MEMS NEWS SPRING 2021
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING & MATERIALS SCIENCE
Annual Publication of the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering
MEMS Congratulates Back-to-Back-to-Back Career Winners Sangyeop Lee: Using Machine Learning to Improve Energy Performance of Semiconductors and Insulators
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eveloping materials with ultrahigh or ultralow thermal conductivity along a certain direction can enable new energy storage and conversion devices. However, grain boundaries – two-dimensional defects in crystal structures – exist in polycrystalline material and significantly affect thermal transport. Addressing the defects is currently not efficient - observing and experimenting with grain boundaries when creating materials can prove to be a lengthy and costly process. However, machine learning may provide a more sustainable alternative.
“In real materials, atoms are disordered and it has been extremely challenging to predict how atoms vibrate in disordered structures from firstprinciples. However, machine learning can help us gain a quantitative understanding of thermal transport that can help us predict how a material will behave.”
Sangyeop Lee, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, received a $500,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation for research that would utilize machine learning to model thermal transport in polycrystalline materials. The research seeks to create a computer model that can predict the conductive properties of a material in real life, providing guidance to engineer defects for desired thermal properties. “Thermal transport across grain boundaries is not well understood. Studying heat as it transfers across a material at the atomistic scale means observing how atoms vibrate,” explains Lee.
engineering.pitt.edu/mems
The improved understanding of thermal transfer across grain boundaries will enable engineers to create materials that convert heat to electricity more efficiently, for example, or better manage heat in electronic devices.
MEMS Congratulates Back-to-Back CAREER Winners Tevis Jacobs: Solving a Sticky Problem
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lthough far thinner than a human hair, metal nanoparticles play an important role in advanced industries and technologies from electronics and pharmaceuticals to catalysts and sensors. Nanoparticles can be as small as ten atoms in diameter, and their small size makes them especially susceptible to coarsening with continued use, which reduces functionality and degrades performance. To engineer more stable nanoparticles, the National Science Foundation awarded Assistant Professor Tevis Jacobs a $500,000 CAREER Award, which supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education. Jacobs will utilize electron microscopy to directly study and measure adhesion properties of nanoparticles and their supporting substrates. “Research has already shown that nanoparticle coarsening is related to nanoparticle adhesion; however, those prior studies measured the aggregate behavior of billions of particles simultaneously. The large number of particles prevented systematic investigation of the key factors governing adhesion. We need to be able to study individual nanoparticles in action,
in real time,” Jacobs explains. “Our suite of tools for performing mechanical and materials testing inside of a transmission electron microscope allows for direct measurements of adhesion under different circumstances. Current processes to counter nanoparticle coarsening utilize stabilizing materials, but matching the most effective stabilizer to a
nanoparticle is a time consuming and costly trial-and-error process. The CAREER award will enable Jacobs and his lab group to develop new methods to measure the attachment and stability of nanoparticles on surfaces under various conditions, allowing researchers to enhance both surfaces and nanoparticles in tandem to work more effectively together. Additionally, the CAREER award allows Jacobs and his Surfaces and Small-Scale Structures Laboratory to engage with Pitt’s School of Education and a local elementary school to create and nationally disseminate surface engineeringfocused curricular units for sixth- to eighth-grade students and professional development training modules for teachers. “Incorporating engineering projects in early grades has the potential to inspire more students of all backgrounds to become interested in STEM, and can have particularly strong effects on groups that are underrepresented in STEM careers today,” Jacobs said. “And on the research side, the improvements in nanoparticle performance will have direct benefit in applications such as manufacturing, solar energy, and sensors for the detection of pollutants in the environment and diseases in the body.”
Jacobs with the Thermo Fisher FEI Titan Themis aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope in the Gertrude E. and John M. Petersen Institute of NanoScience and Engineering (PINSE) and Nanoscale Fabrication and Characterization Facility.
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Tevis Jacobs: Inspires Students to Care More Marty Levine, Pitt University Times
“I’ve always wanted to understand how the world works,” Jacobs says. “Mechanical engineering and materials science: what I like about them is that they are all around us. We are constantly interacting with objects, seeing how they perform. I like the idea of making them better in the future … but the current goal is (studying) ‘Why did this thing happen in this way?’ “What I love,” he adds, “especially in the classes I’m teaching now: we can answer that.” But answers don’t always come easily to students. “We learn through struggle,” Jacobs says. “When I think about my own learning, that has been true.” In high school and college, he learned calculus and how to solve differential equations – absorbing the content “without really internalizing the ‘why’ and the ‘how,’ ” he says. Then in grad school, faced with realworld problems, “all of a sudden I was not able to link it to the coursework I had taken. I almost had to re-teach myself the calculus. I thought I understood it before that. When I went through this – then I got it: Oh, that is what they were trying to teach me.” To make “struggle” educational, a classroom lesson “has to be hard, but (students) have to care,” Jacobs explains. “It’s easy to make this hard; you want to make it hard with purpose. I’m still constantly refining that.” What works, he says, is “being honest with the students … acting like you’re all on the same side: Here is the best way for your group to take in information, and here is the best way for all of us as a team to do that.”
