This document summarizes the Spring 2005 issue of the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering's magazine "InFocus". The issue is dedicated to multiscale engineering and features research being conducted at Stevens in areas like nanotechnology, MEMS, nanofibers, nanosensors, and more. It includes articles on interdisciplinary research in nanosensors led by Dr. Henry Du, the evolution of MEMS and nanotechnology in the work of Dr. Yong Shi, and revolutionizing chemical synthesis with microchemical systems as studied by Dr. Adeniyi Lawal. The issue also highlights the school's history, students, faculty, and Olympic sailing involvement.
1. SPRING 2005 ISSUE
VOLUME 3
S OE
S
CHARLES V. SCHAEFER, JR. SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
CHARLES V. SCHAEFER, JR. SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
2 Interdisciplinary
Research in the Realm
of the Very Small
10 Why Nano-Micro-Bio?
15 In the Shop:
A Short History
of Machining at
Stevens
22 Olympic Sailing
in 2012
IN THE REALM OF THE VERY SMALL
2. DEAN
GEORGE P.
KORFIATIS
MULTISCALE
ENGINEERING
This issue of InFocus is dedicated to the efforts of pioneering faculty
and students at the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering who
are making enormous contributions and are creating new knowledge
in the frontiers of multiscale engineering.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I have often wondered how our world of science for design, manufacturing and mass production of engi-
and technology would have been shaped if the neered systems across multiple length-scales becomes
early Egyptians and Greeks were able to make prevalent. The emergence of complex biological functions,
direct observations at the atomic level. In reality, it from the cell level to macroscale physiological behavior,
wasn’t until the late 15th century that the father-son has created another frontier of multiscale engineering.
team of Hans and Zacharias Janssen constructed
This issue of InFocus is dedicated to the efforts of pioneer-
and put into production the first compound micro-
ing faculty and students at the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr.
scope. The magnification power of those micro-
School of Engineering who are making enormous contribu-
scopes ranged from 3x to 9x but that was enough to
tions and are creating new knowledge in the frontiers of
open our eyes into a new world. The first scientific
multiscale engineering. Research in carbon nanotubes,
treatise of the study of ‘minute bodies’ was written
piezoelectric fibers, nanomaterials, enabled photonic
by Robert Hook in 1665, in his book, Micrographia.
sensors, nanopowders for environmental applications,
An explosion in discoveries and scientific advances
microchemical reactors and nanobiomedical applications
has taken place since. Yet it was not until 1959 when
are a sample of the exciting work carried out in our labora-
the genius of Nobel Prize winner Richard P Feynman
.
tories. There is no doubt that engineering in the future will
captured our imagination with the historic lecture
be dominated by diminishing length and time-scales and
“Plenty of Room at the Bottom.” Feynman opened
that we will be increasingly challenged by systems integra-
the door that takes us from observation to the realm
tion and complexity. We will be there to provide the solu-
of intervention, design and engineering at the
tions and launch the technologies that meet and overcome
atomic level. The term nanotechnology has been
those challenges.
coined to capture that leap. Still in its infancy, nan-
As always please do not hesitate to contact me.
otechnology provides an immensely fertile ground
for engineering innovation. As a better under-
My Best Regards,
standing of properties, interactions and behavior
of materials at the nanoscale emerges, the need
4. Interdisciplinary
Research in
Nanosensors
Dr. Henry Du
AN ENGINEERING
EVOLUTION:
MEMS AND
NANOTECHNOLOGY
Dr. Yong Shi
REVOLUTIONIZING
CHEMICAL
SYNTHESIS
Dr. Adeniyi Lawal
MICROCHEMICAL
SYSTEMS ENABLE
REAL-WORLD
SOLUTIONS
Dr. Ronald Besser
INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICA
NANOMA
A
TION OF
TERIALS TO
W TER TREA TMENT
RESEARCH In the of the Very Small
Realm Dr. Xiaoguang Meng
NEXT-GENERA TION
"Nanotechnology stands out as a likely launch COMPOSITE
MATERIALS: CARBON
pad to a new technological era, because it focuses NANOTUBE-REIN-
FORCED POL YMERs
on perhaps the final engineering scales people Dr. Frank Fisher
have yet to master."
“HUNDREDS OF TINY
Those words appeared in a 1999 report, Nanotechnology: Shaping the World Atom by HANDS” THE MAKING
OF NANO-MANIPU-
Atom, by the National Science and Technology Council. Indeed, technologies designed LATION TOOLS
to build complex structures, molecule by molecule, have allowed scientists to create Dr. Zhenqi Zhu
new structural materials 50 times stronger than steel of the same weight, making pos-
sible the construction of a Cadillac weighing 100 pounds, according to Ralph Merkle of
the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. It could also, Merkle said in an article in MIT’s
Technology Review, "give us surgical instruments of such precision and deftness that Engineering the
they could operate on the cells and even molecules from which we are made." Nano-Bio-Interface
Dr. Matthew R. Libera
A bold new world of science and engineering has opened up, and it has only just
begun to hint at the benefits it will yield to humankind.
Well prior to the US Nanotechnology Initiative of 2001, engineers and scientists at
WHY
Stevens Institute of Technology were performing distinguished and highly recognized
NANO-MICRO-BIO?
funded research in the fields of nanotechnology and microtechnology; and since 2001,
Dr. Woo Lee
with growing federal support in funding and new faculty added to strengthen work in
interdisciplinary focus areas, greater strides are being made each year. s
2
5. I NT E R D I S C I P L I N A RY R E S E A R C H I N T H E R E A L M O F T H E V E RY S M A L L
Interdisciplinary Research in Nanosensors
The Sensor Group
Dr. Henry Du and his research team have PCFs are fabricated via a modified sol-gel
pioneered work on the integration of pho- method for optical fibers with the aid of a a range of state-of-the-art laser techniques
tonic crystal fibers (PCFs) with nanoscale simulation-based design for optimum used for taking measurements.
technologies that will potentially lead to light-analyte interactions. Nanoscale Furthermore, experimental studies
robust chemical and biological sensing surface functionalization is conducted augmented by computer simulation take
following two strategies: into account the effects of surface function-
devices. The National Science Foundation
alization, analyte medium, and biospecific
recently granted Du’s team $1.3 million to 1. Surface attachment of Ag nanoparticles interactions on the optical characteristics
pursue their multidisciplinary project. mediated by 3 mercaptopropy- of PCFs.
