Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science - Materials Science

News & Events

Highlights

ENGenious Wins Gold!

02-25-16

The 2015 issue of ENGenious has won a gold award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VII in the Awards of Excellence category of Annual Magazines. The award is given by the CASE District VII Board of Directors and the Awards of Excellence Committee to "superior magazines published once a year." First published in 2001, ENGenious is a publication for alumni and friends of the Caltech Division of Engineering and Applied Science (EAS). The goal of the publication is to highlight the contributions of the EAS faculty, students, and alumni in research, education, and industry. [ENGenious]

Tags: honors alumni CASE Trity Pourbahrami

Professor Dimotakis Elected to the National Academy of Engineering

02-09-16

Paul E. Dimotakis, John K. Northrop Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Applied Physics, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Professor Dimotakis was elected for his contributions to the fluid mechanics of jet propulsion and other processes involving turbulence, mixing, and transport. [Caltech story]

More »

Tags: APhMS honors GALCIT Paul Dimotakis National Academy of Engineering Adam Steltzner

Moriah Bischann Wins SURF Speaking Competition

02-04-16

Material science undergraduate student Moriah Bischann, mentored by aerospace postdoctoral scholar, Dr. Owen Kingstedt, is the winner of the Doris S. Perpall Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) Speaking Competition. She was recognized as the best speakers-out of the 200 students who presented their SURF research. Her summer research focused on exploring the next generation of structural materials. During her ten week SURF project she studied the effects of alloying and processing on the dynamic behavior of magnesium (Mg). This work was done to address the larger question of whether Mg is a useful material for the automotive, aerospace, energy, and defense industries where a material is needed that has low density, but also the strength to withstand high impact forces.

More »

Tags: APhMS honors research highlights GALCIT Moriah Bischann Owen Kingstedt

Professor Atwater Elected to National Academy of Inventors

12-16-15

Harry A. Atwater, Jr., Howard Hughes Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science; Director, Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, has been named fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). His research focuses on photovoltaics and solar energy—he helped develop an artificial leaf as part of his work with JCAP—as well as plasmonics (oscillations of electrons on the surface of materials) and optical metamaterials (materials comprised of nanostructures). Election as an NAI fellow is an honor bestowed upon academic innovators and inventors who have "demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions and innovations that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society." [Caltech story] [NAI release]

Tags: APhMS honors Harry Atwater

Professor Atwater Receives David Adler Lectureship Award

10-05-15

Harry A. Atwater, Jr., Howard Hughes Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science as well as the Director of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, has been awarded the 2016 David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics by the American Physical Society. The Award recognizes “an outstanding contributor to the field of materials physics, who is noted for the quality of his research, review articles, and lecturing.” [Learn more]

Tags: APhMS honors Harry Atwater

Highly Cited Researchers

09-11-15

The Thomson Reuters compilation of the most highly cited researchers— those in the top 1%—include EAS professors Harry Atwater, William Goddard, Babak Hassibi, Joel Tropp, Kerry Vahala, and Paul Wennberg. This compilation aims to identify researchers with exceptional impact on their respective fields. [Detailed information on the methodology]

Tags: APhMS EE honors Harry Atwater CMS ESE Paul Wennberg William Goddard Joel Tropp Kerry Vahala Babak Hassibi

Professor Bernardi Wins the Psi-K Volker Heine Young Investigator Award

09-11-15

Marco Bernardi, Assistant Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science, has won the 2015 Psi-K Volker Heine Young Investigator Award. The award is given in recognition of an individual’s outstanding computational work in condensed-matter, materials, or nanoscience research involving electronic structure calculations. Professor Bernardi has received it for his research in first principles electronic structure calculations of the ultrafast dynamics of excited electrons in materials. His research is addressing the question of “how does an excited electron lose its energy?” which is central in a variety of fields ranging from condensed matter physics to electrical engineering and energy. Bernardi has developed and applied calculations to study the dynamics of out-of-equilibrium charge carriers, also known as hot carriers, in semiconductors and metals. [Learn more]

Tags: APhMS honors research highlights Marco Bernardi

Professor Fultz to Receive William Hume-Rothery Award

07-06-15

Brent Fultz, Barbara and Stanley R. Rawn, Jr., Professor of Materials Science and Applied Physics, has been named by the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) as the recipient of the 2016 William Hume-Rothery Award. He is receiving the award for “his groundbreaking contributions to the thermodynamics of materials.” This pinnacle award recognizes a scientific leader for exceptional scholarly contributions to the science of alloys. Professor Fultz will also be an honored presenter at the William Hume-Rothery Memorial Symposium held in conjunction with the TMS Annual Meeting.

Tags: APhMS honors Brent Fultz

Professors Rosakis and Daraio Honored by Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM)

06-22-15

Ares J. Rosakis, Theodore von Karman Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, is the 2015 recipient of the Sia Nemat-Nasser Medal “for innovative singular theoretical and experimental contributions in dynamic fracture and optical techniques, and their application to rupture faults.” The Sia Nemat-Nasser Medal is awarded by the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) and recognizes an individual for distinguished, innovative, and outstanding work that has realized the impact of experimental mechanics on other scientific and engineering fields through an integrated multidisciplinary research. Professor Rosakis received the award at the 2015 SEM annual conference. At the same event Professor Chiara Daraio and colleagues received the 2015 M. Hetényi Award for best research paper published in Experimental Mechanics. Furthermore, EAS alumnus Hugh Bruck became a 2015 fellow and EAS alumnus John Lambros received the M.M. Frocht Award.

Tags: APhMS honors Chiara Daraio GALCIT Ares Rosakis Hugh Bruck John Lambros

Professor Minnich Receives Young Investigator Award

05-01-15

Austin Minnich, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Physics, has won a 2015 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Award. The objectives of the Young Investigator Program are to attract to naval research outstanding new faculty members, to support their research, and to encourage their teaching and research careers. Professor Minnich’s award is for his proposal entitled, “Investigation of the Atomistic Mechanisms Governing Heat Conduction in Polymers.” [List of Recipients]

Tags: APhMS honors MCE Austin Minnich