Z. Zhang

Zhaoyan Zhang - Current Research

Dr. Zhaoyan Zhang obtained his Ph.D. degree from The Pennsylvania State University in 2000. Upon graduation, Dr. Zhang spent 2 years at the Michigan Technological University as a Senior Research Engineer. He also briefly held a position at the Detroit Diesel Corporation. His research interests cover areas ranging from the laser material processing to diesel emissions control and solid-shock wave interaction. Currently, Dr. Zhang is working on projects related to the thermal choke of the evaporation wave during laser ablation, the pulsed laser deposition of ferroelectric thin films and a blast wave absorbing structure.

M. Negahban

Mehrdad Negahban - Current Research

Research areas include:

• Theoretical, computational, and experimental studies to characterize large deformation thermo-mechanical response of materials, in particular polymers.
• Simulation of the effects of crystallization on the mechanical behavior of polymers under large deformations.
• The study of the effects of crystallization on failure and the redistribution of stress in polymer matrix composites. Simulation of the manufacturing of thin film extruded polymers.
• Experimental investigation and theoretical modeling of large plastic forming and shape recovery in amorphous polymers.

M. S. Hallbeck

M. Susan Hallbeck - Current Research

Director for the Faculty Initiative for Novel Devices for Energy and Radiation (FINDER), a NCMN-affiliated group of faculty (Shireen Adenwalla, Sina Balkir, Neil Boag, Jennifer Brand, Bernard Doudin, Peter Dowben, Susan Hallbeck and Brian Robertson). FINDER is the latest and most inclusive incarnation of the boron carbide research group, with research interests ranging from the molecular level to the ergonomics of the final detection devices with applications for homeland security.

J. Zhang

Jian Zhang - Zhang Group

Research in our laboratory is focused on interactions between DNA, RNA and proteins. Our goal is to understand the step-wise structural and energetic changes associated with these binding events. Dye molecules attached to oligonucleotides and proteins act as reporter groups, sensitively signaling structural changes that occur on the nanosecond time scale. We thus make extensive use of laser-induced fluorescence to monitor protein-oligonucleotide interactions in real time.

W. N. Mei

Wai Ning Mei - Current Research

Dr. Wai-Ning Mei’s research areas include: molecular dynamics studies of alkali halides and molecular solids, total energy electronic calculation of the ferroelectric polymers and highly correlated systems, electron structures of the nano-structures, surface structure determination, multiple-scattering analysis of the low-energy and photoemission spectra, neutron scattering from flux lattice in the type-II superconductors, lattice dynamics of long chain polymers, rotation and vibration spectra of the adsorbed molecules, and application of variational methods to the anharmonic, weakly bounded, tightly bounded, and double-well potentials. Specific computation techniques include lattice dynamics, molecular dynamics, multiple-scattering method, first-principle full-potential linear-augment-plane-wave (FLAPW) method, and self-consistent atomic deformation (SCAD) method together with the SMODES symmetry-analysis software packages.

Y. Yang

Yiqi Yang - Current Research

Textiles, Clothing and Design - Biofibers and biomaterials.
Adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics.
Textile wet processing
Polymer and fiber processing
Synthesis and application of fiber and textile finishes

J. M. Takacs

James M. Takacs - Current Research

We are using chirality-directed metal complexation to define an exciting new strategy for preparing chiral self-assembled ligand (SAL) libraries. Using SALs to prepare heterobimetallic catalyst systems is an effective way to carry out catalytic asymmetric synthesis such as the palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic amination reaction illustrated. Screening a library of 50 SALs led to the discovery of an optimal ligand scaffold for this reaction. Asymmetric catalysis will no doubt define the future of modern synthetic organic chemistry and a variety of new reactions and catalyst systems are under investigation.

F. Namavar

Fereydoon Namavar, ScD - Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation

Dr. Namavar’s research is conducted at the Nanotechnology Laboratory, which is housed at the Scott Technology Center on the Aksarben campus. His team uses an ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) system, which combines physical vapor deposition with concurrent ion beam bombardment in a high vacuum environment to create several specialized coatings that are being developed for orthopaedic implants, biomedical use, and novel materials for saving energy by reducing weight or to advance nuclear energy.

