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MRS Lunch 'n' Lecture
Deaf and Blind: Having Fun with Periodic Polymers
Speaker: Edwin (Ned) Thomas
Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Department Head of Materials Science and Engineering
Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm (pizza and refreshments will be served at 11:40am)
Location: The Chipman Room (6-104)
Abstract: Nanotechnology requires control of materials from the atomic to the 100 nanometer to the macroscopic level. Exploiting the size and shape dependence of material properties and accessing multi-functionality holds great promise for the development of materials that will contribute to novel future technologies. Polymers are a class of materials that have a very broad range of properties and moreover, can act as hosts for metallic and dielectric nanoparticles as well as organic molecules, resulting in nanocomposites with combinations of properties not available by other means. Periodic structural assemblies are of particular interest, due to their interesting interactions with waves: especially electromagnetic and mechanical waves. Progress in this exciting area requires excellent control of structure formation. A top-down, bottom-up approach, involving interference lithography and self assembly is demonstrating good success in fabricating the requisite structures and desired properties for photonics and phononics.
*The MRS "Lunch N Lecture" is a series of informal talks from any faculty member whose research interests are in materials. To learn more about the MRS and its lecture series, please visit the MRS homepage. Want to see a particular faculty member give a talk? E-mail the MRS officers at mrschapter.officers(at)mit.edu and give us suggestions!
Sponsored by MRS and DMSE.
Spring 2008 Materials Science Seminar Series
Driven Assembly at the Nansocale, and its Application to Nanofabrication
Friday, April 18 at 12 noon
Room 6-120
Refreshments at 11:30 am in the Chipman Room (6-104)
Professor Juan J. de Pablo
Howard Curler Distinguished Professor
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Devising nanofabrication strategies that rely on the molecular self-assembly of complex fluids and materials has focused on conceiving strategies to drive and direct that self-assembly, largely by developing multiscale modeling models and methods. This talk discusses three modeling approaches, along with their usefulness and limitations, in the context of three distinct nanofabrication platforms.
1. Elongation and presentation of long DNA molecules in nanofluidic channels. A coarse grain model has been used to design a gene-mapping device and to interpret experimental data pertaining to the structure and dynamics of confined chromosome-length DNA.
2. Liquid-crystal based biosensors. A multiscale model has been used to design liquid-crystal-based devices in which nanoscale particles self assemble into highly regular structures, including chains, upon exposure to proteins or virions.
3. Formation of ordered, defect-free block copolymer structures on nanopatterned substrates. A new, mesoscopic formalism has been developed to describe the structure and dynamics of block copolymer blends and composites.
For more info about Prof. de Pablo, see his research website.
Please join us!
Quick-changing camouflage in octopus and squid: Potential biomimetic and biophotonic applications in engineering and materials science
Friday, April 4 at noon
Room 6-120
Refreshments at 11:30 am in the Chipman Room (6-104)
Dr. Roger Hanlon
Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole
The initial change from camouflaged to conspicuous takes only milliseconds due to direct neural control of the skin. Full expression of the threat display (right) is two seconds. Video clip available.
Abstract: Research relevant to this talk includes the cephalopod eye that acts as a sensor to selectively extract certain visual background cues to decide which camouflage to implement on any background. Extraocular photoreceptors that help mediate or fine-tune this response are currently under study. Cephalopods have "magical skin" that produces an impressive array of visual illusions. Various pigmentary organs and structural reflectors manipulate light both actively and passively, and some of these biological structures and materials show promise for the development of bio-inspired sensors and materials.
Spring 2008 Wulff Lecture
Scratching Below the Surface:
Material Metastability Enables
Engineering Solutions
Prof. Krystyn J. Van Vliet
Thomas Lord Assistant Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT
Coupling between the chemical and mechanical states of materials enables applications such as actuators and transducers, defines the environmental susceptibility of mechanical stiffness and strength, and facilitates all biological processes in cells including adhesion to extracellular materials, migration, and differentiation. The Van Vliet Laboratory for Material Chemomechanics studies this chemomechanical coupling in a range of material systems including supersaturated metal alloys, nanoscale amorphous oxides, synthetic polymer thin films, and living mammalian cells and microbes. Prof. Van Vliet will discuss recent progress in the nanoscale experiments and computational simulation of three such material systems, and share what her group has learned about the challenges of modeling and understanding material behavior at surfaces and interfaces that are far from equilibrium.
