Swanson School Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Winter 2014 Newsletter

Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

winter 2014

MEMS Goes Global – Shaping a Global Engineer for the 21st Century

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ducating and graduating competitive engineers requires that today’s academic experience includes a more global perspective. For the past five years in particular the Swanson School’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS) has endeavored to provide our students with international experience both in and out of the classroom, as well as to develop strategic partnerships with outstanding engineering programs in Europe and Asia.

Some of these programs are featured in our 2013 newsletter, including: • Summer study abroad programs in Florence and France.

• International certificate programs in Aerospace Engineering and Automotive Engineering with University of Applied Science in Munich.

• In Asia, MEMS established 2+2 and 3+2 agreements with several leading universities in China, including Beihang University, Sichuan University, Wuhan University, and Xiamen University.

• As part of the Sichuan University – Pittsburgh Institute currently planned, both Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Engineering Programs will recruit students in September, 2014. (Read more on page 2) The demand for engineers with international experience is increasing among employers who have a greater global reach than ever before.

The Swanson School and MEMS are committed to providing engineering students with a strong international background as well as to providing the best international students with an outstanding Pitt education.

Aerospace Engineering and Automotive Engineering Certificate Programs in Germany

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n the heart of Munich, Bavaria, Germany, only 40 miles from the Alps and near German car manufacturers like BMW and Audi and aerospace companies like EADS (Eurocopter, Airbus, Eurofighter, Astrium), MTU and the DLR, Pitt’s MEMS students have a new international opportunity. Beginning spring 2014 students will not only be immersed in German culture but also earn our new Aeronautical or Automobile Engineering certificate at the Munich University of Applied Sciences. The certificate program includes classes in flight or vehicle dynamics, airplane design or combustion engines, aircraft subsystems or driver assistance systems, as well as international team design projects in both areas.

In the certificate programs, MEMS students will get hands-on training in the fields of aeronautical or automotive engineering and can participate in international student groups and projects on subjects like COBRA UAV, flight simulator team, municHMotorsport Combustion engine/Electric motor and Hydro 2 Motion, to name a few. State-of-the-art teaching laboratories will help students better understand controls and design of aircrafts and cars and get their hands dirty in engines and turbines. A course in international marketing and product development will also be offered. In return, German students from Munich will come to Pittsburgh and the MEMS department for coursework and international exposure sought by German automotive and aerospace companies. MEMS faculty advisors are Dr. Marcus Chmielus and Dr. Will Slaughter.

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From the

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Chair

n behalf of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, welcome to our 2013/2014 newsletter. In this issue we explore two of our department’s focus areas in educating the next generation of engineers – international experience, and manufacturing excellence. To us, the education of a more global engineer is critical. You’ll read in part about how our department has worked with the University of Pittsburgh to develop study abroad programs that allow students to experience engineering from a more cultural perspective.

With respect to manufacturing, we’re providing undergraduates with more opportunities to experience graduate-level research and engage them in new ways of thinking. At the graduate level, we’ve invested in developing a new additive manufacturing laboratory that we believe will lay the groundwork for advances in the field.

Looking forward, I am very excited about the new partnerships we have established with engineering programs in Europe and Asia, especially our new Sichuan University – Pittsburgh Institute. This partnership between Pitt and Sichuan is one of only five programs of its kind and will greatly benefit our graduates with cross-cultural experience. I am indebted to Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, Provost Patty Beeson, and many others mentioned in the article, for making the Pittsburgh Institute a reality.

I do hope you will enjoy reading about our latest news, and wish you a very happy new year.

Sincerely,

Minking Chyu, PhD Leighton and Mary Orr Professor and Chairman Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Pitt Establishes Joint Engineering Institute with China’s Sichuan University

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n April 2013 the University of Pittsburgh and Sichuan University in China announced a partnership establishing an innovative joint engineering program to educate undergraduate students and foster collaborative research. The Sichuan University Pittsburgh Institute, as it will be named, expects to enroll its first class in the fall of 2014.

