 1st place, Physics and Astronomy, Chen Group
Andrada-Oana Mandru, 1st place, Physics and Astronomy, Smith Group
Ameneh Mohammadalipour, 1st place, Physics and Astronomy, and 1st place, Environmental Biology, Tees Group
Vedasri Vedharathinam, 1st place, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Botte Group
Santosh Vijapur, 1st place, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Botte Group
Austin Way, 1st place, Physics and Astronomy, and Office for Multicultural Student Access and Retention (OMSAR) General Winner, Kordesch Group
More than 800 students from 56 departments presented their research on April 10 in the Ohio University Convocation Center.
Visit this page to view a question and answer session with one of our winners, Austin Way, an undergraduate physics and astronomy student, about his experience at the Student Expo.
NQPI Member Leads First National Science on Screen Night
April 4, 2014
In the 1973 film Soylent Green, the New York City of 2022 is a desolated wasteland of 40 million desperate and starving people. Thanks to the devastating effects of greenhouse gases and air pollution, fresh food, clean water, abundant power, and air conditioning are things of the past to all but a few of the most wealthy.
The film was shown as part of the Science on Screen program at the Athena Cinema, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which gives grants to independent art theatres to pair science-related films and documentaries with lively introductions by notable scientists.
Gerri Botte, a Russ professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, introduced the film by discussing her work with clean, renewable energy sources and technologies, including converting human wastewater into hydrogen for use in fuel cells. The popular media have colorfully dubbed research that harnesses power from urine as the “pee to power” movement.
“We all use water. Do you ever wonder what happens to that water after you use it? It comes back to us, after it is treated, but it takes a lot of power to clean water,” Botte said, explaining that wastewater treatment plants consume 3% of the electricity in the United States. That’s enough power to cover 8.25 million homes in the U.S.
The biggest drain of power comes from the removal of ammonia during the water treatment process, which accounts for roughly 60% of the energy needed to treat water. Botte’s solution to the problem is the GreenBox, an electrical machine that allows the removal of ammonia from water while producing an alternative and green fuel.
Botte estimates that GreenBox technology could one day transform wastewater treatment by reducing energy consumption by up to 80% and cost by 55%.
Her Athens-based company, E3 Clean Technologies, is currently creating a mobile system of GreenBoxes that can travel in a van to local wastewater treatment plants and water sources.
“No other technology can do this. This is the GreenBox,” she said.
March 31 represented the first national Science on Screen event in which 17 independent cinemas across the country featured a presentation by a scientist, followed by a film focused on scientific or technological themes.
The Athena Cinema’s next Science on Screen event will feature a talk by NQPI Member David Ingram, chair of the physics and astronomy department, and a screening of Particle Fever, a 2013 documentary about a group of scientists and their hunt for the Higgs boson, also known as the God particle, during the 41st Annual Athens International Film + Video Festival on April 15.
Foley and Pandya to Present at Final Nano Forums of the Year
March 30, 2014
The third Nano Forum of the year will feature Andrew Foley, a doctoral student who also works in Arthur Smith’s Group, who will speak on “First Results for Custom-Built, Low-Temperature (4.2 K) Scanning Tunneling Microscope/Molecular Beam Epitaxy System Designed for Spin-Polarized Measurements” on April 8.
The final Nano Forum of the academic year will feature Sneha Pandya, a doctoral student working with Martin Kordesch. This will be held on April 22 at 4 p.m. Pandya's talk is entitled "Wide Area Distribution of Homogeneous Nanoparticles Using Multiple-Hole Inert Gas Condensation Process."
Please join us for free pizza, drinks, and great talks from NQPI graduate students. Nano Forums are held on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. in Clippinger Laboratories 259.
NanO stUdio to Hold Grand Opening!
March 12, 2014
What started out as an idea to create an interactive space where students could learn about the wonders of nanoscience and nanoengineering is now complete.
The nanO stUdio, an interactive laboratory designed to educate young scientists and undergraduate students in concepts of nanomaterials, nanostructures, nanosensors, nanodevices and advanced microscopy techniques, will celebrate its grand opening with an open house for students, faculty and staff on Tuesday, March 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
NQPI member Savas Kaya, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, received a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in October 2012 to build the immersive educational platform.
The nanO stUdio will be used for class demonstrations, school field trips and a site for Russ College students to perform research.
The nanO stUdio is located inside the Academic and Research Center project hangar at Ohio University. For more information, please contact Kaya at kaya@ohio.edu.
Smith Steps Down; Stinaff Named New NQPI Director
February 27, 2014
After nine years of dedicated service, Art Smith, a professor of physics and astronomy, has stepped down as director of NQPI at Ohio University.
Eric Stinaff, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Ohio University, was unanimously approved as the new director of NQPI in February.
“To quote Top Gun, I saw the shot. There was no danger, so I took it. With Art deciding to step down, I’ve had enough involvement, and I know what the institute is about. I felt it was a good fit for me and the institute,” Stinaff said.
The new director currently has two main goals for the advancement of NQPI: planning for OU’s future Interdisciplinary Science Facility (ISF), which is currently in the planning stages, and advancing member collaboration in nanoscience research.