Using molecular and nanoscale surface ltrimethoxysilane self-assembled monolay-
modification, state-of-the-art laser tech- er (SAM) for chemical sensing of NOx, CO, In view of the challenges faced by the
niques, and computer simulation, their and SO2, where surface-enhanced Raman nation, the interdisciplinary team of
research seeks to enhance the prospects of scattering (SERS) can
PCF sensors, sensor arrays, and sensor be exploited for high
networks for diverse applications such as sensitivity and molec-
remote and dynamic environmental ular specificity; and
monitoring, manufacturing process safety,
2. Surface binding of
medical diagnosis, early warning of
biospecific recognition
biological and chemical warfare, and
entities for biological
homeland defense.
sensing using the
"Through basic and applied research," said following recognition Prof. Rainer Martini (Faculty Fellow), Prof. Du (PI), Prof.Svetlana Sukhishvili
Du, "the optically robust PCFs with surface- pairs: biotin/avidin, (Co-PI), Prof. Hong-Liang Cui (Co-PI), Prof. Kurt Becker (Faculty Fellow), Prof.
functionalized, axially-aligned air holes are cholera toxin/anti- Christos Christodoulatos (Co-PI), and Prof. Xiaoguang Meng. The project is
expected to achieve a quantum leap in cholera toxin and conducted in collaboration with OFS Laboratories, a world leader in fiber
chemical and biological detection capabili- optic research.
organophosphorous
ty over conventional fiber-optic sensor hydrolase (OPH)/paraoxon, where SERS academic and industrial researchers also
technology." may also be exploited. involves postdoctoral fellows, graduate
PCF sensors enabled by nanotechnology Then, the surface-functionalized air holes students, and several undergraduate/high-
also have the potential to be a powerful are filled with analytes in order to evaluate school summer research scholars, thus
research platform for in-situ fundamental the sensing capabilities of PCFs. Surface affording them training in chemical and
studies of surface chemistry and chemi- functionalization studies employ various biological sensing and monitoring - a
cal/biological interactions in microchemical surface-sensitive analytical techniques with priority area of federal R&D. s
and microbiological systems. Specifically,
An Engineering Evolution: MEMS and Nanotechnology
Dr. Yong Shi ‘s Research Group
In the evolution of micro-electro-mechani- evolved since the first one was developed goal is to increase the life cycle (to over
cal systems (MEMS) design and modeling by Petersen in 1979. The contact configu- 100 billion cycles) and power capacity (to
and the fabrication of nanomaterials, Dr. ration can be either vertical or lateral; more than 100mW)
Yong Shi develops radio frequency (RF) direct metal-metal contact or of a capaci- of an RF switch
MEMS switches and nanopiezoelectric tive type. The actuators used for these used for radar and
fibers for nanoscale sensors, actuators, switches are typically electrostatic, ther- other instrumenta-
and devices. mal-electric, electro-magnetic and piezo- tion systems. He
Breakthrough Technology: electric. However, they will not be viable developed a novel
RF MEMS Switches MEMS switch
shown in Figure 1
RF switches are devices that provide a
and has already
short circuit or open circuit in the RF Figure 2. Microfabricated
demonstrated that
transmission line. RF switches (millimeter MEMS switch
by using the modu-
wave frequencies 0.1 to 100 GHz) are
lated contact sur-
used in satellites, radar and wireless com-
faces shown in Figure 2, the life cycle of
munications. While MEMS technology has
the MEMS switch can be significantly
been extremely successful in developing
increased while maintaining low contact
acceleration sensors for automobile
resistance. RF MEMS switches provide
airbags, inkjet printers, blood pressure
extreme performance advantages such as
monitors, and digital video projection
Figure 1. MEMS switch concept lower insertion loss and higher isolation
systems, the incorporation of MEMS into
over solid-state switches like p-i-n diodes.
the micro/millimeter RF wave system has
in the market unless their life cycle and Further investigations are being conduct-
started a new technological revolution.
power handing capacity are dramatically ed in system design and optimization;
Different types of MEMS switches have increased and costs are reduced. Dr. Shi’s modeling of the friction and wear of the
continued on next page
3
6. An Engineering Evolution...continued from page 3
undulated contact surface; macroscale. PZT nanofibers provide the
thin film piezoelectric actuator capability to make active fiber compos-
optimization; device integra- ites (AFC) and nanoscale devices.
tion; and packaging. Dr. Shi’s research develops nanofibers
with diameters from 6 micrometers to 50 Figure 3. Arbitrarily Figure 4. Aligned
The Building Blocks: nanometers using electrospinning. Fibers distributed nano-piezo- nano-piezoelectric
Nano-Piezoelectric Fibers with a diameter of about 200 nm have electric fibers fibers
One-dimensional nanostructures already been developed as shown in
technologies to assist the development of
such as nanotubes, nanowires and Figure 3, where the nanofibers are dis-
the nanofibers in designing the test
nanofibers have great potential as tributed arbitrarily. SEM, TEM and X-ray
samples, depositing and patterning the
either building blocks for micro/nano diffraction are used to characterize the
electrodes, and also releasing the
devices or as functional materials for nanofibers and their crystal structures.
nanofibers from the substrate.
microscale electronics, photonics, and Different approaches are being explored
to fabricate well-aligned or uniformly dis- Ultimately, Dr. Shi’s nanofiber and MEMS
sensing and actuation applications.
tributed PZT nanofibers. Some aligned research seeks to evolve and expand the
Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT), an impor-
nanofibers are shown in Figure 4. Dr. Shi capabilities of current technologies into
tant piezoelectric material, is used for
uses MEMS-based microfabrication increasingly smaller nanodevices. s
both actuators and sensors at the
Revolutionizing Chemical Synthesis by Dr. Adeniyi Lawal
At the New Jersey Center for Micro- project) and without acid (~1500ppm) at high yield and a reduced need for energy
Chemical Systems (NJCMCS), we are cur- moderate pressure and temperature condi- intensive separation/purification steps.
rently demonstrating two novel microreac- tions using our in-house formulated cata- The microreactor-based production
tor-based process intensification concepts lyst. The 1.5 wt% concentration finds direct approach, if successfully demonstrated,
for on-demand, on-site, energy-efficient, commercial application in environmental will replace the existing energy inefficient,
and cost-effective chemical production. remediation, while the 1500ppm concen-
Both projects are funded by the DOE-OIT tration can be used as a biocide.
to develop and deliver advanced technolo- Catalytic Hydrogenation
gies that increase energy efficiency, of Nitroanisole to Anisidine
improve environmental performance, and
In September 2003, we partnered with
boost productivity.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), one of the
Microchannel Reactors Revolutionize the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies
Production of Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) to design and evaluate a microchannel
In September 2002, we partnered with FMC reactor system for the multiphase catalytic
(one of the largest producers of H2O2 with hydrogenation of a model pharmaceutical
(From left to right) Ms. Sunitha Tadepalli (Ph.D.
more than 12% of the world market) to compound, nitroanisole to anisidine. student), Prof. Adeniyi Lawal, Dr. Raghu Halder
develop a microchannel reactor system for Hydrogenation reactions are ubiquitous, (Research Associate), and Yury Voloshin (Ph.D.
on-site production of hydrogen peroxide. accounting for 10-20% of all reactions in student).