The Wulff Lecture is an introductory, general-audience, entertaining lecture which serves to educate, inspire, and encourage MIT undergraduates to take up study in the field of materials science and engineering and related fields. The entire MIT community is invited to attend. The Wulff Lecture honors the late Professor John Wulff, a skilled, provocative, and entertaining teacher who inaugurated a new approach to teaching the popular freshman subject: 3.091 Introduction to Solid State Chemistry.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
4:30–5:30pm
Room 6-120
Reception to follow in Chipman Room, 6-104.
Alum to give concert at MIT
World-class cellist Carlos Prieto, Course III 1959, returns to MIT on Friday, Feb. 29 for a performance at 5 p.m. in Killian Hall (Room 14W-111, 160 Memorial Drive).
He will present his new book, "The Adventures of a Cello" in a lecture, concert and book signing event which includes a recital of 4 movements from Suite in C major for unaccompanied cello by J.S. Bach (1720, the year of Prieto's cello's creation), and a piece dedicated to Prieto by a composer from his native Mexico, Samuel Ziman, Suite for Unaccompanied Cello (2007). A reception will follow.
"The Adventures of a Cello," is the story of "Cello Prieto" a 1720 Piatti crafted by Antonio Stradivari. Prieto traces the instrument's history through its previous ownership around the world. Prieto adds his personal experiences with the cello, recounting the premieres, performances and important relationships he has had with music luminaries such as Stravinsky, Casals, Shostakovich, and Rostropovich. In his exhaustive book, Prieto also provides information about violin making and about the cello repertoire from Stradivari to the present.
"The moment I bought the cello, I became very interested in learning its 300 year history," Prieto told Lynn Heinemann in a 2003 interview, noting that he took advantage of his concert tours to research his instrument's peripatetic life. " Unlike the movie 'The Red Violin,' which is 100 percent fiction, my book is 100 percent real," Prieto said. The book was published by University of Texas Press.
Prieto gave up his career as the head of a Mexican iron and steel company to return to his first love and continue his family's history of musicianship. "When I was born, my mother had already bought a child's violin-sized cello because they needed a cellist in the family," he told Heinemann. "I don't even remember when I first started playing."
Major science conference to feature MIT materials researchers
Among the speakers at the largest interdisciplinary scientific gathering of the year will be Angela Belcher , as well as other MIT students, faculty, and staff who will play prominent roles during the five-day event that begins Feb. 14 in Boston. The annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is expected to attract some 10,000 science and technology professionals from across disciplines and around the world, as well as several hundred science journalists. For more information, see the MIT News Office.
Three Department Faculty Awarded Energy Grants
Professors Ceder, Gradečak, and Sadoway are among the recipients of the MIT Energy Initiative's (MITEI) first round of campus seed grants. See the MIT News Office for the full story.
Walter Shepherd Owen, 1920–2007
Walter Shepherd Owen, professor emeritus of physical metallurgy, died October 10 at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was 87.
A memorial service was held November 15 in the MIT Chapel.
Owen joined MIT as head of what was to become the Department of Materials Science and Engineering; during his tenure as department head from 1973 to 1982, the department broadened its academic and research focus from metallurgy to include ceramics, polymers, and semiconductors. Controversial at the time, this change created a department that today produces groundbreaking work on lower-emission iron production, rechargeable batteries, and lasers used in minimally-invasive surgical procedures.
He received the Bachelor of Engineering in metallurgy (1940), the M.Eng. (1942), and the Ph.D. in metallurgy (1950), all from the University of Liverpool. In 1951, he became a Commonwealth Fund Fellow at MIT, where he served as a member of the research staff from 1954 to 1957. Over the course of his career, he held both academic and administrative positions at several universities, including the University of Liverpool where he was Dean of Faculty of Engineering Science, Cornell University where he directed the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Northwestern University where he was Dean of the Technological Institute and Vice President for Science and Research.
He was deeply committed to the education of materials scientists and engineers and to furthering the evolution and development of the field of materials science and engineering, particularly in the areas of conservation, recycling, environmental concerns, public policy, and materials availability.