Nitin Sharma: Using Ultrasound to Help People Walk Again
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pinal cord injuries impact more than 17,000 Americans each year, and although those with incomplete injuries may regain control of their limbs, overall muscle strength and mobility is weakened. Neurorehabilitation using robotic exoskeletons or electrical stimulation devices can help a person regain movement through repeated exercise. The amount of assistance through these devices during neurorehabilitation is based on the measurement of the user’s remaining muscle function. However, current sensing techniques are often unable to correctly measure voluntary muscle function in these individuals. Any discrepancies in the measurement can cause the robot to provide inadequate assistance or over-assistance. Improper robotic assistance slows recovery from the injury, and can potentially lead to falls during robot-assisted walking. To reduce this risk and provide therapists and patients with a more efficient rehabilitation tool, a researcher at the Swanson School of Engineering is utilizing ultrasound imaging to develop a more precise interface between exoskeletons and individual muscles. Assistant Professor Nitin Sharma received a $509,060 NSF CAREER award for “Ultrasound-based Intent Modeling and Control Framework for Neurorehabilitation and Educating Children with Disabilities and High School Students.” Current noninvasive rehabilitation devices measure electrical signals from muscle activity, also known as electromyography to predict remaining muscle function and subsequent assistance. However, Sharma explained that correctly measuring how much assistance the device should provide is a challenge with electromyography, and also its use is limited to large muscle groups. Sharma says, “In very complex muscle groups that provide a range of motions, we need to measure individual muscle activity, rather than measuring the entire muscle group at once via electromyography, because it is susceptible to interference from adjacent muscles. Ultrasound can reduce the interference from surrounding muscle groups so that we can collect, monitor and control muscle activity of individual muscle fibers.” Ultimately, Sharma intends to build an ankle exoskeleton that patients and therapists can use in clinical rehabilitation.
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Chair’s Message Dear Alumni, Students, and Colleagues, It has been an unprecedented past year. A year in which outside events greatly impacted all our lives and campus activities. Of course, the most significant and disruptive of these events has been the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, Pitt buildings were directed to vacate and all teaching had to transition to online. Research was also significantly affected, with all laboratorybased research suspended until June, at which time clear safety protocols were put in place by the University. However, in many respects, we have been fortunate to continue during this pandemic and to even provide assistance. As you will read, several of our faculty and students worked to address supply needs during the pandemic and many of our students demonstrated exemplary adaptability and competency during these trying times. Challenges in teaching and research have been and continue to be faced, but we remain
empathetically cognizant of the fact that major hardships have been endured by many in the USA and elsewhere. The 2020 world economy is expected to decrease by over 4%, the most significant decrease since the second world war. But that statistic obscures specifics and individual consequences. What is clear is that many challenges lay ahead, but with ingenuity, excellence in engineering, and a strong commitment to educating our students, the MEMS Department is well-positioned to not only move forward, but to prosper. Even so, alumni donations to the Department to assist current and future students are particularly helpful during this challenging period. This past year also witnessed significant social unrest, with heightened national focus on racism, injustice, and inequity. Students and faculty alike in the MEMS Department were challenged to come together to converse on the way we as an academic institute should address what is being experienced by many inside and outside of the classroom. These conversations led to new initiatives within the Department, such as the establishment of a Student Advisory Board, with the purpose of creating a more supportive
and inclusive MEMS community. I am eager see these important initiatives evolve to become distinguishing mainstays of our department. In the words of Winston Churchill, when he addressed Britain in 1942 after its first land victory of the war: “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” New norms are being created as a result of the pandemic. At the same time, technology continues to evolve, with increasing emphasis on, for example, high-speed computing, modeling and simulation, machine learning, and advanced materials characterization. As highlighted in this newsletter, the MEMS Department is at the forefront of both education and research. I am continually overwhelmed by the quality and achievements of our faculty, staff and students. There is much to be proud of and I encourage you to stay in touch by regularly visiting our website at engineering.pitt.edu/MEMS. Best wishes and Hail to Pitt! Dr. Brian Gleeson Harry S. Tack Chair Professor Chairman, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
The MEMS department celebrated the class of 2020 virtually. Watch here: https://youtu.be/VOGnBAHnUY0 Outstanding Senior – Casey Cadman (ME), Clement Ekaputra (MSE) Student Choice – Instructor of the year 2020: John Whitefoot (ME) and Tevis Jacobs (MSE)
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How Kevin Glunt Went from Struggling Student to Sending an A.I. Computer to the ISS Mike Brown, inverse.com
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round a decade ago, Kevin Glunt was more interested in drawing cars than paying attention in class, with his parents threatening that he would repeat a grade of school if he didn’t stop. Now aged 24, he’s in awe as SpaceX has launched his team’s creation into orbit: A radiation-tolerant supercomputer that will be used in experiments on sensing, image processing, and machine learning, aboard the International Space Station. “All of our names are on the board, like etched on it,” Glunt told Inverse this week, prior to the launch. “It’s like, your name will be in space. And it’s really, really weird to think about that.” It’s not just a name in space: the computer, made by Glunt and his fellow researchers and students from the University of Pittsburgh, could pave the way for a faster future in space. More powerful systems at lower cost, and with more efficient power usage, represent another step toward more reliable research in orbit.