Today, we have successfully designed and the pharmaceutical industry.
cost ineffective, environmentally detrimen-
evaluated a laboratory microreactor sys- We have screened over eight different cat-
tal, and inherently dangerous slurry semi-
tem for the controlled, direct combination alysts and have identified the right cata-
batch reactor-based catalytic hydrogena-
of H2 and O2 in various compositions - lyst/support for the model hydrogenation
tion manufacturing practice. The primary
including explosive regimes. The reaction reaction. Also, an extensive investigation
challenge is the development of paradigm-
is extremely fast with a residence time that of the effects of various processing condi-
changing design and hardware integration
is almost two orders of magnitude less tions on the activity of the selected
methodologies for auxiliary equipment
than that of macroreactors. The direct catalyst in terms of conversion, yield, and
and plant infrastructure that will enable
combination concept is possible with selectivity has been carried out in the
many aspects of the microchannel reactor
microchannel reactors because they pos- microreactor system. Similar experiments
technology. The next phase of the project
sess extremely high surface to volume are currently being undertaken in a semi-
will involve a real-world pharmaceutical
ratios by virtue of their small transverse batch reactor system at the New
molecule patented by BMS.
dimensions, and consequently exhibit Brunswick facility of BMS. Preliminary
Articles were written about the two projects in
enhanced heat and mass transfer rates. results indicate that the mass transfer
Chemical Engineering Progress, EurekAlert,
The enhanced heat transfer enables rapid efficiency of the microreactor system is
Jersey Journal, Small Times News, and the
wall quenching of free radicals which in two orders of magnitude higher than that Chemical and Engineering News. Stevens fac-
conventional-size reactors lead to runaway of the semi-batch reactor system. ulty team members are the PI, Dr. Adeniyi
thermal conditions and explosion. The significant reduction of heat and mass Lawal, assisted by two Co-PIs, Drs. Woo Lee
Another achievement is the production of transfer resistances in microchannel reac- and Ronald Besser, and Dr. Suphan Koven.
H2O2 in concentrations of significant tor systems enables the realization of fast Drs. Emmanuel Dada and Dalbir Sethi of FMC,
and Don Kientzler and Dr. San Kiang of BMS
commercial interest with acid (~1.5 wt%, intrinsic kinetics (millisecond reactions)
provide technical guidance from industrial
exceeding the 1 wt% requirement of the which suppresses side reactions, leading to
perspectives. s
4
7. I NT E R D I S C I P L I N A RY R E S E A R C H I N T H E R E A L M O F T H E V E RY S M A L L
Microchemical Systems Enable Real-World Solutions
Dr. Ronald Besser’s Research Team
Prof. Besser’s hydrogen is harvested from hydrocarbons nies can use to screen catalysts from vari-
research team like methanol or diesel fuel, carbon ous vendors for a particular synthesis
focuses on monoxide, a poison to both humans and step being developed for manufacturing.
the funda- fuel cells, is produced. Besser’s group Prof. Besser’s background is in the devel-
mentals of investigated a novel microchemical opment of materials, processes and
chemical reac- approach to removing this poison. This devices. His expertise has been leveraged
tion within step is especially important for proton- in developing microchemical systems
the confined exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells using many of the same techniques
geometries of microchemical systems. which are the front runners for broad exploited in MEMS technology. He and
Their work is approached holistically by commercialization of the technology. his students collaborate heavily with
bringing together tools from different They are also exploring other new initia- microsystems experts at Lucent Bell Labs,
disciplines that can be applied in various tives for fuel cell energy, for example, the
fields including energy, pharmaceuticals, processing of military diesel fuels that
and chemicals. Microfabrication is used to will significantly lighten the load of
create precisely defined structures in tomorrow’s foot soldiers as well as bring
which chemicals and reactions can be distributed electrical power to large
studied. Testing methods involve coupling Navy vessels.
these small reactors to the external world The team’s work in processing pharma-
to control and sample their output with ceutical chemicals involves the develop-
chromatographs and mass spectrometers. ment of a new reactor microchip concept
The data gathered is mathematically which can circumvent problems existing
modeled to both understand the observa- in current industry-wide reactor technolo-
tions and to predict behavior. The results gy. In this new approach, miniaturization
contribute to the growing knowledge base affords the possibility of creating an inti-
needed to evolve microchemical systems mate mixture of liquid and gaseous react- Prof. Besser (center) with students Shaun
into devices that can ultimately benefit ing chemicals, while at the same time effi- McGovern (left) and Woo Cheol Shinn (right).
society. ciently extracting the heat generated by
Recently completed work focused on a the process. The chip can be used with NJIT, and the Cornell Nanofabrication
reaction that eliminates a poison from the commercial catalysts already available, Facility (CNF), where Dr. Besser serves as
hydrogen gas used for fuel cells. When and is a tool that pharmaceutical compa- a member of the CNF User Committee. s
Application of NanomAtErials to W ter Trea
a tment
by Dr. Xiaoguang Meng
Nanotechnology offers great potential in enormous adsorption capacity for chemi-
advancing scientific discovery and tech- cals and pollutants. metals. The material is also an active pho-
nological development. The federal gov- In 2002, researchers at the Center for tocatalyst. In the presence of dissolved
ernment is spending more than $1 billion Environmental Systems developed a oxygen and with UV-light irradiation, the
on nanotechnology, making it the largest nanocrystalline titanium dioxide with a following are generated at the titanium
public-funded science initiative since the high adsorption capacity for arsenic, lead, dioxide surface: hydroxyl radicals, super-
space race. Various nanomaterials such as and other heavy metals (Figure 1). oxide ions, and hydrogen peroxide. These
nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanowires Titanium dioxides are widely used as pig- highly reactive chemical species destroy
have been developed to create sensitive ment in paints, paper, organic pollutants and kill bacteria.
