Author: Sue Hill

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering congratulates Owen Mills on his upcoming retirement. We have enjoyed working with him during his years here at Michigan Tech and not only is he a valuable asset to MSE but we consider him part of the MSE family.

Owen you will be missed by all of us more than words can say! Your time, experience, expertise, has been so beneficial to MSE and Michigan Tech. We hope your successor will strive to follow your stellar example. We are saddened to see you go but wish you nothing but success and happiness in retirement. While June 30, 2020, was his last day, we will celebrate his retirement at a later date in August.

Graduate student Chathura de Alwis (Chem), research assistant professor Timothy R. Leftwich (MSE), and assistant professor Kathryn A. Perrine (Chem) published their seminal paper on their new surface technique, “New Approach to Simultaneous In Situ Measurements of the Air/Liquid/Solid Interface Using PM-IRRAS” in Langmuir on March 16, 2020.

Leftwich is an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and manager of the Surface Analysis Facility in the shared facility ACMAL, the Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory.

Cite This

New Approach to Simultaneous In Situ Measurements of the Air/Liquid/Solid Interface Using PM-IRRAS
Chathura de Alwis, Timothy R. Leftwich, Kathryn A. Perrine
Langmuir 2020, XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX
Publication Date: March 16, 2020
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b03958

Extract

Vibrational spectroscopy techniques have evolved to measure gases, liquids, and solids at surfaces and interfaces. In the field of surface-sensitive vibrational spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy measures the adsorption on surfaces and changes from reactions. Previous polarized modulated-infrared reflection–absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) measurements at the gas/solid interface were developed to observe catalytic reactions near reaction conditions.

This article presents a new method that is used to observe in situ adsorption of molecules using PM-IRRAS at the gas/liquid/solid interface. We demonstrate the meniscus method by measuring the adsorption of octadecanethiol on gold surfaces.

In Print

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) coauthored “Scaling of Greenhouse Crop Production in Low Sunlight Environments” published in Science of the Total Environment.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136012

In the News

Research developed by Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) was highlighted in an article “A full-scale nuclear winter would trigger a global famine. A disaster expert put together a doomsday diet to save humanity” published in Business Insider.

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) was quoted in the UK’s Daily Mail story: Mortality rates declined significantly in counties where coal plants closed according to new study, saving an estimated 26,610 American lives between 2005 and 2018.”

Pearce’s research was also covered in “A Full-Scale Nuclear Winter Would Trigger a Global Famine. Here’s What We Would Eat” published in Science Alert and Finland’s Verkkouutiset news.

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) was mentioned in the article “3D Printing Against Coronavirus: Who And How To Help,” in Fabbalo, 3D Printing News.

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) was quoted in an article “3D Printing Against Coronavirus: Who And How To Help” in Fabbaloo. Pearce was also quoted in the article “MTU engineering experts join open-source ventilator movement to overcome COVID-19” in News-Medical.Net

Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) was referenced in the article “Climate Disrupted: A Circular Technology,” in 3DPrinting.com.

Bowen Li (MSE/IMP) is the principal investigator on a project that has received an $18,544 research and development grant from Michigan State University. The project is titled, “Upcycling of Vermiculite Fines as Animal Feed Additives.”

Paul Fraley is the Co-PI on this 6 month project.

The article ‘Location, Location, Location: Developing Tomorrow’s Engineers Way “U.P.” North at Michigan Tech‘ is a special feature in the December 2019 issue “Process Control & Automation” of Iron & Steel Technology. The article by Kurt Edwards and Danielle Schleiden focuses on the efforts of Paul Sanders, Stephen Kampe, Tim Eisele, Rick Berkey, Dan Fuhrmann, Alex Sergeyev, industry recruiters, and Enterprise teams to do research and education on metals.

Iron & Steel Technology is a publication of AIST, the Association for Iron & Steel Technology.

Michigan Tech was well represented at the 2019 National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP) Great Lakes Regional meeting on Oct. 21 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

The meeting was hosted by the UM Office of Research, UM Institute for Clinical & Health Research and infoReady Corporation. Peter Larsen, Director of Research Development (AVPRD) and Jessica Brassard, Associate Director of Research Development (AVPRD) delivered a presentation entitled “Behind the Scenes of Research Development Day”.

Elizabeth Hoy, Business and Program Development Director at the Great Lakes Research Center, delivered a presentation entitled “Navigating Growth in a Faculty-Focused Research Environment”. Additional sessions included information on best practices, metrics, and tools to support research projects from initiation to completion.

GE, BASF and AbbVie were on hand to provide their perspective on research collaboration with higher education institutes.

Other Michigan Tech attendees included Brent Burns (AVPRD), Director of Federal Relations & Corporate Research; Jackie Gebhardt (GLRC), Coordinator; Allison Hein (MSE), Research Engineer and Scientist I – IMP; Jacob Manchester (AVPRD), Associate Director of Corporate Research; and Grace Schmitz (HRI), Institute Manager.

NORDP is the only professional association dedicated to helping members advance research in higher education institutes. NORDP provides tools to enhance research competitiveness as well as catalyze new research and institutional collaboration.