Funding for Critical Materials Consortia
Crabtree’s announcement through the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) recently detailed that $45 million has been awarded in federal funding for six projects to create regional consortia to accelerate the development of critical mineral and materials (CMM) supply chains including novel non-fuel carbon-based products from secondary and unconventional feedstocks. Realizing the…Purity at a Premium in Critical Metals
U Researchers Secure Major Funding to Advance Critical Metals Production Think about the device you’re reading this on. Whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, it contains dozens of rare earth elements and critical metals that make its operation possible. Yet the United States currently relies on foreign sources for approximately 90% of some of…New Substrate Material for Flexible Electronics Could Help Combat E-Waste
Electronic waste, or e-waste, is a rapidly growing global problem, and it’s expected to worsen with the production of new kinds of flexible electronics for robotics, wearable devices, health monitors, and other new applications, including single-use devices. A new kind of flexible substrate material developed at MIT, the University of Utah, and Meta has the…Prof. Chandran has been recently awarded new Phase II ARPA-E
Prof. Chandran has been recently awarded new Phase II funding (~$3M) for his ARPA-E project on the design and development of high temperature niobium alloys for gas turbines and other structural applications. The Phase II funding will make the cumulative ARPA-E funding, since 2021, as about $4.5M. Dr. Chandran’s proposal was one of the four…MSE included in $28M for Cutting-Edge Tech to Clean Up Iron and Steel
A new infusion of federal funding through the Department of Energy (DOE) totaling $28 million will support some of the most cutting-edge efforts to decarbonize the dirty steel industry, and the University of Utah has received the largest award (~ $3.5 million) of the 13 projects in nine states. The initiative, through the DOE’s Advanced…Trio from Prof. Simpson’s group wins prestigious awards from Nuclear Energy Office
Three student researchers from Professor Michael Simpson’s group were awarded prestigious awards from the Nuclear Energy Office of the U.S. Department of Energy this week. Olivia Dale (Ph.D. candidate, MET-E) and Matthew Newton (Ph.D. candidate, MET-E) were selected for awards in the Innovations in Nuclear Energy Research and Development Student Competition, and Jon Dromey (B.S.…Fang Lab Enters Agreement with IPERIONX
Fang and his research team will provide IPX with research and development services related to metallurgical technologies to produce primary metals, advanced manufacturing technologies, including additive manufacturing (i.e., 3D printing) of titanium alloys, and recycling of rare earth metals from magnets used in wind turbines and electric vehicles. [READ MORE]MSE Students To Present “Lunar Forge” Project at NASA’s Big Idea Forum
College students are often told to “shoot for the moon,” exploring their interests with ambitious plans and projects. This week, a team University of Utah engineering students are taking that advice to heart in a more literal way. NASA’s Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge is an annual, nation-wide competition that gives college students…Prof. Fang Receives Humboldt Research Award
Titanium (Ti) metal, prized for its high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility is a critical material in aerospace, defense, and medical applications, but its wider use is obstructed by excessively high costs. That’s where Materials Sciences and Metallurgical Engineering Professor Zhigang Zak Fang comes into play. A recent recipient of the prestigious Humboldt Research Award, Fang…Prof. Zang Elected Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry
Ling Zang, Professor in the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Founded in London in 1841, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is the oldest scholarly society in its field and now boasts more than 54,000 members across the globe.…Prof. Bates speaks at TEDx Bountiful
Professor Jeff Bates of the Materials Science & Engineering Department at the University of Utah spoke at TEDx Bountiful 2023 on Saturday, February 4, 2023 at the Bountiful Davis Arts Center in Bountiful, Utah. Prof. Bates who works with polymer materials and biodegradable polymer materials gave a lecture titled "The Problem with Plastics." Watch Prof.…Two Simpson Group Students Receive $10K DOE scholarship
Two students, Allison Harward (B.S., Chemical Engineering candidate) and Jon Dromey (B.S., Mechanical Engineering candidate), from Prof. Michael Simpson’s research group each received scholarships worth $10,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Leadership program. Harward and Dromey are two of only 92 such scholarships awarded nationwide this year and the only recipients from…Rethinking Photovoltaic Research
In a world where renewables are the future of energy generation, researchers around the world are constantly chasing the best, most efficient technologies for each kind of clean energy source. For solar photovoltaic energy generation, solar panels use semiconductor materials to convert light into electrical power. Each material technology has a different world record efficiency…Simpson Receives $1.5m to Develop Process for Recycling Spent Nuclear Fuel
University of Utah materials science and engineering professor Michael Simpson has received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a method of recycling spent fuel from existing commercial nuclear power plants using molten salt. The U is one of only 12 recipients from the DOE’s ARPA-E CURIE program aimed…Three Students from Simpson Research Group Win Competitive DOE Scholarships
Earlier this month, Allison Harward, Junior in Chemical Engineering (CE), Claire Decker, Junior in Materials Science & Engineering (MSE), and Collin Anderson, a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science & Engineering, from Professor Michael Simpson’s Research Group were notified that they had been selected for funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s University Nuclear Leadership Program…Liu To Be Named Distinguished Professor