Approximately three years in planning, the partnership was envisioned and shepherded by the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and its chair, Minking Chyu, PhD. Sichuan University is one of the oldest national universities in China and is ranked No. 8 among Chinese universities in Shanghai Jiaotong University’s Academic Ranking of World

Universities. It is a research university with a more than 40,000 undergraduate students, 20,000 master’s degree and PhD candidates, and 1,000 foreign students and students from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Sichuan University has established contacts and cooperative relationships with more than 150 renowned colleges and universities as well as research institutes from 42 countries and regions.

“Sichuan presented a unique opportunity for our Department, the Swanson School and Pitt to partner with one of Asia’s top engineering programs,” Dr. Chyu said. “This enables us to provide our exemplary engineering programs to some of China’s best engineering students, as well as to give our own faculty the opportunity to teach at Sichuan.”

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Pitt is one of only five U.S. universities to have entered into a large-scale partnership agreement with a university in China; the others are Carnegie Mellon University, Duke University, New York University, and the University of Michigan.

Sichuan University is the premier university in western China, located in Chengdu within Sichuan Province, and it is consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in China. Sichuan University will initially invest nearly $40 million to support the construction and equipping of a new 100,000-square-foot building to house the institute on its campus.

“This extraordinary partnership marks a milestone in the history of the University of Pittsburgh, expanding the University’s influence as a force for educational and research innovation while allowing Pitt to benefit from an alliance with Sichuan University, one of China’s preeminent institutions of higher education,” said University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.

“We at Pitt are fortunate to partner with such an esteemed university, are grateful for the strong commitment it has made to this joint endeavor, and look forward to what we expect will be an enduring and fruitful relationship between our two leading research universities.”

“This partnership will enable our students to be much better prepared for practicing their profession globally,” said Gerald D. Holder, U.S. Steel Dean of Engineering and professor in Pitt’s Swanson School. “The large number of American companies that do work in China or sell products there will benefit from the intercultural education that the joint institute provides. I hope the program

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will open many doors for future opportunities with Sichuan University.”

With emphases on advanced sustainable manufacturing and educational innovation, the institute will initially offer three undergraduate degree programs: industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, and materials science and engineering. Students in the institute will be recruited from the United States, China, and possibly other countries, with the first class in fall 2014 expected to comprise 100 students.

Within seven years, enrollment is projected to grow to a final total of 1,600.

Students will spend the first two years of the program immersed in the Pitt curriculum in China with the option of transferring to Pitt’s main campus during their third year in the program.

Students who transfer to Pitt directly after their sophomore year will earn a bachelor’s degree from both Sichuan University and Pitt, and all students will receive an institute certificate upon completion of their studies. Qualified students will also be able to continue their graduate studies at Pitt.

Faculty from around the world will be recruited to teach at the institute, with 20 in 2014 and an expected total of 80 by 2018. All faculty will undergo rigorous training to ensure that they will provide appropriate course content in an active learning format. Pitt faculty interested in a semester or yearlong sabbatical to teach in the institute will be considered. All Pitt-curriculumbased courses will be taught in the English language. Sichuan University will cover not only the institute’s operating costs, but also faculty start-up funds.

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Members from both universities comprise the project team responsible for spearheading this partnership. Led by Holder, key contributing members from Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering are Bopaya Bidanda, chair and Ernest E. Roth Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering; Minking Chyu, chair and Leighton and Mary Orr Chair Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science; Larry Shuman, Distinguished Service Professor and senior associate dean for academic affairs; and Qing-Ming Wang, director of the mechanical engineering graduate program and professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science.

Provost Beeson played an instrumental role in moving the partnership forward and will continue to provide her leadership as the partnership develops. In addition, Lawrence Feick, Pitt’s senior director of international programs, director of the University Center for International Studies, acting codirector of the Asian Studies Center, and professor of business administration in the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, has played and will continue to play a significant role in coordinating various entities within Pitt and the connection between Pitt and Sichuan University.

