Tag: Materials Science and Engineering

Zachary Morgan
Materials Science & Engineering

Specializing in computational materials research as a Ph.D. student, I am motivated by opportunities where I can utilize knowledge of numerical analysis, scientific visualization, and data processing to investigate problems in materials science. I have had many opportunities to grow as a professional in research, teaching, and volunteering here at Michigan Tech which has given me a fulfilling experience. Currently, I am working on modeling and simulation of defects in materials under the influence of driving forces due to harsh and extreme conditions including electric fields and stresses. I develop my own software that allows me to investigate these interesting problems. A special thank you is given to my advisor Dr. Yongmei Jin for all of her wonderful support and encouragement. Additionally, I’d like to thank the Department of Materials Science and Engineering here at Tech. I am grateful to the Graduate School for its support through the Finishing Fellowship.

Di Huang
Materials Science & Engineering

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Material Science and Engineering, working with my advisor, Dr. Jiann-Yang Hwang. Over the past four years, my research interest has been focused on ion exchange membranes, which play important roles in desalination and purification industry. Ion exchange membranes that are more related to my research is the industrial wastewater treatment. Studying the high-performance ion exchange membranes helps to solve the excessive water pollution issue, such as wastewater of plating industry. The synthesis method implemented in my research can appropriately decrease the production cost of ion exchange membranes applied for treating wastewater with high heavy metal ions. Furthermore, this ion exchange membrane would better save electrical energy for electrochemical device which were widely used in wastewater retreatment field.

am extremely honored to be awarded the finishing scholarship and very grateful to have this support during this stage of my research. This fellowship provides me  precious time and energy to focus on my final dissertation and allows me equipping myself to start the next stage of my career.

Nupur Bihari
Materials Science and Engineering

I moved to the beautiful city of Houghton as a Master’s student in Electrical Engineering and worked on my thesis (under Dr. Paul Bergstrom) on a microfabricated blood typing sensor. Continuing to explore semiconductor microfabrication and vacuum systems, I joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in Fall 2016 under Dr. Joshua Pearce. I began my PhD research on integrating the disparate worlds of additive manufacturing and semiconductor fabrication.

Additive manufacturing is radically changing the way polymer-based components are manufactured. It has enabled customization, reduced costs and led to unprecedented growth in the acceptance and use of polymers in scientific research equipment. Despite the ubiquity of 3-D printed materials in research applications, they have remained conspicuously absent from semiconductor research, primarily due to their apparent incompatibility with vacuum equipment. This incompatibility is mainly in terms of outgassing of volatile organic species. Outgassing in polymers arises when low molecular mass entities present in the material matrix escape when exposed to vacuum. If polymers are coated with a conformal, crystalline, inorganic film introduced with atomic layer deposition (ALD), then outgassing can be reduced to a large extent because the surface layer acts as a seal to prevent these low molecular weight species present in the bulk of the material from escaping. Going a step further, I am in the process of building a first of its kind ALD system almost entirely out of 3-D printed polymeric materials.
I would like to express my gratitude to Graduate School for the finishing fellowship. I am honored to have my research get this recognition.

Huaguang Wang
Materials Science and Engineering

Mr. Huaguang Wang received his BS and MS degrees in Metallurgical Engineering from Central South University in China. Currently, he is pursuing her Ph.D. degree at MTU from Fall 2015 under the supervision of Dr. Bowen Li. His Ph.D. research focuses on nano-composite materials synthesis, mineral processing, and microwave technology. After the completion of his Ph.D., if an opportunity arises from his hometown university, he would be interested to take on a faculty position to perform research and teach. Secondary to that is to find R&D positions in the United States.

Liang Chang
Materials Science and Engineering

Liang Chang received her BS and MS degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology in China. Now, she is pursuing her PhD degree in MTU from 2013 under the instruction of Prof. Yun Hang Hu. Currently, her research focuses on electrode materials for supercapacitors, carbon electrodes for CDI water treatment, and 2D transition metal dichalcogenides for devices. After 4 years systematic training, she is confident and looks forward to fulfilling her career in contributing to energy storage area.