He is survived by his wife Geraldine Owen; his daughter Ruth Owen and her husband Peter Sherman and her children Owen and Dylan Uscher; his stepson Oren Lieberman and his wife Tanya Mergler and their children Mattis Lieberman, Nitzan Lieberman, and Tyler Moore; and his stepdaughter Helise Lieberman and her husband Yale Reisner. By request of the family, in lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in Prof. Owen’s memory to MIT for scholarships.
Biovolt is winner of MADMEC finals!
Biovolt (John Craven '10, Ethan Crumlin G, Andrew Hoy '10, Gerardo Jose la O' G, Joseph Walish G, and consultants Jungik Kim and Peter Weigele) were winners of the 2007 MADMEC contest. They received a $5,000 prize for their design and prototype device that will generate electricity from cellulosic biomass for household use in off-grid locations and less economically developed countries.
The 2nd prize winning team was Biogas Kits Nicaragua (Xavier Gonzalez '10, Russell Rodewald '10, Jonathan Rose G, and Chris Tostado '07, Julián Villarreal '07) who received $3,000 for their biogas digester prototype that was tested to fuel cooking stoves in a rural area of Nicaragua.
3rd prize winners were the Curie Brothers (Paul Abel '08, Shakeel Avadhany '09, and Vladimir Tarasov '08) with a design to harness energy lost due to the vertical motion of a car.
MADMEC is a joint venture between MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Dow Chemical Company, empowering MIT students to shape the future of energy. Through MADMEC, MIT students can make a difference with materials science and engineering.
DMSE hopes to continue their collaboration with Dow to sponsor MADMEC 2008 with more teams working on impressive and creative designs.
MADMEC
innovations were covered by the MIT News Office and by NewScientistTech.
PDSI Opening
Friday, October 5, is the grand opening of the PDSI project (renovations to Building 4, 6, and 8 and new construction of 6C). All are invited to a ceremony in the atrium at 2:30 and then to a reception at 3:30. Tours of the new building will occur throughout the afternoon.
Special Seminar
Sept. 19 Prof. Akihisa Inoue, the president of Tohuku University, 21st Century Tohoku University and its Thrust in Advanced Materials
Abstract: Tohoku University has been noted for its "Research-first principle" and "Gender-blind principle," pursuing for a noble concept: "Science, benefit for the mankind" from its beginning in 1907. On this special 100th anniversary occasion, I would like to present our vision and concept for the 21st Century research-oriented university. Also on this timely occasion of exciting approval/funding of the MEXT World-Premier- Initiative (WPI) to Tohoku University's WPI Research Center on Materials Science, I would like to briefly discuss current status and future development in nano-science/ technology in the field of materials science. After the general discussion, I would like to present on my expertise of bulk glassy and non-equilibrium crystalline alloys. Metallic liquid is unstable at temperatures below the melting temperature and solidifies immediately into crystalline phases. Therefore, all bulk engineering alloys consist of crystalline structures. By our group's patient and systematic research, this generally accepted concept was recently challenged.
DMSE Administration in new office locations
As the PDSI building project nears completion, the DMSE Headquarters and Academic Offices have moved
to their permanent homes on the first floor of Building 6, rooms 101 through 113. all phone numbers and email addresses have stayed the same. Please stop by and say hello. Spotlight Aug. 20.
A123Systems and GM to codevelop lithium-ion battery technology for electric vehicles
A123Systems and GM have signed an agreement to co-develop lithium-ion battery technology for electric vehicles. Bloomberg News reports that a GM electric car will be tested in prototype and on the market by 2010. A123Systems was founded by MIT's Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang.
See the MIT News Office for further details. Spotlight Aug. 13.
Prof. Angela Belcher to appear on Eco-Tech Week
The Science Channel will present Eco-Tech Week during Aug. 20–24. The series will present programs on
- Future Fuels
- Zero Waste
- Building Green
- Powering Up
- Extreme Weather
Check out the first episode for a chance to see Prof. Angela Belcher! Spotlight Aug. 16.
MADMEC Semifinals
The MADMEC semi-finals will be held on Wednesday, August 8th at 7 pm in room 32-124 (Stata Center).