The project team members from Sichuan University are Guangxian Li, executive vice president; Shijing Yan, vice president of the International Affairs; Ping Guan, deputy director of the International Office; and Liying Yao, director of major projects in the International Office.

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Engaging Undergraduates in Graduate-Level Research

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he transformation of Benedum Hall continues apace, but one area off the beaten path – in the building’s sub-basement – has experienced not only a physical but also a pedagogical transformation.

Rooms SB 23 and SB 27 are homes to the MEMS Teaching Lab and lab courses 1041 and 1042 – Mechanical Measurements. For nearly the past four years the Mechanical Engineering program and Assistant Professor Mark Kimber, PhD have reimagined how to create a more hands-on approach within an undergraduate lab setting, and better prepare students for future academic and professional careers.

“The Mechanical Measurements courses have always presented themselves as an opportunity to provide graduate-level research opportunities to our juniors and seniors,” Dr. Kimber says. “Shortly after my arrival at Pitt, the Department, also with the input of our visiting committee, had wanted to improve the lab experience, and the Benedum Hall renovations provided the opportunity for us to review not only the physical space, but also how we delivered the courses.”

To determine how the courses could be improved, Dr. Kimber and staff surveyed graduating seniors and recent alumni in the workforce.

While the course was designed to expose students to the fundamentals of mechanical measurements and later to the design and performance of complex mechanical systems, surveys indicated that greater focus on hands-on, research-focused course work would better prepare future graduates.

“Too often we’re wiring the brains of students to view life and work as a series of homework problems to be solved, rather than approaching experiments from multiple points of view,” Dr. Kimber explains. “I believed that we could provide the students with greater challenges by engaging them in research that interested them, rather than

assigning a problem, collecting answers and assigning grades.”

With input from Dr. Kimber, the Department and the Swanson School invested approximately $800,000 in the dual lab space, and purchased research-grade and turn-key equipment with two dozen different applications. The tools vary from solar and wind energy research and vibrational dampers, to an advanced full field optical stress and strain measurement system that Dr. Kimber says would usually be found in a faculty research lab, rather than an undergraduate course.

Once the students begin, they are encouraged to select the research system that interests them and then experience a typical engineering scenario they might encounter. “I like to think of this part of the lab as a “Choose your own adventure” experience,” Dr. Kimber says.

“Because of the breadth of the equipment we now have, students can engage in an experiment that they might have wanted to explore, but couldn’t because of a fixed curriculum.

“By tying the lab work back to the principles and practical nature of solving problems in a research format, we’re teaching them earlier in their education to find solutions as you would in professional life.”

With the redeveloped course now entering its first full year, Dr. Kimber is looking forward to evaluating how undergraduates adapt to a new paradigm, as well as how it impacts them after graduating from Pitt.

“What I find exciting about this lab concept is that it helps students develop thought processes that become a natural part of their problem-solving nature,” he says. “Ultimately, when they are many years into their research or professional careers I’d like them to be able to look back and say that this lab course taught them how to be a better, more intuitive engineer.”

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Dr. Isaac Garcia (left) with post-doctoral student Sin Chien Siw (advisor: M. Chyu) with the Swanson School’s new M-Flex printer.

Pitt MEMS Department and IE Department Establish New Additive Manufacturing Lab and Propose New Graduate Degree in Manufacturing

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ith the advances in additive manufacturing technology (or 3-D printing) as well as its potential impact on manufacturing processes around the world, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Department of Industrial Engineering have jointly proposed a new Manufacturing Master’s Degree Program for the Swanson School of Engineering. With an expected start date in 2014, the 30-credit graduate degree will include thesis (research M.S. track) and non-thesis (professional M.S. track) options.

