Supermagnets Meet Their Match in NU Labs
NU Materials Research Center Researchers Poised on the Threshhold of
a Major Advance in Magnetic Materials
A supermagnet may be super, but it isn't perfect. Nor in the world of
magnetic materials does bigger mean better. In fact, the next generation
of magnets more powerful than the supermagnet may be found in materials
no thicker than a few atoms.
David Sellmyer, professor of physics and astronomy, said federal
grants
totaling more than $1 million have been awarded to the NU Center for
Materials
Research and Analysis to move beyond the revolution in magnetic materials
launched with the discovery of supermagnets in the 1980s. The U.S. Air
Force
Office of Scientific Research and the Department of Defense's Advanced
Research
Project Agency awarded the grants.
A milestone in permanent magnet development was the discovery about
three
decades ago of a samarium-cobalt alloy that was about twice as strong as
the best permanent magnet previously known, said Sellmyer, who is
director
of the center. Scientists were able to improve on the original alloy to
produce even better magnets, called supermagnets.
Recent developments of magnetic materials have been incremental, but
Sellmyer said NU is poised on the threshold of a major advance in
magnetic
strength, an advance to be built upon experiments and theoretical studies
within the Materials Research Center.
The experiments were done in the laboratory of Ping Liu, a research
assistant
professor in physics, and involved first making laminated films of iron
and platinum, with layer thicknesses of only about one nanometer (one
nanometer
equals one billionth of a meter, or about four atomic diameters). Then a
brief pulse of heat was applied to produce samples of a magnetic alloy
that
several NU researchers were studying.
Liu's samples were thin-film nanocomposites-thin films containing two
different alloy phases with dimensions of about 10 nanometers. They
produced
a magnet with the highest "energy product" ever found in a
nanocomposite
material, one that almost equaled the world record established by a
supermagnetic
alloy. (Energy product is a measure of the strength or energy provided by
the material's magnetic field).
To give an idea of the strength of the alloy's magnetic field, think
in terms of "coercivity," which is the magnetic field required
to overpower or demagnetize a material's magnetic field. The earth's
magnetic
field is one-half an oersted. It would take about 20,000 oersteds, or
about
40,000 times the earth's field, to demagnetize a supermagnet or Liu's
nanostructured
material.
When Professor Sitaram Jaswal and research assistant professor Renat
Sabiryanov looked at Liu's results, they predicted that an energy product
almost twice as high could be achieved in a system similar to the one
with
which Liu was experimenting.
The federal grants will enable a team of Nebraska physicists and
engineers
to pursue research into the magnetic properties of materials fabricated
on a nanometer scale similar to Liu's sample. The nanostructured magnetic
materials they will study will combine hard and soft magnetic particles
in very close proximity, which will require new methods for their
fabrication.
The idea of putting hard and soft magnets very close together to
increase
the material's total magnetic strength is based on the possibility of
strong
coupling between the two phases. A hard magnet is one that retains its
original
direction of magnetism except in very high reversed fields. A soft magnet
is one whose direction of magnetism can be reversed in a very small
magnetic
field.
Jaswal said nanostructured magnetic materials would have impact in the
civilian sector in the automotive, communications, acoustics, defense and
other industries.
"The Defense Department wants improved magnetic materials in
airplanes
and ground vehicles where electrical devices incorporating the materials
could replace expensive and cumbersome hydraulic systems," he said.
"Such materials could also be used to meet various motor and
generator
needs."
Thompson Series Debuts Sept. 9 With Foundation
CEO
Council of Foundations Chief to Stress Importance of Private
Philanthropy
The 1998-99 E.N. Thompson Forum of World Issues lecture series begins
Sept. 9 with an address by Dorothy "Dot" Ridings, president and
chief executive officer of the Council of Foundations.
The lecture, titled "As the World Turns: Global Giving Goes
Center
Stage," is free and open to the public. It will begin at at 3:30
p.m.
that day in the Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 N. 12th St. All
Thompson
lectures are available live via satellite at sites throughout Nebraska,
including College Park in Grand Island, state colleges, community
colleges
and high schools.
Ridings will describe how the past decade has seen an incredible
growth
of foundations in the United States and around the world. In the United
States alone, foundations contributed nearly $14 billion in 1996, but
Ridings
says that with fewer government resources available, foundations and
other
non-governmental organizations will be called on to do more.
With record stock market growth and an expected international transfer
of more than $10 trillion over the next 40 years, Ridings predicts an
opportunity
to encourage even more giving and organized philanthropy.
Her lecture is the first of five in this year's series. The other four
lectures are:
Oct. 13: Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino University professor and
curator in entomology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard
University,
will present "Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge." Wilson's
address
is co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.
Nov. 12: Robert K. Hitchcock, chair and associate professor of
anthropology at Nebraska, "Africa: Environmental Conservation,
Development
and Human Rights."
