July 2005 Archives

An international authority in the field of nano-materials, Jay Switzer has always been intrigued by experimentation and discovery. Even his title at UMR – he is the Donald L. Castleman/Foundation for Chemical Research Professor of Discovery – reflects his passion for the quest into the unknown. His specialty involves electrodeposition, a method of “growing" minuscule ceramic materials, layer by thin layer, on a base surface. It’s a process that mimics the way stalagmites grow from mineral deposits in caves.

Chuck Williams is always seeking attention.

UMR students are part of a team of researchers turning heads with a new technique to create tiny semiconducting materials, known as quantum dots.

Jee-Ching Wang thinks small.

Shrinking science

Chemical and biological engineers are taking their cue from the microchip industry by helping to develop tiny medical devices, like microneedles. Using tiny glass spheres and self-crafted microchannels, one UMR researcher is studying how the irregularly shaped, cohesive particles behave during delivery. Her work will provide more insight into how cells interact and why they break apart.

Umit Koylu is serious about soot.

For the past five years Koylu, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UMR, and his students have been investigating how the microscopic particles form during combustion.

More than 50 years ago, Dr. Seuss introduced the idea of small-scale worlds to his young audience with the classic Horton Hears a Who. Today UMR researchers continue to stretch our imaginations with MEMS, tiny machines whose gears are the size of a grain of pollen.