Isaac Garcia, PhD, research professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, explains that the nascent additive manufacturing industry is requiring a new type of engineering expertise beyond traditional manufacturing.

“Manufacturing in the U.S. and in other western European countries has dramatically transformed over the past several decades,” Dr. Garcia says. “As traditional manufacturing in America has condensed or moved overseas, many manufacturing programs have disappeared from college campuses.

“We instead propose to build upon the strengths of traditional manufacturing and engage graduate students in the evolution of additive manufacturing so that they can become more competitive in these industries.”

Dr. Garcia notes that as additive manufacturing technology advances, there is a greater need to close the knowledge gaps in areas such as quality control, control systems, computer modeling, microstructure-property understanding and qualitative analysis. Because additive manufacturing is not inhibited by complexity of parts or constraints of thermodynamics, the potential for developing new products is pronounced. However, greater advances are somewhat limited by the current knowledge of materials and their properties within an additive manufacturing environment.”

“Right now the knowledge of how ceramics, metals and polymers can be utilized in manufacturing is limited to journal publications or proprietary research,” Dr. Garcia says. “One of our long-term goals through this program is to also establish an additive manufacturing database to further speed the potential of this technology.”

Establishing a One-of-a-Kind Teaching Lab To ensure the comprehensive success of the program, the MEMS Department invested in the latest additive manufacturing technologies, and is currently installing four new devices specifically for the program – including the first 3D printer of its kind in North America.

“It was important to provide this program with the technological foundation necessary for our graduates to fully explore the potential of additive continued on next page > >

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manufacturing,” notes Minking Chyu, PhD, Pitt’s Leighton and Mary Orr Professor and Chairman of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. “We targeted four devices that could address the manufacturing of different materials in different environments and therefore expand the depth of our research.”

Most notable among the systems is the M-Flex, which utilizes metal powders to manufacture forms, which are then heated in a process called sintering to bond the material. This is the first installation in the U.S. and Canada of the M-Flex, which manufactured by ExOne with its MidAtlantic headquarters in North Huntington, Pa., approximately 17 miles from Pittsburgh.

Another device is the PLD-3000 Pulsed Laser Deposition System, manufactured by PVD Products Inc. Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) uses a laser

Additive Manufacturing Program beam to vaporize a solid target material to produce a thin film with exactly the same chemical composition as the original target material.

The PLD process enables the deposition of many materials over a wide range of background gas compositions and pressures. Applications for this technology include fuel cells, superconductors, metal insulator transitions and catalysts.

The LENS Model 450 3D Laser Manufacturing System produced by Optomec will enable researchers to explore rapid manufacturing in industrial applications. The Laser Engineered Net Shaping printer can fabricate, enhance and repair high performance metal components with applications in aerospace and power generation as well as medical devices. The LENS process utilizes metals and alloys including titanium, stainless steel, nickel, and cobalt.

Lastly, the Stratasys OBJ260 Connex utilizes polymer stereolithography to print up to 14 material properties into a single part.

Building a Bridge to Industry To further enhance the academic program, the Department will engage with industry partners including ExOne and Optomec and thereby create an active dynamic between researcher and manufacturer.

“Across our curriculum we have seen greater research potential when we engage industry in the research process,” Dr. Garcia says. “By establishing these partnerships and giving graduate students the opportunity to work directly with the leaders in additive manufacturing, we can enhance the synergy between us.”

“Just as the heavy manufacturing industry was born in Pittsburgh with companies like US Steel, Mesta Machine and the American Bridge Company, it’s appropriate that the University of Pittsburgh establishes itself at the forefront of additive manufacturing research,” Dr. Chyu says.

“This is the first graduate degree program of its kind and has the potential to advance additive manufacturing technology around the globe.”

Pitt Faculty Awarded Department of Energy Grant to Develop Advanced Controls for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors

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esearchers at the University of Pittsburgh were awarded an $800,000 grant from the through the DOE’s Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP) to develop advanced instrumentation and control systems for small modular reactors (SMRs). The team’s research will lead to more effective staffing at these advanced reactors, which generate less than 300 megawatts of electricity but allow for multiple reactors at one site.