March 9: Anthony Lake, former national security adviser to
President
Clinton, "Superpower or Supercop: Dangers and Opportunities in the
Post Cold War Era." Lake's lecture is co-sponsored by the Lewis E.
Harris Lecture series.
April 14: Peter Arnett, Pulitzer Prize-winning CNN
international
correspondent, "Live from the Battlefield: From Vietnam to Baghdad
to Bosnia."
Major funding for the Thompson Forum series is provided by the Cooper
Foundation. The series is named in honor of E.N. Thompson, chairman of
the
foundation and originator of the series.
Robert Bork Lectures Sept. 1 at Law College
Judge Robert H. Bork will discuss "Law and Culture" in the
second Roman L. Hruska Institute for the Administration of Justice at the
University of Nebraska College of Law Sept. 1. Bork's lecture is free and
open to the public and begins at 11 a.m. in the auditorium of Ross
McCollum
Hall, East Campus Loop and Fair Street.
Bork is the John M. Olin Scholar in Legal Studies at the American
Enterprise
Institute. He served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia
from 1982 to 1988 and was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to the
U.S.
Supreme Court. He has practiced law with a major law firm and served as
solicitor general and acting attorney general of the United States.
A regular commentator in the national news media and lecturer
nationwide,
Bork has expertise in the fields of social and political studies,
including
U.S. constitutional law and theory, antitrust law and theory and cultural
issues. His most recent book, Slouching towards Gomorrah: Modern
Liberalism
and American Decline (1996), was on the New York Times bestseller
list.
The institute recognizes the career of Roman L. Hruska, who served as
U.S. senator from Nebraska from 1954 to 1977 and who participated
prominently
in efforts to enhance the administration of justice in the federal
courts.
The first Hruska Institute, in 1996, featured Justice Anthony Kennedy
of the U.S. Supreme Court. The third institute will be in November with
Justice Steven Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court. The institute is jointly
sponsored by the College of Law, the Nebraska State Bar Foundation and
members
of the federal judiciary.
Dean Karen Craig Announces Intention to
Retire
By Peg Strain, Public Relations
Karen E. Craig has announced she will retire as dean of the College of
Human Resources and Family Sciences at the end of the 1998-99 academic
year.
"It's been a series of years increasing the breadth of vision for
the college," Craig said of her work as dean since 1986. "I'm
pleased we have a Ph.D. program that we did not have before and we have
been out front on distance education. The college has collaborated with
other units on campus and we are collaborating in academic and research
matters increasingly with organizations in the state and nation.
"I would like to commend the faculty on innovation in distance
education,
educational technology and new teaching and learning processes."
Irv Omtvedt, vice chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture and
Natural
Resources, praised Craig's efforts and said, "She has been truly a
change agent for the college and brought about many innovations that have
greatly enhanced the college's effectiveness and responsiveness. She has
fostered tremendous partnerships within and outside the university. She
has made a great contribution. We are going to miss her."
Richard Edwards, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, said,
"Dean
Craig has provided wise and visionary leadership for the college for 12
years and has not only become a widely respected leader for the campus at
large, but the nation as well. Her leadership has been characterized by
a willingness to challenge herself and her faculty to set high
aspirations
and work hard to realize them. Her leadership has laid a foundation for
this college to prosper in the future."
The innovations instituted by Craig were acknowledged in 1993 when the
NU Board of Regents approved changing the name of the college from the
College
of Home Economics.
Craig came to Nebraska from Purdue University, where she was associate
dean of the School of Consumer and Family Sciences and was assistant
director
of Purdue's Cooperative Extension Service.
She earned her bachelor's in home economics at Northeast Missouri
Teachers
College, now Truman State University. She earned her master's and
doctoral
degrees in home management and family economics at Purdue.
Craig has served the American Association for Family and Consumer
Sciences/American
Home Economics Association and the Association of Administrators of Home
Economics/Board on Home Economics and numerous other national groups. She
was honored with the Leader Award from the American Home Economics
Association
in 1994. Craig was selected for the award based on her record of
extensive
leadership in the home economics profession nationally and within
Nebraska
and for being a role model to others in the profession.
A committee will be appointed to begin a national search for a new
dean.
Search Committee for VC Research
Named
The university has named members of the search committee to fill the
position of vice chancellor for research. The committee is seeking
nominations
for the position and encouraging scholars to nominate themselves.
The search chair is David Sellmyer, professor of physics and director
of the Center for Materials Research.
Committee members are: David Beukelman, professor of special education
and communication disorders; Ray Chollet, professor of biochemistry; Jim
Hendrix, dean of the College of Engineering and Technology; Svata Louda,
professor of biological sciences; Darrell Nelson, dean of the
Agricultural
Research Division in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources;
Suzanne Ortega, professor of sociology and associate dean of Graduate
Studies;
Sharon Harris, professor of English; Anna Shavers, professor of law;
Linda
Shipley, associate dean of the College of Journalism and Mass
Communications;
and David L. Smith, professor of chemistry. A student will also be named
to the committee.