MEMS Faculty Member is Lead Author on Quantum Computing Article Published by NASA
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eyman Givi, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering, is the lead author on a recently published National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Technical Memorandum (TM). The TM explains how quantum computers can be utilized for computational modeling and simulations. It is theorized that quantum computers will be able to conduct calculations in seconds for problems that take the current (classical) world’s largest supercomputers months to compute. The TM details the current state of progress in quantum computing technology and how NASA and the aerospace community could potentially use this technology to perform large scale computations. Givi said he is honored to be a co-author on such an important report, noting that his collaborators are among the world’s leading researchers in quantum physics and computational fluid dynamics. He is excited to continue research in this area, stating that “the potential power of quantum computers in near-future computations is mind-blowing.” The authors have been asked to publish this report as an invited article in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Journal.
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Pitt Supercomputer to Launch into Space Amerigo Allegretto, Pittwire
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novel supercomputer developed by a University of Pittsburgh team is set to journey to the International Space Station on May 1, continuing a NASA partnership meant to improve Earth and space science. (Editor’s note: The successful launch later occurred on May 4.) It will be “one of the most powerful spacequalified computers ever made and flown,” said Alan George, department chair of the Swanson School of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who led Pitt researchers and graduate students on the project. On the space station, the supercomputer will serve as a research “sandbox” for spacebased experiments on computing, sensing, image processing and machine learning. Researchers said the main objective of these experiments is progression toward autonomous spacecraft, like a more advanced version of the self-driving cars seen in Pittsburgh. This radiation-tolerant computer cluster, called the Spacecraft Supercomputing for Image and Video Processing (SSIVP) system, is part of the U.S. Department of Defense Space Test Program-Houston 6 mission (STP-H6), developed at the National Science Foundation Center for Space, High-performance, and Resilient Computing (SHREC). The system “features an unprecedented combination of high performance, high 6 | Spring 2021
reliability, low power and reconfigurability for computing in the harsh environment of space, going beyond the capabilities of previous space computers,” said George, who’s also founder and director of SHREC. The project carries over from time spent with the University of Florida prior to moving to Pitt in 2017, when a pair of space computers developed by Pitt students and faculty was sent aboard the space station. Last year, the new space supercomputer embarked on a 1,400-mile land-based journey for rigorous testing, from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, to the NASA Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston to the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Its final, much shorter and more meaningful trip will see it travel 250 miles skyward from NASA Kennedy
Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to the space station with the SpaceX-17 mission on a Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket.
Super Powered The new space supercomputer is more than 2.5 times more powerful than its predecessor, which was launched to the space station with STP-H5 on SpaceX-10 in February 2017. It includes dual high-resolution cameras capable of snapping 5-megapixel images of Earth, for detailed aerial shots like the city of Pittsburgh, all in a system about the size of a breadbox. The H5 system will remain on the space station, working separately from the soon-tobe-launched H6 system on a dynamic set of space technology experiments until at least 2021. The H6 system is expected to be in service for three to four years after launch.
Photo courtesy of Aimee Obidzinski/University of Pittsburgh
The large amounts of data the new system captures will pose their own challenge. “There are limitations in communications between ground and spacecraft, so we’re trying to circumvent these limitations with high-performance onboard data processing to more quickly transfer data,” said Sebastian Sabogal, a third-year PhD student studying electrical and computer engineering. “We also want our systems to be highly responsive to processed sensor data to enable spacecraft autonomy, which would reduce the amount of human interaction needed to operate the spacecraft and interpret data.” “Everyone in the space community wants to build sensor systems that are more powerful and autonomous,” George said. “We must process the data where it’s gathered, which requires very powerful computers, but space is the most challenging place to build and deploy powerful computers.” Space, too, is a challenging place for computers to thrive due to high fluctuations in temperatures, strong vibrations during launch and higher levels of radiation — all of which can affect performance, said Sabogal. During its time in space, the supercomputer will gather and monitor data on weather patterns, deforestation, and the effects of natural disasters on Earth and the effects of space and radiation on electronic devices, among many applications in Earth and space science.