analytical sensors, miniature medical plastics, sun block Currently, a patent pending nanocrys-
devices, electrical components, and lotion, and tooth talline titanium dioxide is marketed by
machinery. In addition, nanomaterials paste. However, the Hydroglobe, Inc., a company founded by
with at least one dimension in the commercial pigment Stevens in 2000 and acquired by Graver
nanometer range (10-9m) may possess is not effective for the Technologies in 2004. Because nanocrys-
superior physicochemical properties such removal of heavy talline titanium dioxide enables the
as high conductivity and hardness; fasci- metals. effective removal of lead and other heavy
nating optical phenomena; excellent cat- Nanocrystalline titani- metals, it was used to develop a faucet
alytic activity for chemical reactions; and um dioxide is pro- mount filter (Figure 2) available at Target,
Figure 2. Faucet duced by the hydroly-
mount filter that
Wal-Mart, and other stores. DOW
sis of titanium in Chemical has also licensed the patent and
uses TiO2
solutions under con- developed a new adsorbent with the
adsorbent.
trolled pH, tempera- material.
ture, and time. The crystalline size and
In the near future, more water treatment
specific surface area of the material is
products will be made of nanocrystalline
about 6 nm and 330 m2/g, respectively.
titanium dioxide as the drive to fulfill the
Figure 1. Scanning electron microscop- This high surface density of functional
ic image of aggregates of TiO2 particles. promise of nanotechnology continues. s
groups strongly binds arsenic and heavy
5
8. Next-generation composite materials:
nanotube-reinforced polymers
Dr. Frank Fisher’s Research Group
Dr. Frank Fisher’s primary change in properties
research area is the mechanical of this non-bulk inter-
modeling of polymer nanocom- phase region, we
posites with a focus on carbon have developed a
nanotube-reinforced polymers coupled experimental-
(NRPs). Since their discovery in modeling technique
the early 1990s, carbon nanotubes to characterize the
(CNTs) have excited scientists and changes in the
engineers with their wide range of relaxation processes
unusual physical properties. These of the nanocomposite
properties are a direct result of the response due to the
near-perfect microstructure of the properties of the
CNTs, which at the atomic scale can non-bulk polymer
be thought of as an hexagonal sheet of interphase (Figure 1,
carbon atoms rolled into a seamless, center). The existence
quasi-one-dimensional cylindrical of this interphase
shape. Besides their extremely small region has recently
Kon Chol Lee, Gaurav Mago, Dr. Frank Fisher, Vinod Challa, and Arif
size (single-walled carbon nanotubes been verified via high Shaikh
can have diameters on the order of 1 resolution scanning
nm, or 1*10-9 m, 100,000 times smaller electron microscopy cate bone-shaped carbon nanotubes as
than the diameter of a human hair), car- (SEM) images of the fracture surface of shown in Figure 2. The highly uniform
bon nanotubes are half as dense as alu- a CNT-polycarbonate fracture surface geometry of these nanostructures
minum, have tensile strengths 20 times (Figure 1, right). Working in conjunction (length, inner and outer diameters, wall
that of high strength steel alloys, have with colleagues in chemistry and mate- thickness) can be controlled via appro-
current carrying capacities 1,000 times rials science, one important application priate manipulation of the template fab-
that of copper, and transmit heat twice of these modeling techniques is to rication and carbon deposition process-
as well as pure diamond. Given these quantify how different processing meth- es. Enhanced load-transfer for these
unparalleled physical properties, CNTs ods influence the size and properties of bone-shaped inclusions is anticipated
offer the potential to create a new type this interphase region. For example, through mechanical interlocking with
of composite material with extraordi- tethering short polymer chains covalent- the polymer matrix at the widened
nary properties. However, the ly to the surface of the nanotube prior ends. s
nanoscale interaction mechanisms
between the CNTs and the surrounding
polymer must be understood and cou-
pled to the micro/macroscale mechani-
cal response of the material.
One aspect of this work is the develop-
ment of enhanced modeling methods
and corresponding experimental tech-
niques to describe the effective
mechanical behavior of these systems.
For example, due to the extremely
small size of the embedded nanotubes, Figure 1. (left) Three-phase model of NRP accounting for the presence of a non-bulk polymer
a polymer interphase region forms in interphase region. (center) Relaxation spectra for MWNT-PC samples showing additional, long-
timescale relaxation processes that are due to the mechanical behavior of the non-bulk poly-
these systems with mechanical proper-
mer interphase. (right) High-resolution SEM imaging of a CNT-polycarbonate fracture surface.
ties that are different from the proper-
ties of the bulk polymer matrix (see
Figure 1, left). Due to the extremely to composite fabrication has been
large surface area of the embedded shown to alter the size and properties of
nanotubes, this interphase region can this interphase region.
comprise a significant portion of the
volume fraction of the composite and Another project investigates alternative
significantly influence the overall methods of enhancing the load-transfer
mechanical properties of the composite. mechanisms in these nanocomposite Figure 2. High magnification TEM images of a
However, because of the extremely material systems. With collaborators at bone-shaped templated carbon nanotube. The
small size of this interphase region, the University of North Carolina- outer stem and end diameters are ~40 and ~70
experimental characterization is exceed- Charlotte, the team is looking to exploit nm, respectively. The wall thickness is ~10 nm.
ingly difficult. Thus, to quantify the a novel template-based method to fabri- The length of the T-CNT is ~5 µm.
6
9. I NT E R D I S C I P L I N A RY R E S E A R C H I N T H E R E A L M O F T H E V E RY S M A L L
"Hundreds of tiny hands:" The making of
nano-manipulation tools Dr. Zhenqi Zhu’s Research Team
True realization of nanotechnology
requires nanoscale components/struc-
tures to be inexpensively assembled into
functional systems; nanoscale manipula-
tion is one of the key enabling technolo-
gies in this vision.