MADMEC—the MIT and Dow Materials Engineering Contest—is a new contest at MIT, co-sponsored by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Dow Chemical Company. The theme of this year's contest is "Materials Solutions for Alternative Energy." MADMEC challenges teams of students to design and build prototype devices that harness, store or exploit alternative or non-traditional energy sources through principles of materials science. The top three teams will win $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 prizes.
MADMEC entries include:
- A device that generates electricity from cellulosic biomass
- A reactor that converts agricultural waste into fuel
- Vibrational energy harvesting/dampening in automotive suspensions
- A wind-powered generator with no moving parts
- A solar-powered Stirling engine generator
- An electricity-free refrigerator
For more information, and to see team abstracts and members, please visit the MADMEC webpage. Spotlight Aug. 7.
Prof. Suresh named Dean of Engineering
Subra Suresh, the Ford Professor of Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, will succeed Institute Professor Thomas Magnanti as the next dean of the School of Engineering. Suresh will assume his new role July 23. See the MIT News Office for the announcement. Spotlight June 15.
Commencement 2007
Jessica H. Liao G recieves her doctoral hood from Ned Thomas and Chancellor Clay at the hooding ceremony held in Rockwell Cage June 6. Photo Brian Hemond—The Tech.
For photos of the Course III celebrations, see our Commencement page.
Recent Awards and Honors
Course III awards for 2006–07
Undergraduate Awards
Hannah Reitzel—Outstanding Senior Thesis
"Pottery Engineering in Ancient Guerrero, Mexico: The Site of Las Fundiciones"
Thesis Advisor: Dorothy Hosler
Runye Helen Zha—Best Internship Report
"Stability of Polypyrrole Films over Long-Term Redox Switching"
Advisor: Bernhardt Wuensch
Nathan Pfaff—Horace A. Lubin Award for Outstanding Service to DMSE
Society of Undergraduate Materials Scientists Treasurer (2006)
Materials Advantage Treasurer (2006–2007)
Runye Helen Zha—Outstanding Senior Class of 2007
Jill Rowehl—Outstanding Junior Class of 2008
Johan Komander—Outstanding Sophomore Class of 2009
Graduate Awards
Ardavan Farjadpour—John Wulff Award for Excellence in Teaching
Albert Swiston—Graduate Student Community Service Award
Tiffany Santos—Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis Research Award
"Europium Oxide as a Perfect Electron Spin Filter"
Thesis Advisors: Jagadeesh Moodera and Caroline Ross
Megan Brewster—1st-Year Graduate Student Exceptional Performance Award
Yeon Sik Jung—Outstanding Paper by a 1st- or 2nd-Year Graduate Student
Johnathan Jian Ming Goh—Elsevier Outstanding Student Prize
Haw Yun Soo—Elsevier Outstanding Student Prize
Prof. Gerd Ceder receives Graduate Student Council Award
Gerd Ceder, the instructor of 3.20 Materials at Equilibrium and 3.320 Atomistic Computer Modeling of Materials,
was one of the 2007 recipients of the Graduate Student Council Teaching Awards.
David Danielson receives Compton Prize
David Danielson, a Course III grad students, received one of MIT's prestigous Karl Taylor Compton Prizes, one of the highest student awards at MIT. He was recognized for his tireless efforts in starting and growing the MIT Energy club.
Infinite Mile Award Recipients Honored
Leia Amarra, Sara Darcy, Edith Jaehne, and Richard Lay have been selected to receive the 2007 Infinite Mile Team Award from the Office of the Associate Provost and Vice President for Research. They have received this award in recognition of their work with the Center for Biomedical Engineering (CBE), as well as with Chemical Engineering and DMSE.
Recipients of these awards are, first and foremost, individuals whose work is of the highest quality. They stand out because of their high level of commitment, and because of the enormous energy and enthusiasm they bring to their work. Their tremendous dedication and commitment to their work makes this a well-deserved recognition. Congratulations to Leia, Sara, Edith, and Richard on this award!