A Goldmine for Students SHREC also is collaborating for the first time with the Swanson School of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, with the latter designing, assembling and testing the system chassis to meet the structural requirements from NASA for the computing system. For students, these space missions are an opportunity to hone their engineering expertise and interact closely with experts at NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense. “When I initially came in, it was one of the big projects going on here,” said Evan Gretok, a second-year PhD student studying electrical and computer engineering. “I was asked if I was up for a challenge, and I was put on
developing some of the flight software for some of the secondary objectives of the mission.” These secondary objectives include studies regarding flight services, hardware configuration and studies on image processing. Gretok also earned his master’s degree in the same field at Pitt this year, and he has been working with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to certify the supercomputer’s ground-station software for mission operations that will be controlled by Pitt researchers in the SHREC lab meets NASA standards. “It’s really humbling to be part of a team that has this kind of access to such innovative technology,” Gretok said. “The amount of opportunities that open up for Earth observation for data analytics and for these students to develop their own applications and algorithms is exciting to see.” Other leading researchers for the project include Matthew Barry, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, who also works with the Center for Research Computing and was in charge of thermal modeling for the computer, and David Schmidt, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, whose team was in charge of the design and construction of the aluminum chassis to house the electronics, ensuring that it meets NASA specifications. Spring 2021 | 7
THE DIFFERENCE
THE RIGHT TOOLS CAN MAKE
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ometimes, in order to understand the big picture, you need to start by assessing the smallest of details. It’s a truth that engineers know well – selecting the right materials can mean the success or failure of a given application. As technology advances, researchers have assessed engineering materials at the microscopic level for applications ranging from nanomachines to semiconductors, specialized coatings to robotics. For researchers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering, looking closely enough to engineer materials for cutting-edge applications would not have been possible without the generous $1 million gift that Thomas F. Dudash provided in 2018. Mr. Dudash, an alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh who received his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering in 1960, never imagined that he’d have a million dollars to donate for advanced research. After a lifelong career with Allegheny Ludlum, he wanted to share his success with the next generation of materials engineers. The gift was designated for the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS), the successor to the metallurgical engineering program. The gift enabled the Department to purchase nano-manipulators, specialized sample holders that allow researchers to make in situ observations of materials behavior at the nano-scale using transmission electron microscopy. 8 | Spring 2021
Those observations have led to foundational discoveries that are crucial for materials development. Scott X. Mao, MEMS professor, uses a specially designed sample holder to study how metals elongate and deform at the atomic level. Microelectronic mechanical systems rely on components made from microscopic structures of these metals, but metals behave differently at such a reduced length scale. Understanding the mechanical behavior of nanostructured metallic materials will enable the further development of strong and reliable components for advanced nanomechanical devices. Without such a holder, it’s impossible to carry out an atomic-scaled mechanical and electrical experiments under
the most advanced high resolution electron microscope to achieve understanding. Tevis Jacobs, assistant professor in MEMS, was able to acquire a specialized holder, which enables research advancing the understanding of microand nano-surfaces and engineering more stable nanoparticles. Nanoparticles play an important role in advanced industries and technologies, from electronics and pharmaceuticals to catalysts and sensors. Because they can be as small as 10 atoms in diameter, they are susceptible to coarsening with continued use, reducing their functionality and degrading performance. Jacobs received a $500,000 National Science Foundation CAREER Award for this work that will utilize the
specialized holder to directly study and measure adhesion properties of nanoparticles and their supporting substrates. Thanks to Mr. Dudash’s gift, Jacobs and his team were able to procure the only commercially-available tool that can manipulate the materials as precisely as is necessary to perform their impactful research. The gift also enabled Assistant Professor Markus Chmielus’ research analyzing 3D-printed denture frames. His group has used a SkyScan 1272 micro-computed tomography (microCT) scanner – purchased and maintained using gift funds – to export an accurate model of an existing denture, then used binder jet 3D-printing to reproduce the model. The scanner can analyze samples prior to 3D-printing as well to look for porosity and how that porosity changes when heat treatment is added, helping researchers develop a processing step to eliminate porosity. So far, the group has used the microCT to evaluate densities of green and sintered binder jet 3D-printed metals, including nickel-based superalloys, functional magnetic materials, and a commonly used titanium alloy, Ti-6Al-4V.
micrometers. The team discovered differences in the types of calcification in ruptured versus unruptured aneurysms, made possible using the micro-CT system. The work was published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB). This improved understanding could lead to new therapeutic targets and, ultimately, improved outcomes for patients with aneurysms. Great innovations require the right tools. Thanks to Mr. Dudash’s gift, the MEMS Department has the tools to innovate, discover and create – tools that have produced an important base of knowledge that manufacturers will be building on for years to come. Anne Robertson, MEMS and BioE professor, and her team use the micro-CT in their NIHsupported work studying the causes for rupture of intracranial aneurysms (IAs). Robertson and her team used the specialized micro-CT equipment to analyze aneurysm tissue from patients and found that calcification is substantially more prevalent than previously thought. The micro-CT was able to identify microcalcifications as small as 3
“It is generous gifts from donors like Mr. Dudash that enable advanced research and, ultimately, discovery,” said Brian Gleeson, Tack Chaired Professor and MEMS Department Chairman. “Moreover, the funds provided by Mr. Dudash are being used strategically to create specialized capabilities that greatly help to procure further funding from agencies and, hence, further bolster research activities.”
High prevalence of calcification in cerebral aneurysms: 51/65 = 78% Calcification area fraction highest in outer wall region
Image from Robertson’s paper in ATVB, “Calcification in Human Intracranial Aneurysms Is Highly Prevalent and Displays Both Atherosclerotic and Nonatherosclerotic Types.”
In-situ atomistic observation of a gold nano-crystal from Mao’s research.
Chmielus’ binder jet 3D-printed denture frameworks with X-ray micro tomography micrographs, published in Additive Manufacturing.
Electron microscopy is used to observe and test individual nanoparticles on flat surface in Jacobs’ research.