Principle investigator is Daniel Cole, PhD, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and interim director of the Swanson School of Engineering’s nuclear engineering program. Co-PI is Daniel Mossé, PhD, chair of the Department of Computer Science.

“Because SMRs allow for the installation of several reactors inside one facility, you can’t staff each as you would a typical modern reactor and make it economically viable,” Dr. Cole explains. “Rather than duplicating staffing protocols, we’re proposing the development of a supervisory control system that will provide operators with the necessary information needed for reactor, module, and plant management.”

Another aspect of the research will investigate condition-based monitoring to better predict fault-tolerance within the plant, as well as in the future change the operating conditions during peak and off-peak loads.

“If you can better monitor how the systems function and improve maintenance schedules, you can enhance operations and allow the supervisory staff to better monitor the entire plant,” Dr. Cole says. “The ultimate goal is to predict problems before they occur, provide for the possibility of cogeneration within the plant, and adapt to the natural ebbs and flows in the power grid, creating a more economically efficient system.”

DOE awarded awarding $42 million in support of the Nuclear Energy University Programs for 61 nuclear energy research and development projects in the U.S. This marks the second consecutive year that the University of Pittsburgh has received NEUP funding.

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ngaging students in innovative study abroad programs continues to be an integral part of Pitt’s engineering curriculum. This past summer the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science co-sponsored “The French Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Normandy,” to great success.

Led by Daniel G. Cole, PhD, associate professor and interim director of Pitt’s nuclear program; and Mark Kimber, PhD, assistant professor, the eight students in the program experienced how one of the world’s leading nuclear nations has built trust in and developed its nuclear energy program.

A joint program with ESIGELEC (École d’ingénieurs généralistes) in Rouen, France, the two-week, three-credit course focuses on the structure of nuclear engineering in France and the fuel cycle for these processes.

“Unlike the U.S., whose commercial nuclear programs stalled after Three Mile Island, the French have made nuclear the center of the nation’s energy policy,” Dr. Cole says. “And in a career field like nuclear engineering, understanding the socio-political factors is almost as important as understanding the technology itself.”

As part of the course, students explored the fuel life cycle of nuclear energy in France from a variety of locations and perspectives including the upstream and downstream side of energy production. Upon arriving in Rouen and meeting with ESIGELEC partners, the group toured facilities where intermediate low-level waste is stored, and a deep geologic facility where the French plan to store high-level waste like fission products.

“Unlike the U.S., France very effectively and efficiently reprocesses its spent fuel and so we thought it was important for students to see how another country is dealing with issues surrounding storage.” Partnerships with state-founded companies including Andra, the National Radioactive Waste Management Agency, and EDF, Électricité de France, were a crucial component, Dr. Cole says.

And with a weekend trip to Paris to provide a cultural break, other parts of the course in France included touring the Flamanville Nuclear Plant on the Cotentin Peninsula in Northern France. Construction of a new Areva European

Pressurized Reactor is currently underway there, with estimated completion in 2016. The group later toured Areva’s La Hague site in Cherbourg, which provides the first stage in the reprocessing used fuel from nuclear reactors in France and other countries.

Now that the course has completed its first year, Dr. Cole is looking forward to continuing it as an integral part of Pitt’s nuclear engineering program. “I think one of the most important experiences our students can have is visiting a country that is a leader in nuclear power, and how they grapple not only with nuclear engineering, but also the social controversies it engenders,” Dr. Cole explained. “If we are going to successfully re-integrate nuclear energy into our energy policy in the U.S., we need the next generation of engineers to experience first-hand how other countries and cultures have accomplished it.”