Prof. Subra Suresh receives European Materials Medal
The Federation of European Materials Societies (FEMS) has selected Subra
Suresh, Ford Professor of Engineering and former DMSE Head, as the recipient of the 2007
European Materials Medal, its highest and most prestigious honor. FEMS
comprises a group of materials science and engineering professional
societies from 24 European countries. Established in 1993, the European
Materials Medal is presented in its biennial conference held in every
odd-numbered year to an active materials scientist or engineer for most
distinguished contributions to Materials Science and Engineering. Suresh is
the first scientist based outside of Europe to receive this major honor. He
will receive a gold medal and deliver a plenary lecture to an audience of
approximately 3,000 materials scientists and engineers on the opening day of
Euromat 2007, the official meeting of FEMS to be held in Nuremburg, Germany,
in September 2007. Spotlight May 8.
Inca Bridge Built at MIT
MIT students in 3.094, Materials in Human Experience, constructed a suspension bridge across the Stata Moat. For many hundreds of years, fiber rope bridges provided a critical role for travel in the Andes. The Chaka Stata will be up through the middle of June. For more about this project, see The New York Times science section. Spotlight May 8.
On June 6, WBUR's Here and Now presented a story on the bridge.
Course III Goes to Washington
 With support from the department and the Public Service Center, a group of DMSE graduate students traveled to Washington to attend Congressional Visits Day (CVD) in March. CVD is an annual event where scientists and engineers convene on Capitol Hill to discuss policy issues and participate in the legislative process. This visit is an outgrowth of a student-led initiative to get scientists, engineers, and public policy-makers to talk to one another. At an event last spring for women graduate students, DMSE graduate student Alicia Jackson spoke with MIT President Susan Hockfield about the need for young scientists to be involved in science policy at a national level. Their conversation led to the first-ever MIT Science Policy Bootcamp, an intensive five-day seminar for 25 MIT graduate students taught by MIT Washington Office Director Bill Bonvillian. While there, Albert Swiston, Asher Sinensky, Megan Brewster, and Catherine Tweedie posed in front of the Capitol Dome (photo was taken by Christopher Bettinger and was used as the MIT Homepage image on April 12). See the MIT News Office for more details about the Bootcamp.
Spotlight April 12.
Prof. Don Sadoway is Wulff Lecturer, Tues. March 20, 4:00, 10-250
Electrochemical Pathways Towards Sustainability,
by
Donald R. Sadoway,
John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry.
The Wulff Lecture is an introductory, general-audience, entertaining lecture which serves to educated, inspire, and encourage MIT undergraduates to take up study in the field of materials science and engineering and related fields. The entire MIT community is invited to attend. The Wulff lecture has been given annually since 1977 and honors the late Professor John Wulff, a skilled, provocative, and entertaining teacher who inaugurated a new approach to teaching the popular freshman subject: Introduction to Solid State Chemistry.
Donald R. Sadoway obtained the B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science, the M.A.Sc. in Chemical Metallurgy, and the Ph.D. in Chemical Metallurgy, all from the University of Toronto. After a year of postdoctoral study at MIT as a NATO Fellow, Dr. Sadoway joined the faculty in 1978. He has authored over 125 scientific papers and holds 14 U.S. patents. His basic research centers on electrochemical processes in molten salts, liquefied gases, and polymers. With a markedly environmental focus his applied research is directed towards the development of high-performance, solid-state, rechargeable lithium batteries as well as environmentally sound technologies for the extraction, refining, and recycling of metals. From 1995 to 2005 he held a MacVicar Faculty Fellowship, MIT’s highest award for excellence in undergraduate education. In 1999 he became the John F. Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry. In 2001 he was elected Member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences.
Prof. Flemings to receive 2007 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Materials Engineering
Merton C. Flemings, the Toyota Professor of Materials Processing, Emeritus, is one of nine 2007 Franklin Institute Laureates. Winners are being honored "for their significant discoveries and achievements, which directly impact our daily lives or contribute to our present and future well-being."
Flemings, who is also director of the Lemelson-MIT Program, will receive the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Materials Engineering "for contributions to understanding aspects of solidification of metallic alloys [and] the development of [the] semi-solid metalworking industry, which helps make sporting equipment, house-hold appliances and cars strong and light."
The new laureates will receive their awards April 26 at the end of a weeklong series of events and activities at The Franklin Institute open to middle school, high school and college students, as well as to the general public.