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RESPONDING TO COVID-19
Plexiglass Alone Can’t Protect Against Aerosolized Virus Amerigo Allegretto, Pittwire
ExOne and Pitt Collaborate to Produce Promising Reusable Respirators with 3D Printed Metal Filters Sarah Webster, ExOne
The ExOne Company and the University of Pittsburgh have partnered to develop reusable metal filters that fit into a specially designed respirator cartridge for sustainable, long-term protection against contaminants, such as COVID-19. ExOne’s binder jetting technology is a high-speed form of 3D printing that can produce metal parts with specific porosity levels that can effectively filter out contaminants while allowing airflow. ExOne has 3D printed respirator filters in two metals – copper and 316L stainless steel – and a range of porosity levels for use inside a unique cartridge designed by the Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science department in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering. Initial testing for airflow and filtration efficiency is currently underway, and the filters are being optimized with the goal of adhering to an N95 respirator standard. “The advantage of binder jet 3D printing over other additive manufacturing methods for this filter application is the ability to utilize the porosity of the printed part and then fine tune it during the high temperature densification or sintering process to achieve optimum filtering and airflow performance,” said Markus Chmielus, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the Swanson School. 10 | Spring 2021
In settings where personal protective equipment (PPE) is in short supply, inserting a breathing tube down a patient’s throat poses a major risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure for doctors and nurses as viral particles are released into the air. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory created an individual biocontainment unit, or IBU, to keep front line health care workers safe while they provide life-saving care. The device is described in a study published September 3 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Earlier attempts to minimize exposure to health care workers involved placing a plexiglass intubation box over a patient’s head and shoulders. Clinicians place their hands through two large holes in the box to intubate the patient inside. While such a device may contain the worst of the splatter, it can’t keep aerosols from leaking out. The IBU is designed to suck contaminated air out of the box with a vacuum and trap infectious particles in a filter before they seep into the room.
Working Through Crisis: MEMS Senior Design Team Adapts to New Normal
3D model of the team’s design.
In January 2020, a MEMS Senior Design team – sponsored by Abram’s Nation – started looking to expand on the company’s Safety Sleeper device, a medical-grade safety bed for individuals with special needs or dementia. They planned to develop a full-scale prototype of a bed that would be compatible with an articulating base bed, like the devices in a hospital, but they quickly ran into several challenges. The team’s project was interrupted by legal issues Matt Warner creating parts for the new Safety prohibiting them from seeing Sleeper design at home. a hospital bed and acquiring the necessary measurements until five weeks into the semester. Instead, they worked from an articulating bed frame supplied by Abram’s Nation. “This bed-frame is meant for households, so it has very little resemblance to a hospital bed,” explained Matthew Warner, team coordinator and ME major. “It does, however, possess a level of articulation similar to that of a hospital bed, so our design will serve as a basis for the final product meant to integrate with a hospital bed.”
Simulating a COVID-19 patient, the researchers placed a mannequin inside the IBU as well as in a commercially available intubation box. Near its mouth, they piped in an oil-based aerosol which formed tiny droplets in the air, similar in size to the SARS-CoV-2 particles in breath that spread COVID-19. The IBU trapped more than 99.99% of the simulated virus-sized aerosols and prevented them from escaping into the environment. In contrast, outside of the passive intubation box, maximum aerosol concentrations were observed to be more than three times higher than inside the box. David Turer, a plastic surgeon who recently completed his residency at UPMC, and Cameron Good, a research scientist at the Army Research Laboratory, were co-lead authors on the study. Additional authors include Benjamin Schilling and Heng Ban of the University of Pittsburgh; Robert Turer of Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Nicholas Karlowsky of Filtech; and Lucas Dvoracek, Jason Chang and J. Peter Rubin of UPMC.
Then, over spring break, the team faced its second major challenge when the announcement came from the University that facilities were shutting down and students were advised not to return to campus. Prior to spring break, the design team was using the Swanson Center for Product Innovation (SCPI) to fabricate custom parts for their design and had access to Abram’s Nation production facility. Luckily, Warner’s father has a machine shop at home with a 3D printer. So, Warner began producing custom parts for the new design at home and shipping them to Abram’s Nation. Craig Van Korlaar, director of operations at Abram’s Nation, was the design team’s point of contact. He and Warner remained in daily contact with one another throughout the project, with updates on design and fabrication processes and discussing key decisions for the project. Despite some initial skepticism about the ability to complete the project, the team remained dedicated to their goals. “I was blown away with the final delivery package, which was of higher quality and thoroughness than what I’ve seen from some established engineering firms,” Van Korlaar said. Spring 2021 | 11
Katherine Hornbostel Selected as Fellow for RCSA’s Scialog: Negative Emissions Science
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he Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) has named Assistant Professor Katherine Hornbostel as a Fellow for Scialog: Negative Emissions Science.
