The Office of the Vice President for Research offers its congratulations to the award recipients of the Institute for Manufacturing Research’s 2006-2007 competition for Graduate Research Assistantships.

This annual competition will support 17 graduate research assistants in fiscal year 2006-2007 to work in synthesis, characterization and materials-dependent research projects in the areas of material sciences and nanotechnology. In addition to proposing sound and significant research projects, successful applicants were selected for their strong track records in mentoring graduate students and obtaining external funding, or the promise of such, for new faculty members.

The following projects were selected for funding:

Gregory Auner, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Novel Self-Assembled Nano Array Platforms (SNAP) for Catalytic, Sensing, Field-Emission and Biomedical Devices

Ivan Avrutsky, Electrical & Computer Engineering, 2D Nano-patterned Surfaces for Studies of Protein Affinity to Silicon

Stephanie Brock, Chemistry, Exploration of M2P Nanoscale Magnets (M = Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) and their Solid Solutions

Xiaoyan Han, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Experimental and Theoretical Study of Acoustic Heating Mechanisms in Cracked Aircraft Alloys; Chaotic vs. Harmonic Ultrasound

Peter Hoffmann, Physics, Amphiphilic Properties of Doped TiO2 Probed by Novel Atomic Force Microscopy Techniques

Yinlun Huang, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Topcoat-Application-Assisted Paint Material Characterization and Design for Coating Quality Assurance

R.M. Kannan, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Synthesis, In Vitro and In Vivo Characterization of Dendrimer-based Nanodevices for Targeted Cancer Drug Delivery

Ming-Chia Lai, Mechanical Engineering, Development of Rapid Thermal-Fluid Prototyping Capabilities for Fuel Injection, Fuel Reforming and Fuel Cell Systems

Gavin Lawes, Physics, Magnetic Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications

Guangzhao Mao, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Making Nano-linkers on Nanoparticles Seeds

Ratna Naik, Physics, Investigation of Multifunctional Behavior of Complex Oxide Thin Films

K.Y. Simon Ng, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Synthesis and Characterization of Patterned Nano-rod Arrays for Neural Implants

Susil Putatunda, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Development of Nano-structured Bainitic Steel and Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI)

Sandro R.P. da Rocha, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, Nanoreactors for the Systemic Delivery of Biomolecules to and Through the Lungs

Pamela VandeVord, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Examining the Cellular Response to Ribrinogen Nanotextured Surfaces

Claudio Verani, Chemistry, Design of Metal-containing Liquid Crystals for Display Technology

Charles Winter, Chemistry, Atomic Layer Deposition of Transition Metal Thin Films