J. Yang

Jiashi Yang - Current Research

The research of Dr. Yang’s group is on frequency stability of piezoelectric crystal resonators under the support of the Army Research Office. Piezoelectric resonators are essential components for radios, phones, satellites, sensors and other equipment for time keeping, control, and telecommunication. They are usually made from quartz. Recently, new single crystals of langasite (La3Ga5SiO14) and certain of its isomorphs (langanite and langatate) have shown great promise as future materials for piezoelectric resonators. The operating frequency of piezoelectric resonators can be affected by various environmental effects like temperature change and accelerations which are relevant when resonators are mounted on moving objects. The study of resonator frequency stability requires a nonlinear formulation. Nonlinear material constants of new piezoelectric crystals are being measured and are used in frequency stability analysis of resonators.

S. Othman

Shadi Othman - Current Research

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Magnetic Resonance Elastography/tissue mechanobiology
• Translational imaging and Regenerative tissue monitoring

Palencia

Hector Palencia - Current Research

R. Skomski

Ralph Skomski - Current Research

The research of Ralph Skomski focuses on theory of magnetic nanostructures. The main aim is to model the behavior of nanostructures and to make predictions about conceivable but difficult-to-produce materials.

Other research areas of interest are time-dependent magnetization processes (magnetic viscosity and fast processes), the spin structure of half-metallic ferromagnets as well as topics such as RKKY interactions between nanomagnets embedded in a nonmagnetic metallic matrix. Emphasis is on analytic models, which are designed to complement and guide other scientists' numerical approaches, such as band-structure calculations.

R. Smith

Robert Smith - Current Research

Professor Smith works in collaboration with colleagues at UNO and UNL to investigate new high-dielectric, ferroelectric, and related materials through the use of reliable and efficient computer simulations. Professor Smith then conducts the synthesis of those materials that calculations predict will be most useful in the applications desired.

A. Sokolov

Andrei Sokolov - Current Research

• Electrochemical methods and controlled break-junctions technique (mechanically and controlled electro-migration made) for study ballistic transport in metals, molecular conductance, tunnel junctions in quasi–equilibrium state and non-equilibrium magnetic phase transitions driven by spin-polarized current;
• Effects of proximity of ferroelectric on magneto-transport properties;
• Spin-dependent tunneling and tunneling magnetoresistance;
• Electro-resistive switching in transition-metal oxides.

B. W. Robertson

Brian W. Robertson - Current Research

• magnetic and electronic thin films, nanoscale wires and devices
• electron probe-based characterization and fabrication for materials research and processing

J. Shield

Jeff Sheild - Current Research

The primary objective of Dr. Shield’s research program is to understand and control the microstructural evolution of materials during processing. Rapid solidification processing is of particular interest, as are nanostructured functional materials. Recent work is directed in the general area of high energy permanent magnets and studying the interfacial effects in exchange spring and exchange bias systems. Characterization specialties include electron microscopy and x-ray scattering techniques.

A. Sinitskii

Alexander Sinitskii - Sinitskii Research Group

My group is working on the chemical design of novel functional materials for applications in electronics, photonics, sensors and energy storage. Such materials include graphene, carbon nanotubes, inorganic nanowires, colloidal particles, macroporous oxides and some others (Figure 1). Our strategy is to control the structure and composition of these materials at nanoscale to define their properties.

A. Sokolov

Andrei Sokolov - Current Research

• Electrochemical methods and controlled break-junctions technique (mechanically and controlled electro-migration made) for study ballistic transport in metals, molecular conductance, tunnel junctions in quasi–equilibrium state and non-equilibrium magnetic phase transitions driven by spin-polarized current;
• Effects of proximity of ferroelectric on magneto-transport properties;
• Spin-dependent tunneling and tunneling magnetoresistance;
• Electro-resistive switching in transition-metal oxides.

T. Reece

Timothy Reece - Current Research

A. Subramanian

Anuradha Subramanian - Bioseparations and Biomaterials Group

My current research interests are in the area of biomaterial development and further use of these biomaterials in (a) bioseparations, and (b) biomedical applications. My research in biomaterials and tissue engineering focuses on the synthesis and development of novel biofunctional materials for potential biomedical applications synthesized from natural polymers and ceramics. I also have a research focus on the engineering of mammalian cell lines to produce therapeutic proteins.