RCSA’s new initiative gathered more than 50 early-career scientists to tackle the issue of greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere and oceans. Scialog: Negative Emissions Science will kick off with a virtual conference on Nov. 5-6, 2020. Hornbostel’s research focuses on carbon capture technology for both the air and the ocean. She recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects AgencyEnergy’s (ARPA-E) Flexible Carbon Capture and Storage (FLECCS) program to design a natural gas/direct air capture hybrid plant that will ideally be carbon negative. Hornbostel also recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL’s) University Coalition for Fossil Energy Research (UCFER) program to investigate novel solid sorbents for direct air capture. She is also pursuing research on direct ocean capture, an alternative to direct air capture that hasn’t been explored much to date. Hornbostel will be part of an interdisciplinary team from chemistry, engineering, materials science, physics, and other related disciplines. Together, they will explore methods for removing and utilizing or sequestering greenhouse gases in a way that is globally scalable. “I’m honored to be a part of this cohort of early-career engineers and scientists, and I’m looking forward to getting together to brainstorm potential solutions for climate change with people whose interests resemble my own,” said Hornbostel. “I hope that we will come together and foster ideas that will help to end and reverse carbon emissions.” Scialog, short for “science + dialog,” is a multi-year initiative with fellows from across the U.S. and Canada. The Scialog: Negative Emissions Science is sponsored by RCSA and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
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MEMS Professors Receive Associate Dean Appointments
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rofessors Heng Ban and Anne Robertson were recently appointed to serve as Associate Deans in the Swanson School of Engineering. Ban will serve as the newly created Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives, for which his duties will involve fostering collaboration between SSoE and industry and national labs. This is a vital task that assists SSoE and the University of Pittsburgh in remaining a leader in academia and a top-tier institution. He takes on this role in addition to being the Interim Director for the Center for Energy and also the Director of the Stephen R. Tritch Nuclear Engineering Program. He is also leading a $5M DOE project on transient fuel performance partnering with several universities and major fuel vendors. Robertson will be the inaugural Associate Dean of Faculty Development, a role that complements her efforts in the Center for Faculty Excellence, which she established and directs. The Center aids in the development of junior faculty within the SSoE. This has assisted
DOE Funds Nuclear Energy Research at Pitt
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he Stephen R. Tritch Nuclear Engineering program at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering has received three substantial grants from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) totaling $2.3 million in 2019. In 2020, the school received a total of $1,868,500 in faculty and student awards from the DOE’s Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP). “Nuclear energy research is a vital and growing source of clean energy in the U.S., and we are at the forefront of this exciting field,” says Heng Ban, R.K. Mellon Professor in Energy and director of the Stephen R. Tritch Nuclear Engineering Program at the Swanson School of Engineering. “These grants will enable us to collaborate with leading international experts, conducting research that will help shape the future of nuclear energy.”
the promotions of numerous junior faculty and is a strong selling point for attracting new faculty hires. Her new role allows her to expand her focus to include Associate Professors and Appointment Stream faculty. The Center has already seen much success via team faculty mentoring, peer-to-peer mentoring and professional-development workshops. Each junior faculty participating in the mentorship program is assigned a 4-5 senior faculty mentoring team. To date, there have been more than 135 mentoring meetings with approximately 90 mentors drawn from across the SSoE, School of Medicine, Dieter School of Arts and Sciences and a number of departments at Carnegie Mellon University. So far, 19 junior faculty have completed the mentorship program and all have been awarded tenure. Another 26 faculty are currently in the program. This is 100% participation in a completely voluntary program. Professors Ban and Robertson join two other Associate Deans from the MEMS Department, Professors Minking Chyu and Sylvanus Wosu, who are the Associate Deans of International Initiatives and Diversity, respectively.
2021 University of Pittsburgh Nuclear Engineering Faculty Growth and Development Heng Ban and Nikhil Bajaj – NRC Faculty Development Grant – $450,000
2020 High Temperature Thermophysical Property of Nuclear Fuels and Materials PI: Heng Ban, Richard K. Mellon Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of Stephen R. Tritch Nuclear Engineering Program – $300,000 Fiber Sensor Fused Additive Manufacturing for Smart Component Fabrication for Nuclear Energy PI: Kevin Chen, Paul E. Lego Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Co-PI: Albert To, William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science – $1,000,000 Multicomponent Thermochemistry of Complex Chloride Salts for Sustainable Fuel Cycle Technologies PI: Wei Xiong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science Co-PIs: Elizabeth Sooby Wood (University of Texas at San Antonio), Toni Karlsson (Idaho National Laboratory), and Guy Fredrickson (Idaho National Laboratory) – $400,000
2019 Advanced Online Monitoring and Diagnostic Technologies for Nuclear Plant Management, Operation, and Maintenance PI: Daniel Cole, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science – $1,000,000 Development of Versatile Liquid Metal Testing Facility for Lead-cooled Fast Reactor Technology PI: Jung-Kun Lee, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science – $800,000 Thermal Conductivity Measurement of Irradiated Metallic Fuel Using TREAT PI: Heng Ban, R.K. Mellon Professor in Energy and Director of the Stephen R. Trich Nuclear Program; Assel Aitkaliyeva at the University of Florida – $500,000 Spring 2021 | 13
AWARDS HONORS Heather Manns, MEMS Undergraduate Coordinator, was one of four SSoE staff members to receive the Staff Recognition Award 2018. Heather was nominated by her department and voted on by a committee made up of the previous years’ winners. In recognition of his seminal contributions to his field, Peyman Givi, PhD, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering and materials science has been invited to deliver the 13th Elsevier Distinguished Lecture in Mechanics. The lecture is sponsored by Elsevier and its publication Mechanics Research Communications. The lecture was held on April 6, 2021. Anne Robertson, William Kepler Whiteford Endowed Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and professor of bioengineering, was among a prestigious group of scholars invited to give a keynote lecture at the 6th International Conference on Computational and Mathematical Biomedical Engineering. The conference was hosted by Tohoku University in Sendai City, Japan in June. Pittsburgh-based Optimus Tech, founded by MEMS alumnus Colin Huwyler, won the 2019 76West Clean Energy Competition. The $1 million prize will be used to help the company design and manufacture biodiesel fuel systems for medium and heavy-duty diesel trucks to operate on up to 100 percent biodiesel, thereby reducing fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80 percent.