Pictured: back row (l to r): Mark Kimber, Ben Goclano, Ethan Pampena, David Spano, Nathalie Murdoch (ESIGELEC), Matt Varga, Dan Cole Front row (l to r): Jill Miskinis, Megan Mandich, Sarah Narburgh (CMU), Taylor Terek

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Engineering of the Renaissance S

ince 2012, Pitt students have had the opportunity to experience one of the most important cities in engineering history – Florence, Italy. The capital of the Italian region of Tuscany, Florence has long been considered the birthplace of the Renaissance and is noted for the important principles of engineering and physics developed during that time.

Led by Giovanni P. Galdi, PhD, the Leighton and Mary N. Orr Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Anne M. Robertson, PhD, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering, the program focuses on the impact of Florence in transforming Western Civilization through the minds of individuals like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and the Medicis.

“The entire program is an adventure for our students, who participate in a completely different way of learning engineering,” Professor Galdi, a native of Naples, Italy, said. “By visiting the museums and historic sites where so many of our modern engineering principles were formed, it gives them a unique perspective on their education and their chosen profession. Even students who have previously visited find the course fantastic.”

Pictured is civil and environmental engineering student, Jacob Presken.

Professors Galdi and Robertson imbue the course with liberal arts as much as engineering, teaching students about why Florence had such a tremendous impact on engineering history.

“After the Black Death had ravaged Europe in the 14th century, people began to question everything, including their faith,” Professor Galdi explains.

“People wanted to return to life, and began to question the world around them. Curiosity for how the world works would engender a new way of thinking.”

For example, one of the sites that students visit is the Pozzo di San Patrizio, or St. Patrick’s Well in Orvieto. Built by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger for Pope Clement VII in the 16th century, the well was designed to provide water to the town in the event of a siege during the sack of Rome by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. “What’s astounding is that this is not a well as we traditionally imagine, with a bucket on a rope and winch,” Professor Galdi says. “It’s almost 200 feet deep and almost 50 feet wide, and is accessed by two spiral ramps, which allowed animals to carry water unimpeded in either direction. And walking

into it is like stepping back in time 500 years – it is a remarkable work of engineering.”

Most importantly, Professor Galdi wants his students to understand that the engineering in Florence arose primarily through the minds of artists. “da Vinci could draw images with photographic detail,” he says. “One of my specialties is turbulence, and da Vinci really was the first to study it, and his drawings of turbulence were both scientifically accurate and artistically beautiful.

“I think that if our students, regardless of their discipline, see engineering as an art, they can build upon the transformative leap happened in Florence in the 15th and 16th centuries, and take engineering to new heights in the 21st century.”

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Go With the Flow:

MEMS Researchers Receive NSF Grant to Better Understand how Liquids and Solids Interact

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he interaction of a viscous liquid with a solid body is a common phenomenon in nature that impacts everyday life from arterial blood flow and animal locomotion to structural damage from flooding to the manufacturing of short-fiber composites. To address two fundamental aspects of this interaction – the motion of a rigid body with internal cavities that are completely filled with a viscous liquid, and the vibration-induced motion of a rigid body in a viscous liquid, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Mathematical Sciences has awarded a $183,000 grant to two researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering.

The grant, “Analytical and Numerical Study of Two Problems Arising in solid-Liquid Interaction,” is led by Principle Investigator Giovanni P. Galdi, PhD, Leighton E. and Mary N. Orr Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Mathematics, and Co-PI Paolo Zunino, PhD, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. This recent funding represents the sixth NSF grant that Dr. Galdi has participated in as PI or Co-PI for approximately 15 years and is a world-renowned expert within the field of mathematical fluid mechanics and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Mathematical Fluid Mechanics.

“We’re continuing our research to develop mathematical and numerical analysis to better understand and predict how liquids and solids interact at two critical levels,” Dr. Galdi explains.

“Mathematics investigates the reliability of the system of equations provided by the engineer to model a particular problem, while numerical simulation analyzes their outcome and compares it to the actual experiment. This would help to advance engineering, biological and medical studies at both macro and micro scales by better predicting outcomes in everything from large-scale

infrastructure projects and space exploration to developing robots that can move through fluids without external propulsion.”