The power and capacity of manipulation
tools in changing our world were high-
lighted in 230 B.C. by Archimedes, a
Greek mathematician, engineer, and
physicist: "Give me a lever long enough
and a place to stand, and I will move the
world." Tool searching and development
continues today as scientists and engi- The jointless nanomanipulator (a & b), US patent pending featuring friction- and backlash-free 6-DOF
neers demand manipulation tools small motion. (c) Photograph of initial macroscale prototype. (d) High resolution image of cilia. (e,f) Models
enough to extend their arms into the of motion mechanism of a segment of a cilium or flagellum.
nanoscale world. Such small-enough
manipulation tools are what Feynman
first challenged in 1959 with his
"hundreds of tiny hands" vision of
nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology will enable one to
understand, measure, manipulate, and
manufacture at the atomic and molecu-
lar levels creating materials, devices,
and systems with fundamentally new
functions and properties. A great break-
through in nanotechnology came with State-of-the-art, bottom-up nanomanipulation/design. (a) Atom by atom positioning on surface (Eigler
the inventions of the scanning tunneling of IBM, 1990); (b) Singling out a DNA using optical tweezers (Chu of Stanford, 1992); (c) Path planning
microscope in 1982 and the atomic force for automatic atomic positioning (Requicha of USC, 1999); (d) Molecular lift design (Balzani, 2003); (e)
Biped DNA walker (Sherman and Sherman of NYU, 2004)
microscope in 1986. These revolutionary
inventions opened the nanoworld to sci-
entists and engineers. However, the rela-
tively large-size mechanical nanoposi-
tioning systems employed in scanning
probe microscopes and optical micro- A group of
scopes are too massive to be used in nanomanipulators
parallel operation in the nanoworld. Bio-
inspired by the motion mechanisms resolution and accuracy required for ing existing MEMs-based fabrication
found in cilia and flagella, the goal of numerous nanotechnology applications. techniques. (2) Fabrication and perform-
research by Associate Professor Zhenqi These can be incorporated into ance evaluation of 6-DOFs microscale
Zhu, of Mechanical Engineering, and his massively parallel, independently nanomanipulator devices, including
colleagues from several departments, is addressable nanomanipulation tools theoretical, computational, and experi-
to develop and demonstrate a disruptive (truly realizing Feynman’s ‘hundreds of mental study of the nanomanipulators
design methodology based on a mono- tiny hands’ vision). with integrated actuators and sensors.
lithic jointless Stewart platform to yield (3) Demonstration of device use in (a)
fully three-dimensional, six degree-of- To successfully develop such a disrup- "full device" 6-DOF inspection under
freedom, surface-independent jointless tive methodology for nanomanipulator SPM probes; (b) "real device" 6-DOF
manipulation capability in free space device design, the research team in-situ scanning with nanomanipulated
with nanometer resolution and accuracy. addresses three major challenges: (1) optical fiber based sensors; (c)
Now, US patent pending (Flexible Design and analysis of a new class of massively-parallel, coordinated flexible
Parallel Manipulator for Nano-, Meso-, or nanomanipulator based on a monolithic nanoautomation.
Macro-positioning with Multi-degrees of jointless Stewart platform approach to
Freedom), this device approach will lead yield nanometer positioning resolution This research effort is complemented
to nanomanipulation tools with truly with a unique combination of fully-flexi- with an educational and outreach pro-
scalable device sizes (spanning several ble 6 DOFs and truly scalable device gram with a strong support from CIESE
orders of magnitude from micro- to size. The focus of the design will be on to introduce K-12 and undergraduate
nanolevel), and yield the nanometer manufacturability of the device(s) utiliz- students to topics in nanotechnology. s
7
10. Engineering the Nano-Bio-Interface
Dr. Matthew R. Libera’s Research Group
Chemical, Biomedical and Materials Engineering Professor
Matthew R. Libera leads the Microstructure Research Group and
is Director of the Electron-Optics Laboratory at Stevens. Using
powerful transmission and scanning electron microscopes Libera,
his colleagues, and his students have graphically demonstrated
the possibilities that flow from engineering materials in the micro
and nano worlds.
Libera’s research centers on the tools and new ways of thinking based
development, implementation, and on nanotechnology are opening radical-
application of advanced electron-opti- ly different pathways to achieve suc-
cal techniques for the measurement cess. We certainly see this in our work."
and control of microstructure and mor- Polymeric materials have been increas-
phology in engineering materials at ingly utilized at surfaces and interfaces
high resolution. A main theme of his for a variety of biomedical applications
research concentrates on the study of including tissue-engineering matrices,
polymers and polymeric biomaterials implants with biocompatible surfaces,
such as hydrogels using such tech- drug delivery, and biosensors. Due to
niques as electron holography and elec- Figure 1. A 7x7 array of PEG nanohydrogels
the chemical diversity of polymeric surface patterned into an area 5 microns by 5
tron energy-loss spectroscopy. One of materials, both biological and synthetic, microns in size. Imaged dry (top) and in water
his group’s recent innovations has been researchers can fine tune the desired (bottom).
the development of new methods to physical properties of surfaces and
map the spatial distribution of water in didate Peter Krsko, generated nanohy-
design bioactive interfaces from a drogels with lateral dimensions of order
synthetic materials for health and per- molecular perspective. Understanding
sonal care applications using advanced 200 nanometers – about 500 times
the complex interactions between bio- smaller than the diameter of a human
methods of cryo-electron microscopy. It material surfaces and their environment
is important to understand such prob- hair - which can swell by a factor of five
is critical to improving healthcare tech- or more, depending on the radiative
lems, for example, as how bioerodable nologies related to implants, devices,
polymer tissue-engineering scaffolds dose of electrons.
and future innovations in these areas.
degrade in the human body. "These things are like little sponges,"
Significantly, Libera’s team is aggres- explains Krsko, "and we can control
Over the past few years, Libera’s group sively investigating the properties of
has been using electron microscopes how spongy they are by controlling
hydrogels, the kinds of polymeric mate- how we irradiate them in the SEM.
not only as materials-characterization rials that form the basis for everyday
tools but also as materials-processing One of the really cool things we found
soft contact lenses and other common is that we can control whether or not
tools. High energy electrons can modify biomedical applications.
the structure and properties of poly- various types of proteins bind to these
"We have used focused electron-beam little nanosponges."
mers, and because electrons can be
cross-linking to create nanosized hydro- With the focused electron beam, high-
focused by a microscope into fine
gels," says Libera, "and this provides us density arrays of such nanohydrogels
probes with nanoscale dimensions,
with a new method with which to bring can be flexibly patterned onto silicon
electron microscopes can be used to
the attractive biocompatibility associat- surfaces. Significantly, the amine
pattern polymers into nanostructures.
ed with macroscopic hydrogels into the groups remain functional after e-beam
These properties have been exploited in
nano length-scale regime." exposure, and the research shows that
the practice of electron beam lithogra-
phy, which has been essential to the Using thin films of polyethylene glycol they can be used covalently to bind pro-
semiconductor device community for (PEG) films on silicon and glass sub- teins and other molecules.
several decades. Libera and his stu- strates, Libera, working with Ph.D. can- "We use bovine serum albumin to
dents have pushed this technology in
an entirely new direction by applying it
to polymers of interest because of the
way in which they interact with physio-
logical systems involving proteins, cells,
and tissues.
The central idea is to create biospecific
surfaces – surfaces which interact with
physiological systems in very controlled
ways. "People have been working in
this area in different ways for several
Figure 2. GFP transfected mouse neuron following a cell-adhesive path patterned onto a surface
decades," Libera explains, "but new
using functional nanohydrogel technology.