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Dimitry Labko, mechanical engineering senior, is the recipient of the University of Pittsburgh’s 2020 Co-op Student of the Year Award. Labko did his co-op with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA. He joined a small team of engineers to support the assembly and testing of the Integrated Reflectarray Assembly (IRA) on the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft. He was named the winner based on his “unique accomplishments, strong academics and sense of helping others both in school and at co-op” says Maureen Barcic, director of the Cooperative Education program in the Swanson School of Engineering. Brian Gentry, MEMS undergraduate, won a 2020 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Gentry works in Dr. John Keith’s lab where he investigates local solvent effects on density functional theory energy calculations applied to a class of organic compounds called chelating agents. Lee Maccarone, a PhD student in mechanical engineering, has been awarded a second place prize in the Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Awards sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Technology R&D. Maccarone’s award is in the Open Competition in the category of Energy Policy. His award-winning research paper, “Toward a Game-Theoretic Metric for Nuclear Power Plant Security,” was presented at the IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Security in February 2020.
Jonathan Perlman and Alexis Zito, both mechanical engineering seniors, received the inaugural “Spirit of Pitt” Award. The award comes from the Pitt Alumni Association to replace Homecoming king and queen as a way to create a more inclusive tradition that emphasizes the diversity and pride in the Pitt community. Wei Xiong, materials science professor, is one of two recipients of the 2021 Early Career Faculty Fellow Award given by The Minerals, Metals, & Materials Society (TMS). This award recognizes assistant professors for their accomplishments that have advanced the academic institution where employed, and for abilities to broaden the technological profile of TMS. Xiong will receive free travel and registration to two TMS annual meetings and will be given technical support and guidance in developing new programming for TMS symposiums. BREAKING NEWS: This April, Wei Xiong received an NSF CAREER Award for his proposal, “Unraveling Fundamental Mechanisms Governing Grain Refinement in Complex Concentrated Alloys Made by Additive Manufacturing: Towards Strong and Ductile Structures.” The five-year award for $526,334 is the fourth in four years for MEMS, preceded by Sangyeop Lee, Tevis Jacobs and Nitin Sharma.
MEMS Promotions Markus Chmielus, PhD to associate professor
Peyman Givi, PhD to distinguished professor
Nitin Sharma, PhD to associate professor
Sung-Kwon Cho, PhD to full professor
Tevis Jacobs, PhD to associate professor
Albert To, PhD to full professor
Minking Chyu, PhD to distinguished service professor
Jung-Kung Lee, PhD to full professor
Guofeng Wang, PhD to full professor
David Schmidt, PhD to associate professor
Paolo Galdi, PhD to distinguished professor
New Faculty/Staff Nikhil Bajaj, PhD – Assistant Professor Dr. Bajaj earned his PhD in mechanical engineering from Purdue University. His research interests include networked sensing, actuation, and control systems; high bandwidth feedforward and feedback control in micro- and nano-systems; embedded machine learning algorithms; and multi-scale design techniques for secure intelligent systems. Brandon Blasko – Lab Technician Mr. Blasko earned his associate degree from the Community College of Allegheny County. He previously was an education facilitator at the Carnegie Science Center. His responsibilities will include operations oversight of the Department’s advanced manufacturing facilities. Rocco R. Cerchiara, III, PhD – Research Associate Dr. Cerchiara earned a BS/MS/PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He worked as a process development engineer for Kennametal, followed by a long tenure as an applications scientist at Fischione Instruments. His background includes significant experience in various types of electron microscopy and sample preparation of metals, ceramics, polymers and IC’s. Katherine Hornbostel, PhD – Assistant Professor Dr. Hornbostel earned her PhD in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and previously was a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Dr. Hornbostel’s research interests include: thermal sciences; energy harvesting; chemical reaction engineering and modeling; fuel cells; additive manufacturing; and data-enabled science and engineering. Tony Kerzmann, PhD – Associate Professor (NTS) Dr. Kerzmann earned his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He previously was an associate professor at Robert Morris University. Dr. Kerzmann will oversee undergraduate advising in the MEMS Department. His research interests focus on renewable energy technologies and include: concentrated solar energy simulation; life cycle assessments of energy systems; and alternative fueling station location optimization.
Meagan Lenze – Administrative Coordinator Ms. Lenze earned her master’s degree in integrated marketing communication from Duquesne University. She was previously an office manager at a small business in Pittsburgh. Qihan Liu, PhD – Assistant Professor Dr. Liu earned his PhD in materials science and mechanical engineering from Harvard University and was previously a postdoctoral fellow in bioengineering. His research interests include: Mechanical failure of soft devices; biomimetric functional materials; advanced manufacturing of soft materials; and regenerative tissue engineering. Mike McConegly – Department Administrator Mr. McConegly earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. His most recent position was Research & Human Resources Administrator for both the Brain Institute and the Systems Neuroscience Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. Paul Ohodnicki, PhD – Associate Professor Dr. Ohodnicki earned his PhD in materials science engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He was previously a materials scientist on the functional materials team at DOE-NETL. His research interests include: Functional materials; processing, structure, and property interrelationships to realize novel optical, electronic, and magnetic properties in nanostructured and nanocomposite materials; and advanced functional materials at the device and system levels. Xiayun Zhao, PhD – Assistant Professor Dr. Zhao earned her PhD in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech. Before pursuing her doctorate, she served as an instrumentation and control system engineer in Houston. Dr. Zhao’s research interests include: precision engineering; advanced manufacturing and design; sensors; and dynamics and controls.