Stinaff, who is a member of the ISF faculty advisory committee, sees the future building as a one-time opportunity to create a shared facility at Ohio University for interdisciplinary science research.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a state-of-the-art shared facility that will significantly enhance research and teaching at Ohio University, including in nanoscience and technology,” he said.
Stinaff also hopes that the new building will help with his other goal to foster collaboration between NQPI members by providing a shared space for cross-disciplinary nanoscale research.
“I want to reach out to all the members and see what we can do for them. The more interaction we have, the more collaborations that come out of it. One of the problems is geographical, in that we are spread out over campus. There isn’t a centralized facility. One thing we have always talked about is for NQPI to have a physical space to go with the on-paper institute,” he said.
Stinaff received his Ph.D. in condensed matter physics from Iowa State University in 2002. He spent three years working as a postdoctoral research associate at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., before joining the faculty of Ohio University in 2006.
Stinaff’s research with quantum dots immediately caught the attention of NQPI, and he joined the institute as a member during his first year at OU.
“This is one of the things NQPI does a good job, identifying new faculty members that have potential overlap with nanoscience research and bringing them into NQPI. I work on quantum dots, nanoscale optical semiconductor systems, so my research is inherently nanoscale and has a very clear overlap into nanoscience,” he said.
Stinaff is married to his wife, Liz, who has previously worked as the NQPI business manager. They have two children, Seraphine and Sebastian.
NQPI Member Descibes How to Play Soccer with Atoms
February 24, 2014
How small is the world’s smallest soccer ball?
If you ask NQPI Member Saw Wai-Hla, the answer is around 0.4 nanometers or less, the size of a single atom.
Hla, a professor of physics and astronomy and a researcher at Argonne National Laboratory, explained how to play soccer with atoms at a microscopic level during his Science Café talk on Feb. 5 at Ohio University.
“Since we can control movement of individual atoms on materials’ surfaces, we use this technique to apply to individual molecules to study their properties. We chose the molecules important for the human kind such as chlorophyll-a (plant molecules that is the key for producing oxygen), as well as artificial structures like molecular machines for future technology,” Hla said.
Hla and his research team have had the ability to move around single atoms since 2002, which has led to many advances in nanotechnology research. The research team made national headlines when they created a nano-sized version of the OU logo in 2002, performed a nano-gun experiment in 2004, operated a molecular motor in 2013, and are currently working on creating parts for nano-sized machines.
Since atoms are not visible to the human eye, a special microscope called a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is used to view atoms. The microscope uses an extremely sharp needle called a tip. In comparison, the Eiffel Tower is 1 million times larger than an STM tip.
“The tip moves along the profile of the atoms on the surface. The movement of this profile can be recorded with a computer so that we can see the profile line by line, and you will get an image of atoms. The tip has to be less than one nanometer from the surface to make an atomic profile,” Hla said.
The STM tip also allows Hla to play soccer with atoms by controlling the movement of atoms. An atom becomes a “soccer ball,” and the tip is used to “kick” atoms.
“We can reach out at the atomic scale using a very simple thing, a tip, and we can use it, not only to image atoms, but to manipulate them. It’s like we are reaching out and touching them with our hands,” Hla said.
Synchrotron X-Ray Assisted STM Topic of Next Nano Forum
February 21, 2014
Heath Kersell, a doctoral candidate in physics and astronomy at Ohio University, will present the next Nano Forum talk on “Synchrotron X-ray Assisted STM: Introducing Chemical Sensitivity” on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 4 p.m. in Clippinger Laboratories 259.
Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) relies on electronic properties of samples to provide a wide range of information about phenomena at the nanoscale. Nevertheless, this reliance on sample electronic properties inhibits the determination of chemical identities for samples under investigation. A handful of methods, such as and vibrational spectroscopy, have previously yielded chemical sensitivity in STM. Unfortunately, these techniques have not been universally applicable.
One path to chemical sensitivity in STM is to target a sample with high energy X-rays, exciting core level electrons to near the Fermi level, and allowing them to contribute to the tunneling signal measured in STM. Because core level electron energies are characteristic of the chemical species they’re associated with, they act as a fingerprint with which to obtain the chemical identities of samples examined via STM. I will present the implementation of this Synchrotron X-ray assisted Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (SXSTM) via an experiment performed at Argonne National Laboratory in the Hard X-ray Nanoprobe Beamline.
Please join us for free pizza and a great talk. Future Nano Forums will be held on March 18 and April 8.
Hla is Next Science Café Speaker
February 4, 2014
NQPI Member Saw Wai-Hla, a professor of physics and astronomy, is the next featured Science Café speaker on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
His talk, “Nanoscience: Playing Soccer with Atoms and Molecules,” will cover how people play with atoms at a microscopic level and how important nanotechnology is to understanding our environment.
“Everything is made of atoms but people normally don’t think about them,” Hla said. “It’s good to know how far we can control atoms.”
Science Cafés begin Wednesdays at 5 p.m. in the Front Room, located on the fourth floor of Baker Center. Free coffee is given to the first 50 people to arrive.
The Science Café series are a venue for students interested in informally sharing their interests during a conversational exchange with faculty, staff and the community in a friendly setting.
For more information, visit the Science Café website.