8
11. I NT E R D I S C I P L I N A RY R E S E A R C H I N T H E R E A L M O F T H E V E RY S M A L L
amplify the number of amine groups,"
says Krsko, "and we further demonstrate
that different proteins can be covalently
bound to different hydrogel pads on the
same substrate to create multifunctional
surfaces useful in emerging bio/pro-
teomic and sensor technologies."
"There is a lot of student interest in this
stuff," says Libera. "When I talk about it
in my undergraduate materials class, I
always find students – very good stu-
dents – appearing at my office door later
trying to find out more about it."
Indeed, one such interaction has led to a
senior design project of patterning
hydrogels for possible application to
nerve regeneration in spinal cord injury.
"Our NIH collaborator on this is so excit-
ed he has invited one of my undergrad Chandra Valmikinathan (Master's), and Ph.D. candidates Merih Sengonul, Sergey Yakovlev, and
research students – Jen Sipics - to work Alioscka Sousa are members of Dr. Libra’s team.
in his lab in Bethesda this summer."
Another student – Ali Saaem – joined the our work is really being helped a lot by exactly what [Stevens researchers] are
group after taking Libera’s Materials the rapid growth of the new biomedical now doing in biomedical engineering.
Processing course. "This guy is an EE engineering program at Stevens." They’re trying to use nanotechnology to
major. He came in and reconstructed Nanopad arrays consist of protein-adhe- fabricate devices that can be inserted
the computer interface to our SEM and sive regions separated by non-adhesive into the human body."
elevated the entire level of e-beam pat- regions. The adhesive regions are "There’s an awful lot of potential for
terning capabilities. Now, I think we’ve created by lithographically patterning a companies that are able to get sufficient
patent protection for innovations that
Libera’s work on nanohydrogels holds implications for the eventu- they have made in nanotechnology,"
al production of the next generation of protein microarrays, which says Assistant Professor of Mechanical
Engineering Frank Fisher, commenting
can be used to establish the function of various genes that become on the commercial potentialities of cur-
active during cancer, disease, and aging processes. rent-day nanotechnology research.
"We’re talking about instruments and
got him really interested in the biologi- hydrophobic polymer to which control- capabilities that would have a very
cal problems the group is pursuing," lable amounts of fibronectin is adsorbed. significant economic impact for those
comments Libera. Fibronectin is one of several proteins companies and those entities that make
Libera’s work on nanohydrogels holds that signals cells
implications for the eventual production to adhere to sur-
of the next generation of protein faces. The physi-
microarrays, which can be used to ological effect of
establish the function of various genes nanopad array
that become active during cancer, variations is
disease, and aging processes. being assessed
using cell culture
Because hydrogels mimic many of the of fibroblasts and
physiological conditions of the body, monitoring their
proteins bound to them retain their bio- expression of
logical function far better than when extracellular Figure 3. The adhesion of Stapphyloccocus Epidermidis bacteria to synthetic
bound to a hard substrate as is done in surfaces can be controlled using functional hydrogels on surfaces, a cell-
matrix. Related repulsive hydrogel pad (left) and a cell-adhesive hydrogel pad (right).
current protein and DNA microarray experiments are
technology. Furthermore, the nanosize of being developed to
the hydrogels made in Libera’s lab study neuron growth relevant to spinal these developments. That’s why we’re
means that 10,000 times more proteins cord injury. seeing the US make a strong push as far
can be probed in a single experiment as investing in nanotechnology, because
and much less of each protein needs to Physics Department Head Kurt Becker
comments: "Years ago, there was a sci- the real large payouts aren’t necessarily
be used each time. Pushing this same going to be within the next one to three
technology one step further, nano- and ence-fiction movie called Fantastic
Voyage, where people were shrunk to years; it’s a longer time frame of
microhydrogels can be used to control investment." s
whether and where cells adhere to sur- micro-sizes, injected into a person’s
faces. "This has been one of our targets blood stream, and then traveled around
for a long time," says Libera, "and now the body to repair some damage. That’s
9
12. INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
In the Realm
of the Very Small
By Patrick A.
Berzinski
In the popular mind, and sometimes in popular science writing, nano- and
microtechnology are often used interchangeably to describe very different human hair that can be used as minia-
phenomena. Professor Frank Fisher explains the distinction. ture structural materials, electronic
"The most straightforward difference is the feature size," says Fisher. components and drug delivery
systems.
"Microtechnology typically refers to feature sizes on the order of one micron,
whereas nanotechnology refers to feature sizes on the order of a nanometer. Scientists also depend on such tools as
To put that into perspective: The width of a human hair is about 100 microns. In Scanning Tunneling Microscopes and
nanotechnology, on the other hand, we’re interested in exploiting novel phenome- Scanning Probe Microscopes to build
na that happen on the nanoscale. So it’s a distinction between miniaturization ver- images on surfaces, manipulate atoms
into miniature structures, or analyze
sus taking advantage of novel properties that are available below the microscale."
the identities of atoms and molecules
"The first direction that we went, as we started looking at microdevices, really one atom at a time.
evolved from microchip technology," says Associate Dean of Engineering Keith "When you come from basic physics,
Sheppard. "The techniques that were developed to create different layers on the what you like to do is understand
surface of silicon, particularly for chips, which typically involve adding layers or things on the smallest possible scale,
which for all these applications is the
etching layers or changing the properties of surfaces – those same technologies
atomic or the molecular level," says Dr.
have then been directed to making devices." Kurt Becker, who works in the field of
Various of those microdevices have of precisely arranged atoms include microplasmas. "That level is typically
been tailored to accomplish work on in the realm of about a nanometer. So
molecular self-assembly, in which
from the science perspective, you take
the nanoscale, where engineered molecular building blocks assemble it apart, step-by-step, until you reach
arrangements of individual atoms are themselves in pre-designed ways. the nanoscale; and then, of course,
now becoming a reality.