Congratulations to Feng Liu, Ivan B. Cutler Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, who will be named a Distinguished Professor effective July 1. He will be recognized during the university’s commencement next month. The title of Distinguished Professor is a rare and prestigious honor granted by the University of Utah to faculty who meet the…A Terrible Thing to Waste
A major environmental concern about the use of nuclear reactors is what’s left behind — the nuclear waste from spent fuel rods. Where to dispose of this waste has been the source of much controversy. But instead of just burying the spent fuel rods, what if you could somehow recycle them to be used again?…Dr. Zang Named AAAS Fellow
University of Utah materials science and engineering professor Ling Zang was elected to the rank of Fellow to the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for his “distinguished contributions to the research of molecular self-assembly and nanostructures, and development of optical and electrical chemical sensors for applications in public safety,…Dr. Stringfellow Named NAI Fellow
Materials science and engineering and electrical and computer engineering Distinguished Professor Gerald Stringfellow, a former dean of the U’s College of Engineering and a pioneer in LED technology, has been elected as the latest new fellow of the National Academy of Inventors from the University of Utah’s College of Engineering. Stringfellow is one of two…Dr. Miller named TMS Fellow
Congratulations to metallurgical engineering Distinguished Professor Jan D. Miller, who was chosen to receive The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) Fellow Award for the Class of 2022 for “outstanding contributions to the practice of metallurgy, materials science, and technology.” The award includes a lifetime membership to the society and is its top honor. According…Remembering Raj Rajamani
Remembering Raj Rajamani It is with deep sadness we share with you the news of the sudden passing away of our beloved and distinguished colleague and friend, Professor Raj K. Rajamani on the late evening of Thursday, Aug 12. Raj, as he is affectionately called, was an outstanding intellectual mind. He was a highly skilled…Virkar Named Distinguished ACS Lifetime Member
University of Utah materials science and engineering Distinguished Professor, Anil Virkar, who is also the H. Kent Bowen Endowed Chair of Materials Science and Engineering, was elected to the grade of Distinguished Lifetime Member of The American Ceramic Society. The Distinguished Life Member grade is the Society’s most prestigious level of membership and awarded in…Dr. Sparks’ Research Group works to better illuminate road lines
Increasing the visibility of roadway markings is an important task for engineers. The most popular approach for making roadway striping more visible has been to add glass beads to the surface of the roadway paint in order to cause some of the light from headlights to retro-reflect back to the car. However, when paint with…Dr. Xiaojuan Ni, Recent MSE Ph.D. Graduate, Wins Outstanding Dissertation Award
Recent Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) Ph.D. graduate, Dr. Xiaojuan Ni, received the 2020 Outstanding Dissertation Award for The University of Utah’s College of Engineering for her dissertation titled “Growth, Electronic and Transport Properties of Two-Dimensional Materials Beyond Graphene.” Dr. Ni’s dissertation focuses on theoretical and computational studies of novel 2D quantum materials for potential…Prof. Chandran Led Team Receives ARPA-E Ultimate Grant Award
A University of Utah team lead by Dr. Ravi Chandran, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, which includes Dr. Taylor Sparks, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, and Dr. Wenda Tan, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering has been awarded $800,000 as the Phase-I finding form ARPA-E Ultimate program and involves the development of next generation…Metallurgical Engineering Senior, Jerry Howard, offered NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Congratulations to metallurgical engineering senior, Jerry Howard (MET-E, ’21), who was recently offered a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to support his planned doctoral studies at the University of Nevada at Reno. If accepted, the award will support Jerry’s stipend and tuition for three years. The total value of these awards is about $138,000.…Dr. Liu named a 2021 Outstanding Referee by Physical Review
SALT LAKE CITY — Materials Science & Engineering Professor, Dr. Feng Liu, was named an Outstanding Referee for 2021 by the Physical Review journals. Dr. Liu is one of only 151 faculty members worldwide to be bestowed with this honor this year. This Outstanding Referee honor is a lifetime award and recognition. Instituted in 2008,…Tiwari Named NAI Senior Member
Congratulations to University of Utah materials science and engineering professor Ashutosh Tiwari, who was elected a National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Senior Member for 2021. He is one of 63 luminaries from 36 institutions named to this year’s class and the only one from Utah. “It is a great honor to be elected to the…Engineering Entrepreneurship Certificate Grads – College of Engineering
In 2017, leaders at the University of Utah College of Engineering and the David Eccles School of Business recognized a vital intersection between engineering and entrepreneurship – which launched the Engineering Entrepreneurship Certificate (EEC). The unique hybrid of business, entrepreneurship, innovation and law courses has proven to be in-demand across both undergraduate and graduate engineering students.…Professor Emeritus Donald J. Lyman Passes
Donald J. Lyman, professor emeritus of Materials Science and Engineering and Bioengineering at the University of Utah, passed away last month at the age of 94. Dr. Lyman was well-known for innovative biomedical polymer science and analytical characterization, blood-contacting materials, and protein interfacial science. He began and was director of Utah’s Biomedical Engineering Center for…
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