MSE Briefs

ChemE Undergrad Anna Harris to Present Membrane Manufacturing Research at Society’s Annual Meeting

Anna Harris, a third-year chemical engineering major, has won an Undergraduate Student Travel Supplement to attend NAMS 2023, the North American Membrane Society’s annual meeting.

Harris is an undergraduate researcher working with associate professor of chemical engineering Geoff Geise, who also has a courtesy appointment in materials science and engineering. Geise’s research group specializes in the design of polymeric materials for membrane-based liquid separations and energy applications.

Harris earned the award to present a poster on her research project, “Analysis of Manufacturing Methods of Ion-Exchange Membranes for Desalination,” at the meeting.

Harris’ research focuses on the characterization of polymer membranes that can be used for water purification through electrodialysis — a process used to remove salt ions from water streams through alternating cation and anion exchange membranes. She is comparing the properties associated with membranes she creates in the lab and those made using an emerging electrospray technology in additive manufacturing by her collaborators at the University of Connecticut.

“We are hoping to show that the fine-tuning capabilities of electrospray technology allow for more material control, which leads to more efficient ion transport and increased membrane selectivity. This manufacturing method decreases material and energy costs to effectively manufacture more sustainable materials in an effort of green engineering,” said Harris, who is an A. James Clark Scholar.

MSE Ph.D. Student Wins Prize for Presentation at Electronic Materials and Applications Conference

Samantha Jaszewski, a materials science and engineering Ph.D. student in associate professor Jon Ihlefeld’s multifunctional thin film research group, has won third place for Best Student Oral Presentation at EMA2023, The American Ceramic Society’s Electronic Materials and Applications conference.

Jaszewski spoke on her project, “Impact of Processing Parameters on Crystallization and Ferroelectric Behavior of Hafnium Oxide Thin Films,” which ultimately aims to save energy in computing by using a new material, ferroelectric hafnium oxide.

“This material will enable us to co-locate computing and memory elements in integrated circuits, a more efficient architecture that will result in energy savings,” Jaszewski said. “My research focuses on investigating the factors that stabilize ferroelectric hafnium oxide so that the semiconductor industry can control the material’s behavior and integrate it into devices.”

Jaszewski has been working with Ihlefeld, an associate professor of materials science and engineering and electrical and computer engineering, since joining his lab in 2018. Her research is funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a highly competitive program that recognizes the recipient’s potential contributions to science, technology and education, as well as society and future needs of the nation.

EMA 2023 is an international conference focused on electroceramic materials and their applications in electronic, electrochemical, electromechanical, magnetic, dielectric and optical components, devices and systems. It is jointly programmed by the Electronics Division and Basic Science Division of The American Ceramic Society.

Peer-Reviewed Article Utilizing NMCF Instrumentation Makes Top-10!

MSE Grad Students Win UVA Entrepreneurship Cup

Congratulations to the University of Virginia Entrepreneurship Cup winners MSE grad students Ankita Biswas, Ho Lun Chan, Ryan Grimes and Roberto Herrera del Valle.

Environmental Science Geochemistry Students Tour NMCF

John R. Scully Elected Member of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine

UVA MSE congratulates John R. Scully, Charles Henderson Chaired Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and department chair, elected member of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

Balachandran’s Research Group Uncovers Low Thermal Conductivity Behavior of Novel Thermoelectric Materials

Thermoelectric materials have been of great interest for a number of decades due to their ability to generate power, such as recycling of waste heat. Prasanna Balachandran, assistant professor of materials science and engineering and mechanical and aerospace engineering, is conducting research to deepen theoretical knowledge about polar thermoelectric materials for energy conversion technologies. 

UVA Students Deepen Research and Broaden Horizons at 7th Venice International School in Lasers in Material Science

Ph.D. students Antonios Valavanis, Anustup Chakraborty and Julissa Velasquez traveled to Isola di San Servolo this July to participate in the 7th Venice International School in Lasers in Material Science. A total of 38 Ph.D. students — including the three UVA and five other students from the United States — completed the intensive biennial summer program.

Ph.D. Student Lin Gao Earns TMS Top Paper Award for Additive Manufacturing Highly Ductile Steel

Lin Gao, a Ph.D. student of materials science and engineering, earned first place in The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society best paper contest for graduate students.

Kory Burns Joins UVA MSE as Rising Scholar Research Scientist

UVA Engineering is pleased to announce that Kory Burns, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering as a rising scholar research scientist, with a promotion to assistant professor of materials science and engineering on August 1, 2024.