Using this technique, researchers have once you understand it, you put every-
Some methods necessary to build created carbon nanotubes with diame- thing back layer by layer, and go back
structures consisting of large numbers ters of about one ten-thousandth of a into the micro- and macroscale." s
WHY NANO-MICRO-BIO? US Patent
Recent Reflections and Revelations by Dr. Woo Y. Lee On October 26, 2004, US Patent
#6,808,760 was issued to Woo Y. Lee;
When Dean Korfiatis decided to high- reactor and let them react preferentially
Yi-Feng Su; Limin He; and Justin
light "nano-micro-bio" activities in this on the substrate surface. Subsequently,
Daniel Meyer; titled, A Method for
issue of SSOE InFocus, I thought that it small clusters of atoms produced from
preparing .alpha.-dialuminum trioxide
would be a timely forum for me to share the decomposed gaseous species nucle-
nanotemplates.
my latest view of this very broad inter- ate and grow on the surface, and are
disciplinary research area. My interest assembled into a solid thin-film struc-
in making "very small things" started ture. For example, as part of my Ph.D.
when I was given a chance to study work, I produced my first nanostructured
ing technology advances arising from
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for my material, a self-lubricating nanocompos-
the exploitation of new physical, chemi-
Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering ite coating that contained hard AlN
cal, and biological properties of systems
under the interdisciplinary supervision whiskers (2 nm wide and 1 µm long) in a
that are intermediate in size, between
of Prof. Jack Lackey, a ceramist, and soft BN matrix phase from a gaseous
isolated atoms and molecules and bulk
Prof. Pradeep Agrawal, a chemical engi- mixture of AlCl3, BCl3, and NH3.
materials, where the transitional proper-
neer, at Georgia Tech.
What Is Nanoscale Science and ties between the two limits can be con-
CVD is a coating technique widely used Engineering? trolled." The nanoscale covers "a frac-
for making semiconductor, solid state tion of nanometer to about 100 nm."
To a large extent, my Ph.D. research
laser, and photonic devices as well as This newly emerged nanoscale science
exemplifies the National Science
aerospace structures, synthetic diamond and engineering perspective did not
Foundation’s broad definition of
films and carbon nanotubes. In this obviously exist, although I was practic-
Nanoscale Science and Engineering: "the
method, we mix gaseous chemicals in a ing it.
fundamental understanding and result- continued on next page
10
13. I NT E R D I S C I P L I N A RY R E S E A R C H I N T H E R E A L M O F T H E V E RY S M A L L
another example, a graduate student, Dr. are present in microreactors (just like in
Yi-Feng Su, observed that α-Al2O3 (sap- CVD) because of their high surface-to-vol-
phire) grains present in a thin-film form ume ratios and the technological need to
can grow laterally, abnormally, and control these interactions for rational
incredibly at temperatures about 950ºC microreactor design. Third, as I just
below the melting point of α-Al2O3, as became Chair of the newly merged
long as the film is thinner than 100 nm Department of Chemical and Materials
(Figure 2b). We also demonstrated that Engineering, I envisioned that microreac-
the abnormally grown α-Al2O3 film tors could provide a common engineering
increases the oxidation life of a single platform for synergistically integrating
crystal Ni-based superalloy used in individual faculty research interests and
advanced gas turbines by five-times. motivations. Fourth, I foresaw that we
These examples show how nanoscale were able to compete in some major
phenomena can provide enabling funding opportunities due to the strong
building blocks for making useful multi- presence of chemical, defense, pharma-
scale structures that are relevant to the ceutical and microsystems industries in
human scale. our region and their growing interests in
the emerging microreactor technology.
Mr. Justin Meyer, a Ph.D. candidate and a "Nano-Micro" Integration
co-inventor of the nanotemplate patent Through collaborative work with my col-
About 4 years ago, I initiated a new
leagues, Professors Ronald Besser,
research effort in microreactors for sever-
Suphan Koven and Adeniyi Lawal, and
As I have continued my CVD research at al reasons. First, after receiving my
with strong support from our partner
United Technologies Research Center, Oak tenure, I wanted to expand my research
organizations such as ARDEC-Picatinny,
Ridge National Laboratory and Stevens horizon beyond CVD. Second, I was intel-
Bristol-Myers Squibb, FMC, Lucent-Bell
for the past 15 years, I have encountered lectually driven by the recognition of
Labs and Sarnoff, this effort has grown
some fascinating nanoscale phenomena. complex surface-fluidic interactions that
from a small internal seed project to the
establishment of the New Jersey Center
for MicroChemical Systems
(www.stevens.edu/njcmcs). My contribu-
tion to this team effort is to explore new
ways to design, control, and make "very
small" surface structures as an integral
part of fabricating "small" microreactors.
For example, Mr. Honwei Qiu, a Ph.D.
candidate, in my research group, is inves-
tigating self-assembly infiltration methods
to deposit a layer of close-packed micros-
pheres (Figure 2a) as a potential means of
integrating catalyst particles into microre-
a b
actors with help from Professor Svetlana
Figure 1. Two examples of nanoscale behavior: (a) critical particle radius below which Sukhishvili and her expertise in polyelec-
t-ZrO2 phase can be stabilized due to the lower surface energy of t-ZrO2 over that of trolytes. Mr. Haibao Chen, another Ph.D.
m-ZrO2 as a function of deposition temperature and (b) abnormal grain growth rate of
candidate, is experimenting with 3-dimen-
α-Al2O3 as a function of film thickness at 1100ºC. Research sponsored by the National
Science Foundation and the U.S. Office of Naval Research. sional cellular structures (Figures 2b and
2c) which can be directly infiltrated as net-
For example, recently graduated Ph.D. continued on next page
candidate, Dr. Hao Li, in my research
group observed that tetragonal ZrO2 (t-
ZrO2) grains of about 35 nm in radius
undergo martensitic transformation to
monoclinic ZrO2 (m-ZrO2) at a tempera-
ture of 1100ºC, when the t-ZrO2 grains
grow to be larger than this critical size
due to the thermodynamic reason sum-
marized in Figure 1a. We discovered that
this size-dependent phase transformation a b c
causes delamination within the ZrO2 coat- Figure 2. Self-assembled structures for multiscale integration with microreactors: (a) a
ing near the coating/substrate interface, single layer of 500 nm SiO2 spheres electrostatically attached to an Si surface using
and consequently provides a unique weak polyelectrolytes, (b) interconnected cellular structure formed from an inverse template of
interface mechanism which can be used self-assembled and partially sintered 15 µm polystryne spheres infiltrated into an Si
to produce damage-tolerant fiber-rein- microreactor, and (c) the skeleton phase of the cellular structure consisting of partially
sintered 500 nm SiO2 spheres. Research sponsored by the New Jersey Commission on
forced ceramic matrix composites. In Science and Technology, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
11
14. ...nano-micro-bio continued
shape structural elements into microreactors using poly-
meric and ceramic microspheres as key building blocks.
With my collaborators, we are evaluating these new struc-
tures for controlling and improving microreactor perform-
ance for miniaturized chemical, fuel cell, and pharmaceutical
system applications.