These events include the Laureates' Laboratory, which will feature interactive demonstrations illustrating the specific concepts behind each laureate's work, and Meet the Scientists, a lively discussion and Q & A session geared toward students. For more information, see the Franklin Institute site or the 2007 Materials Engineering site. Spotlight March 14.
MIT model simulates atomic processes in nanomaterials
Prof. Subra Suresh and researchers from MIT, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Ohio State University have developed a new computer modeling approach to study how materials behave under stress at the atomic level, offering insights that could help engineers design materials with an ideal balance between strength and resistance to failure. Their research was the cover story in the Feb. 27, 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For more information on the model, see the MIT News Office. Spotlight March 5.
Prof. Van Vliet interviewed
by WBUR's On Point
WBUR's On Point presented a story on "Regulating Nanotechnology" (Feb. 14, 2007). One of the scientists interviewed was Prof. Krystyn Van Vliet of DMSE. Spotlight Feb. 14, 2007.
Prof. Klavs Jensen to head ChemE
Professor Klavs Jensen has been named head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, effective Feb. 1.
Prof. Jensen holds a joint appointment with DMSE. Further details can be found on the MIT News Office site. Spotlight 2/7/07
Prof. Angela Belcher Attends World Economic Forum
At the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, MIT sponsored a dinner discussion of energy technologies. Prof. Belcher attended, along with Prof. Vladimir Bulovic of EECS, Prof. Greg Stephanopoulos of ChemE, and President Hockfield. Time magazine's correspondent called it his "breakthrough session" and a "guided tour of the future."
Spotlight Feb. 7, 2007
Prof. Walter Alan Backofen, 1925–2006
Walter Alan Backofen, 80, died at home on December 2. Born in
Rockville, Connecticut, on December 8, 1925, he was a son of Walter Paul
and Bertha (Pfau) Backofen. Early work experience was found in his father's
meat and grocery business. He graduated as valedictorian from Rockville
High School in June of 1943 indebted to its superbly academic faculty,
entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology within days, and soon
enlisted in the U. S. Navy. In February of 1946 he graduated from MIT
with an Ensign's commission and a Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgy.
By September 1946, he was back at MIT as a graduate student/instructor in
the Department of Metallurgy. In 1950 he married Elizabeth (Lib) Wood
Warren of Orange, Massachusetts, and received his doctorate with an
appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Metallurgy.
Next came twenty-five years of teaching, research, publishing, and
consulting to industry and government while living in delightful old
Marblehead, Massachusetts. He designed new courses and a new laboratory,
found great students and sponsors, became recognized for bridging theory and
practice over a wide range of real-life problems—from automotive stampings
to orthopedic implants and the Star Wars defense shield—and advanced to
tenured full Professor of Metallurgy and Materials Science. He belonged to
the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and the
American Society for Metals and Materials, and was elected to membership in
Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi. He was the first in his field to receive its three
principal achievement awards: for teaching (Bradley Stoughton Award, 1958),
research (Howe Medal, 1964), and professional leadership (Campbell Lecturer,
1973). He was a popular speaker in his profession and pioneered as a
popular-science lecturer on live television for the fledgling Channel 2 of
Boston first broadcasting from the roller skating rink across Mass. Ave.
from MIT.
A paper he wrote in 1964 on "superplasticity" identified the ability
of metals, temporarily given a near nano-size grain structure, to behave
like silly putty. That paper was recognized for its seminal influence on a
now burgeoning global industry at an International Conference on
Superplasticity held in Chengdu, China, in June of 2006.
A Gordon Conference at Kimball Union Academy introduced him to the
Upper Valley and Dartmouth College as a sabbatical site. There he wrote a
book on his technical specialty, Deformation Processing, in a
systems-analysis context that redefined an ancient field for modern times
and gave him the leisure to reflect on old interests in other subjects.
This eventually brought him back to the area with his unfailingly
supportive wife, where the two of them, together, turned the old (ca. 1790)
William Gage place in East Plainfield into Hill Farm, to manage a square
mile or so of unposted woodlands, preserve a broad cross-section of period
outbuildings and accessory structures, and grow apples (about 30 antique
varieties), blueberries and Christmas trees for self-serve customers. He
was the first to speak of "Disneyfication" as the trend in such ventures, no
matter what William Safire says.