The first problem will study how the spontaneous mechanical oscillations of a hollow body can be reduced or totally eliminated by filling the cavity with a viscous liquid, and how this effect is enhanced by an appropriate choice of the liquid characteristics (density, viscosity, physical properties). This research will address macro systems such as geological processes as well rocket propulsion and avionics.

The second problem addresses small- to mediumscale robotics, and how to propel a hollow body in a viscous liquid by a time-periodic displacement of internal masses. This phenomenon is the basis for the design of mobile systems able to move without special propelling devices, which present several advantages over systems based on the conventional principles of motion. “When you want to design a robot that for example needs to move through a medium where a propeller or other external motor that would actually hamper its movement, simple is better,” Dr. Galdi says.

“You can conserve space by eliminating gear trains to transmit motion from the motor to the propellers, and their body can be sealed and smooth. Moreover, they can be driven to a prescribed position with high degree of accuracy, and thus be used in high-precision positioning systems in microscopes, as well as in micro- and nano-technological equipment.

“This principle of motion is suitable for capsuletype microrobots designed for motion in a strongly restricted space, and in vulnerable media, like inside a human body. In theory you could deliver a drug directly to a cancer tumor or blood clot without having the treatment spread throughout the entire body.”

Giovanni P. Galdi, PhD

Paolo Zunino, PhD

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Faculty Advancement The Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science is proud to announce the following faculty appointments and promotions.

New Appointments Dr. Markus Chmielus, Assistant Professor After finishing a degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Stuttgart in Germany, Dr. Chmielus started working on magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMA) in single and polycrystalline form, as bulk, wire, thin film and foam, with Prof.

Peter Müllner (Boise State University).

Afterward, he used advanced neutron scattering techniques as a researcher at the Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy (HZB) in Germany to analyze the microstructure based on their composition and shape and other properties (e.g. mechanical, thermal, magnetic, fatigue) of MSMA while working on his PhD in a collaboration between the HZB (Dr. Rainer Schneider), the Technical University of Berlin (Prof. Walter Reimers), Germany, and Boise State University (Prof. Peter Müllner). As a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University with Prof. Shefford P. Baker, he led the ultra-high vacuum lab and produced, processed, and characterized metal and piezoelectric thin films, their microstructure, and phase or texture transformation and other properties.

Promotions Dr. David Schmidt, Assistant Professor Dr. Schmidt received his PhD in 2009 from Carnegie Mellon University. His dissertation developed computationalbased methods tailored to soft tissue mechanics and tissue engineered cardiovascular systems. Prior to his doctoral studies, Dr. Schmidt held several positions in aerospace, defense and manufacturing industries. His early career concentrated on simulation technologies at ANSYS. Throughout his career, Dr. Schmidt’s primary interest has focused on the integration of engineering design, manufacturing and computational methods. His recent research experience has been in the areas of middle ear gas exchange mechanisms, multi-scale tissue biomechanics, robotic assisted surgery and trachea stenting devices based on an emerging class of biodegradable magnesium alloys. Other research areas include predictive modeling for near-net hot isostatic processing and material characterization for biodegradable alloys.

Anne Robertson, PhD was promoted to full professor. Dr. Robertson was the first woman hired into a tenure-track position in the Swanson School’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and served as Director of the Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering from 2004-2008.

Dr. Robertson leads a research team that investigates cerebral aneurysms, which are pathological outcroppings of brain arteries that can lead to fatal brain hemorrhages. Earlier this year, her team was awarded a coveted National Institutes of Health R21 grant to study the link between hemodynamics and wall structure in cerebral aneurysms. The team’s longterm objectives are to establish new pharmacological based treatment methods for cerebral aneurysms and improve clinical treatments that function by altering flow in the aneurysm dome.