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William “Buddy” Clark Receives Pitt Innovation Award Susan Jones, University Times
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he Innovation Institute celebrated Pitt faculty, staff and students whose research and ideas are making a real impact on the community and the world. William “Buddy” Clark, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, received the Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award, which is presented to a Pitt faculty member who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to commercializing his or her research. Clark ranks among the University’s prolific innovators in terms of the number of invention disclosures, patents and licenses he has been involved with.
Photo courtesy of Mike Drazdzinski/University of Pittsburgh
Clark is one of the most collaborative scientists at Pitt, lending his expertise to research projects ranging from pollution control valves to electronic intravenous catheters. But his true passion is baseball, as a coach, a fan and an inventor. Clark
co-founded Pittsburgh-based Diamond Kinetics based on technology he developed to measure aspects of a baseball/softball player’s swing. Clark also oversees the maker spaces at the Swanson School of Engineering and is director of the Innovation, Product Design, and Entrepreneurship Program. CJ Handron, CEO of Diamond Kinetics, said he met Clark seven years ago at Pitt. Since then, he said, “The culture around innovation and entrepreneurship at the University has grown and evolved significantly. I think Diamond Kinetics has had a little bit of influence on that; I think Buddy has had a tremendous influence on that.” Clark is a tireless voice for entrepreneurship and innovation in the Swanson School and throughout the University, Handron said. William “Buddy” Clark pictured with Provost Ann Cudd.
MEMS Names Sarah Wielgosz its Naugle Fellow
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arah Wielgosz, a mechanical engineering junior, has been awarded a 2020 Naugle Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering. The $7,500 award will be used to offset tuition fees. Wielgosz was selected based on a glowing recommendation provided by Matt Barry, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science. Wielgosz served as a teaching assistant for two of Barry’s classes this summer where, according to Barry, she went above and beyond to provide her peers with the best learning experience possible. She not only graded papers, but also developed weekly TopHat worksheets and held extensive office hours for the students. This is particularly noteworthy since all teaching was 16 | Spring 2021
Pictured from left to right are Professor Matt Barry, Sarah Wielgosz, and Department Chair Brian Gleeson
delivered online because of COVID-19 restrictions. Through Wielgosz’s dedication, the students were provided an outstanding learning environment.
The University’s goal is to assist students in obtaining the highest quality education possible. Part of this assistance includes financial support in the form of fellowships such as this one.
MEMS by the Numbers in 2020
Top 50
$8.1 million ~$2 $8.1 ~$2 million $9.3 million $9.3 RESEARCH GRANTS
BEST ENGINEERING SCHOOLS (U.S. News and World Report)
DOE GRANTS FOR NUCLEAR RESEARCH
NEW FUNDING
our STUDENTS
#1
SSoE undergraduate enrollment (22%)
#2
SSoE graduate enrollment (27%)
DEGREES AWARDED
211BS 14 PhD 84%
30+
Co-op applicants received offers
Students mentored/ supported on sponsored research
150%
Increased enrollment in Engineering Science program
our FACULTY
35 179
FACULTY MEMBERS
FACULTY PUBLICATIONS* *24% from prestigious journals
71
Plenary or distinguished lectures given by faculty
43%
Faculty journal editors or editorial board members
~40%
Faculty participation in STEM community service activities outside of Pitt Spring 2021 | 17
Swanson School of Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science 636 Benedum Hall 3700 O’Hara Street Pittsburgh PA 15261
engineering.pitt.edu/mems
Congratulations to Laura Livingston, the 2020 MEMS Distinguished Alumna
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aura Livingston is a Westinghouse Electric Company executive who retired in 2019 after 38 years. Her career at Westinghouse began as a summer intern at the Westinghouse Research and Development Department and culminated with the role of Key Accounts Vice President. Prior to that role, Ms. Livingston was President of Westinghouse subsidiary WesDyne International, Director of the Fuel Delivery and Contract Management Organization, and Customer Relations and Sales Vice President. Ms. Livingston holds a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical and material science engineering and a master’s degree in industrial engineering (specializing in engineering management), both from the University of Pittsburgh. She received a certificate from Duquesne University’s Women’s Executive Leadership Program and is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. As a member of the Swanson School’s MEMS Visiting Committee, Ms. Livingston advises the department chair on curriculum setting and industry news while providing real-world engineering experience. She is also consulting with the Nuclear Engineering Program on ways to expand.
Ms. Livingston is a member of the NEI Women in Nuclear (WIN), United Way Women’s Executive Leadership Council, and Westmoreland/Fayette County United Way. She volunteers at the Blessing Board and is active in her church, serving on the parish council and lecturing. The 2020 Distinguished Alumni Banquet was canceled due to Covid-19 and will be rescheduled for later this year.
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