Applications and nominations will be accepted until the position is
filled.
The search committee will begin reviewing applications on Oct. 1.
A full position description and instructions for the option of
submitting
applications on-line are available at http://www.unl.edu/sv
caa/Activities/vcr.html
or by contacting the office of the senior vice chancellor for
academic
affairs or by emailing jgude1@unl.edu.
The goal is to have the position filled by Jan. 1, 1999. It will
become
vacant Dec. 31 when Priscilla Grew takes an administrative development
leave
prior to assuming a position as professor in the Department of
Geosciences
on July 1, 1999.
 Three Cultures Help Winnebago
Youth
Achieve Successes; Improv Theater Performs Aug. 29 at State Fair
By Cheryl Alberts, IANR news writer
Garan Coons is growing in three cultures. The diversity has helped him
meet obligations to his family, his community, himself.
The 16-year-old Winnebago resident has a long list of accomplishments
to make any parent and teacher proud: he's lettered in three sports; was
twice listed in Who's Who in American High Schools; is a member of
National
Honor Society; won distinction on his school's speech and drama team; and
was the school Art Student of the Year.
He's also a champion Native American fancy dancer, as well as an
accomplished
singer and drummer.
Coons, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, lives with his family on
the Winnebago Indian Reservation in northeast Nebraska's Thurston County.
His beginnings were humble, say his parents, Curt and Theresa St. Cyr.
They
taught him to respect and give thanks to nature, to express himself in
creative
and constructive ways, and to appreciate education.
"There aren't a lot of Garans out there," said Janet
Nielsen,
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension 4-H youth development
assistant
in Thurston County. Nielsen befriended Coons when he was in a play she
directed
at Winnebago High School. More recently, Nielsen convinced Coons to
participate
in a youth improvisational theater camp. The youth theater group, which
has organized itself into a 4-H club, is part of a Strengthening Families
grant through Children, Youth and Families at Risk initiative in
extension's
Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Led by professional youth counselors trained in improvisational drama,
the program is structured as an intensive series of exercises where young
people act out vignettes on contemporary social issues, including
alcohol,
drug and tobacco use, school conflicts, domestic violence and other
concerns.
Actors stay in character while engaging the audience. The concept has
been
successful among virtually all ages and diverse constituencies, both
urban
and rural, for the last 30 years.
Some members of the improvisational theater will be at the Keeping
Families
First arena at 11 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Aug. 29 at the Nebraska State
Fair.
Coons at first was reluctant to participate in the improvisational
theater,
eager instead to attend an art institute.
But Nielsen persisted, and today Coons thanks her. He found it another
means of expanding his horizons and self-confidence. The improvisational
experience gave Coons the courage to apply for the National 4-H Council's
Youth Voices Team in Washington, D.C.; subsequently, he was one of 20
youth
selected from 130 applicants across the country. Upon his return in
mid-August,
Coons expects to continue delivering his messages of positive behavior,
self-confidence and leadership to youth wherever he travels.
Not everyone, however, revels in Coons' success. Daily life on the
reservation
has contradictions. His parents note life often is difficult with a foot
in each world, let alone three cultures. The Lakota and Winnebago
cultures
traditionally are neither competitive nor materialistic. However, Coons
was able to look past peers who chortled at his accomplishments; he does,
in fact, "lecture" them on misuse of alcohol and tobacco, the
latter of which was and still is used for sacred ceremonies.
The St. Cyrs continue to encourage their son to seek new
directions.
"They made me see a lot of things," Coons said, adding they
told him, "'The world is not just in your town.'" Coons'
ambition
is to travel, to make new friends, be a model for leadership and positive
behavior - and to represent his cultures.
For example, in May Coons and his mother suggested incorporating
Native
American culture into the school's annual youth achievement program.
Rather
than the usual handshake and certificates, students were honored with a
pow-wow, which included traditional Native American songs, dances and
drums.
Coons designed a special pow-wow T-shirt, and emceed the ceremony in
front
of hundreds of people.
Coons also helped obtain funds for the celebration from the Winnebago
Tribal Council. Tribal leaders took the opportunity to discuss with him
the thousands of dollars being poured into programs and detention for a
few youth, and encouraged Coons to continue his efforts.
Nielsen, who has worked closely with Coons in the last year, says his
self-confidence is higher than normal for reservation youth. Though
soft-spoken,
Coons is articulate and meets new challenges well. He continually
advocates
his message, and hopes "that kids hear it."
Coons says he appreciates the path he has chosen. "There's a lot
of things out there to see and try," he said.
As Coons enters his senior year of high school this fall, he will
begin
seeking scholarships to continue his education, possibly in counseling
for
Native American youth. And he will continue living his parents' advice:
"If you want it - you go for it."
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