Dr. Robertson also was one of 19 women faculty selected to participate in ELATE at Drexel®, a collaborative project of Drexel University and Drexel University College of Medicine. Now in its second year, ELATE at Drexel is a national leadership development program designed to advance

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Markus Chmielus

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David Schmidt

senior women faculty in academic engineering, computer science, and related fields into effective institutional leadership roles within their schools and universities.

She earned her BS in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and her MS and PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, where she was also a President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Laura Schaefer, PhD was promoted to full professor. A Bicentennial Board of Visitors Faculty Fellow, she is also Deputy Director of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and Associate Director of the Center for Energy. She received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (1995) and a B.A. in English (1995) from Rice University, and her M.S. (1997) and PhD (2000) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Schaefer’s research centers on the analysis, design and optimization of energy systems, with an emphasis on improving energy efficiency and diversification for increased sustainability.

Anne Robertson

Laura Schaefer

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Jung Kun Lee

Dr. Schaefer’s research approach has been to examine energy systems both from a fundamentals viewpoint and in a societal/environmental context. These systems include absorption cycles, fuel cells, two-phase microchannel flow, multijunction solar cells, hydrokinetics, and thermoacoustics. Dr. Schaefer’s research has received over $11 million in funding by organizations such as NSF, AFOSR, ASHRAE, PITA, and NCIIA. Dr. Schaefer is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Editorin-Chief of the Elsevier journal Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, and Past Chair of the Advanced Energy Systems Division of ASME.

Laboratory and joined Los Alamos in January, 2002. At Los Alamos, he was involved in several research projects on photovoltaics, nano-science, spintronics, and semiconductors. Due to his strong performance as a postdoctoral fellow, he was promoted to a technical staff member in January, 2005. His major research topics include sophisticated processing and characterization of nano-structured materials and electronic materials for photovoltaic and information technology.

The scientific quality of his research is validated by more than 80 publications in refereed journals. He also holds 10 patents on the dielectric and optical applications of functional materials.

Jung Kun Lee, PhD was promoted to associate professor. He joined the University of Pittsburgh in September 2007 after more than five years of service at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He received his PhD from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University, Korea. His thesis was on superior electronic properties of domain engineered ferroelectronic thin films and crystals. Then, he won the highly competitive Director’s Postdoctoral Fellowship of Los Alamos National

Dr. Lee’s current research interests include energy and/or electro-optical applications of nano-structured materials. Specific emphasis is placed on 1.) photovoltaic application of wide band-gap nano-particles, 2.) material processing of electronic materials in forms of nano-particles, bulk ceramics/crystals, and thin films, 3.) optical and magnetic properties of nano-particles, and 4.) the surface modification using ion implantation and chemical methods.

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INNOVATE INNOVATE Pitt’s INNOVATE is a study abroad program and international conference for undergraduate and graduate students in business and engineering that examines the relationship between technology, globalization, and leadership in the contemporary marketplace. Participants spend five days each in Beijing and Shanghai and participating in meetings with key business, academic, and government leaders. Students will also engage in professional site visits to many leading multi-national and domestic Chinese companies.

MEMS 2013 INNOVATE participants (l to r): Josh Gyory, Minking Chyu, Brian Jackson, Abby Kender, Stacey Horvitz, Igal Shnaiderman, and Liz Craig.

INNOVATE involves students from multiple countries and numerous US and international universities. In the spirit of international collaboration, the program is designed to promote interaction among students of various cultures and backgrounds. Outside the formal framework of the program, the conversations that occur during dinner and sightseeing excursions are opportunities for participants to reflect on what they have learned and to challenge their thinking about their own cultures. INNOVATE prepares tomorrow’s leaders to grapple with the issues of technology and globalization, not just in the abstract, but also through direct experience.

Univ er si t y of Pi t t sbu rgh | S wanso n S chool of En gi n eeri n g | M EM S News | W i n ter 2014