A protracted high-stakes law suit with a Christmas tree customer who
fell on icy ground had a silver lining for New Hampshire farmers as a class.
Finally dismissed with prejudice against the plaintiff, the publicity
prompted Governor Meldrim Thomson to remind the state of an apparently
forgotten law passed in his administration that shielded farmers from
whimsical suits of this kind. Its protection for diligent farmers has been
recognized ever since.
In partnership with his wife, he also ran an American art and antiques
business that uncovered the Bartlett-Kimball Circle of Queen Anne style in
New Hampshire furniture-making from ca. 1760 to 1820. To share the eclectic
mix of new information this produced, the Lord Timothy Dexter Press was
founded in 1988. The result was new chronology and reattributions for old
discoveries, an invigorated market, and more quantitative analysis among
furniture connoisseurs.
With a knack for problem-solving and help from marvelous librarians at
Dartmouth College—the jewel in the crown of the College—he turned up other
untapped primary sources in New Hampshire history that became more grist for
the Lord Timothy Dexter Press. Studies of recent interest addressed early
American feminism and marital fertility in New Hampshire, the New Hampshire
limitation on a personal-rights interpretation of the Second Amendment, mass
hysteria in Enfield's Shaker culture, the proper context of the fateful
Claremont school-funding controversy, and the professional experience and
family life of Meriden, New Hampshire's greatest early physician,
folk-artist, and social commentator, Elias Frost. In
only recent days he was approached about reviewing books and evaluating
articles being considered for publication in the Journal of American
History. Ideas intrigued him. He had no patience with ideologues.
He leaves his wife, a brother,
Albert H. Backofen of Greenfield, Massachusetts, and two foster sisters,
Dolores Hoermann of Rockville, Connecticut, and Lois Shelly of Belleaire,
Florida. There will be no services. His ashes will be scattered at Hill
Farm. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Upper Valley Humane
Society (300 Old Route 10, Enfield, NH 03748) where he found his last dear
cats, Darth and Whitey. For any who do not share his enthusiasm for cats,
no better alternative charity would be the Dartmouth College Library System.
Three MRS Gold Medal Winners affiliated with DMSE
DMSE graduate students
Fabien Sorin and Ming Tang have been named Gold Medal winners at the MRS meeting in Boston. Also receiving the Gold Medal is Daeyeon Lee, a ChemE co-advised by Prof.
Rubner. Their titles and abstracts will be posted shortly, as will names of the other winners. Spotlight Dec. 1.
Prof. Suresh to present Acta Materialia Gold Medal Lecture Nov. 27
Prof. Subra Suresh, the Ford Professor of Engineering, is the 2006 recipient of the Acta Materialia Gold Medal.
He will receive the 2006 Acta Materialia Gold Medal and a cash prize on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at the 2006 fall meeting of the Materials Research Society in Boston. On Monday, Nov. 27, he will deliver the Acta Materialia Gold Medal Lecture. See the MRS conference site for further information about the location and conference registration.
The Acta Materialia medal selection is co-sponsored by 30 different professional societies from around the world, each of which may nominate a candidate for the award through a rigorous internal selection process. In a rare occurrence, Suresh was simultaneously nominated by two different international materials societies as their unanimous choice, after a selection process conducted independently by their own awards committees.
Materials Day Poster Awards
The winners of the 2006 Materials Day poster contest were announced on Oct. 11. Three DMSE students were recognized for their excellent work.
"All-Nanoparticle Thin Film Coatings: A Versatile Means to Create All-in-One Coatings," by Daeyeon
Lee;
Robert Cohen and Michael Rubner, advisors.
"Highly Wettability-Reversible Nanowire Paper," by Xiaogang
Liu;
Francesco Stellacci, advisor.
"Multimaterials Integrated Fibers," by Fabien
Sorin;
Yoel Fink, advisor.
More information about Materials Day and about the posters is available on the MPC website.
Materials@MIT website launched
Materials@MIT is a starting point for all information on materials activities at MIT. This project is sponsored by the Materials Processing Center (MPC), the Center for Materials Science and Engineering (CMSE), and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE).
This website will serve as a “virtual umbrella” to provide easy access to information of interest to the MIT materials community, such as information on faculty, shared experimental facilities, education and outreach opportunities, news and events, and publications.
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