Importance of Bio in "Nano-Micro-Bio"
I admit that I was somewhat skeptical about the relevance of
nanotechnology, based on my initial estimate of the potential
return on the federal government’s investment in nanotechnolo-
Dr. Lucie Bednarova, and Dr. Yi-Feng Su, co-inventor of the nanotem-
gy. This view has changed over the past several years, as I read
plate are both Dr. Lee’s Postdoctoral Research Associates
about human physiology, cell biology, and biological transport
phenomena in conjunction with the implementation of our new
Biomedical Engineering program. From my recent understanding
of cells (as super-intelligent nanostructure factories) and proteins
(as ultimate nanostructures), I began to see some exciting integra-
tion points that may link my past, current, and future research
activities. Also, through my participation in various workshops
sponsored by the
National Academies, the
Keck Foundation, the
National Science
Foundation, and the
National Institute of
Health, I was profoundly
influenced by some
remarkable progress
being made in the bio-
Mr. Hongwei Qiu, a Ph.D. candidate in Lee's group
medical research com-
munity with emerging
microsystem and nan-
otechnology tools.
As my view was drastically evolving, I came across an interesting
"nano-micro-bio" research topic last October: microbial infections
of implanted medical devices which constitute an ever increasing
threat to human health with significant clinical and economic con-
sequences. In most infections, bacteria attach to the surfaces of
indwelling medical devices (such as intravascular catheters, cere-
brospinal fluid shunts, aortofemoral grafts, intraocular lenses, pros-
thetic cardiac valves, cardiac pacemakers, and prosthetic joints) by
forming adherent and cooperative communities known as biofilms.
Bacteria in a biofilm are well protected from host defenses and
antibiotics, making most biofilm infections difficult to treat with
conventional antibiotics which have been developed assuming the
planktonic state of bacteria. I have become interested in the topic
because of similar issues at a methodological level between
biofilms and the "physical" thin-films of my previous research,
while recognizing the greater complexity of biofilms due to the Mr. Haibiao Chen, Dr. Lee’s Ph.D. candidate
"living" aspects of microorganism communities.
Prof. Matt Libera, who has a somewhat different scientific perspec-
ing this article, our graduate students are traveling to
tive, Prof. Jeff Kaplan, a microbiologist at the University of
Newark to learn how to grow Staphylococcus epidermidis
Medicine and Dentistry– NJ, and I are working on a long-term plan
bacteria in Prof. Kaplan’s laboratory.
to design and build microreactors with 3-dimensional nanoscale
surface elements and patterns that will: (1) emulate physiologically I am very excited by this interdisciplinary collaborative
relevant micro-environments and (2) increase the predictive capa- effort. As our region is the center of the global health care
bility of "in vitro" investigations of cell-material and cell-cell inter- economy, I look forward to developing extensive research
actions in reference to "in vivo" and clinical studies. We foresee and educational collaborations that leverage the exciting
that this type of new "in vitro" microreactors can be instrumental in initiatives we are engaged in at Stevens as we push out
the rapid development of rational therapeutic delivery strategies the "nano-micro-bio" frontier. I can be reached at:
for treating a variety of infectious and other diseases. As I am writ- wlee@stevens.edu. s
12
15. SSOE
DR. CARDINAL WARDE ’69: HERITAGE
MICROSYSTEMS ENTREPRENEUR
By Patrick A. Berzinski
Dr. Cardinal Warde, a professor of electrical engineering at MIT, is consid-
ered one of the world's leading experts on materials, devices and systems
for optical information processing. Warde holds ten key patents on spatial
light modulators, displays, and optical information processing systems.
He is a co-inventor of the microchannel Yale, he joined MIT’s faculty of Electrical
spatial light modulator, membrane-mir- Engineering and Computer Science as
ror light shutters based on micro- an Assistant Professor.
electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), an At MIT, Warde's interest shifted toward
optical bistable device, and charge- engineering the applications of optics.
transfer plate spatial light modulators. He became involved with other faculty
Warde grew up on the small Caribbean in the development of devices for
island of Barbados. His parents enhancing the performance of optical
demanded excellence in school but atmospheric (wireless) communication
gave him lots of freedom and support systems to improve communication
to engage his inquisitive mind outside performance in inclement weather, and
the classroom. By age 16, he had con- photorefractive materials for real-time
verted his father's unused carpenter's holography and optical computing. To
shop into a chemistry and physics labo- date, he has published over a hundred
ratory, and with high school friends, he technical papers on optical materials,
launched homemade rockets (with mice devices and systems.
aboard) from the beach near his home. Today, Warde's research is focused on Dr. Cardinal Warde
Fortunately, he says, none escaped developing the optical neural-network
earth's gravity and most of the mice tures transparent liquid-crys-
co-processors that are expected to tal microdisplays for digital
were freed when the rockets crashed. endow the next generation of PCs with camera viewfinders, portable
After high school, Warde boarded a rudimentary brain-like processing; telecommunications devices,
plane for the United States. He received transparent liquid-crystal microdisplays and display eyeglasses.
a bachelor's degree in physics from for display eyeglasses and novel cellu-
Stevens in 1969, where he was also a lar phones; membrane-mirror-based Dr. Warde is also dedicated to
member of the varsity soccer team. His spatial light modulators for optical working with Caribbean gov-
passion for physics continued at Yale switching and projection displays; and ernments and organizations to
University where he earned his Master’s spectro-polarimetric imaging sensors help stimulate economic devel-
and Ph.D. degrees in 1971 and 1974. for remote-sensing applications. opment. He lectures through-
out the Caribbean at scientific
While at Yale, Warde invented a new Warde is also an entrepreneur. In 1982, and government meetings on
interferometer that worked at near he founded Optron Systems, Inc., a the role of technology and edu-
absolute zero temperature in order to company that develops electro-optic cation reform. Also, for the last
measure the refractive index and thick- and MEMS displays, light shutters and decade , Warde has mentored
ness of solid oxygen films. This experi- modulators for optical signal process- students in the Network
ence stimulated his keen interest in ing systems. Later, he co-founded Program of the New England
optics and optical engineering. After Radiant Images, Inc., which manufac- Board of Higher Education,
whose mission is to motivate
and encourage minority youth
to consider majoring in sci-
ence and engineering and to
pursue careers in these
fields. He has received a
number of awards and hon-
ors, including the
Renaissance Science and
Engineering Award from
Stevens in 1996, and cur-
rently serves on Stevens’
Board of Trustees. s
Coach Singer, Cardinal Warde (bottom row center) and the Cardinal Warde, 1969
1968 Soccer Team, the Tech Booters.
13
