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NEWS: Indian American heads pioneer lab at MIT
Indian American heads pioneer lab at MIT
By Ela Dutt, Indo-Asian News Service
Washington, Mar 19 (IANS) Indian American Subra Suresh, department head at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), inaugurated a laboratory
that will allow researchers to probe the mechanical properties of surfaces
and devices at the atomic and molecular scale.
Suresh, head of the department of materials science and engineering, said
the NanoMechanical Technology Laboratory "will have unique capabilities for
studying properties of the tiny world."
For example, he said, it will be home to the institute's first
nano-indenters, machines that probe and measure the properties of surfaces
of engineering and biological materials. The dedication ceremony for the new
facility was held Monday.
"It's currently the most prominent and visible laboratory along MIT's
Infinite Corridor," said Suresh, the R.P. Simmons professor of materials
science and engineering. Glass walls and plasma screen displays of
educational and research information will inform passer bys of the
activities of the laboratory.
The study of systems many thousands of times smaller than the period at the
end of this sentence is key to many applications.
These include the atomic and molecular level design of surfaces, mini
"reactors" for the production of new materials, insights into atomic-scale
contact and wear that can affect the performance of magnetic storage media
such as hard disks in our computers, and the development of new drug
delivery devices. The lab also will have facilities for computer simulations
of atomic-scale events.
At least a dozen faculty members from more than five departments will be
actively involved in the "NanoLab," said Suresh, a graduate of the Indian
Institute of Technology.
Other Indian American faculty with research and teaching ties to the lab are
Lallit Anand, professor of mechanical engineering and Ram Sasisekharan,
associate professor in the biological engineering division, among a host of
others.
Suresh also noted that the new lab complements MIT's Microsystems Technology
Laboratories. "The laboratory makes the materials and the NanoLab provides
facilities to probe their properties."
The NanoLab is expected to play an important role in the activities of the
newly announced Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies. The U.S. Army has
selected MIT to create lightweight molecular materials to equip foot
soldiers of the future with uniforms and gear that can heal them, shield
them and protect them against chemical and biological warfare.
MIT won the army competition for the five-year, $50 million proposal for the
institute. Industry will contribute an additional $40 million in funds and
equipment.
Suresh stressed that, in addition to research, his lab also will be key to a
number of educational activities. "Lab components will be added to a variety
of subjects taught in the Department of materials science and engineering.
Courses taught institute-wide could also benefit from the presence of the
lab," he said.
For example, plans are under way to link the NanoLab to the WebLab, the
online microelectronics lab developed by del Alamo.
The NanoMechanical Technology Laboratory was made possible by a combined
donation of $500,000 from Harold Hindman and George Burr, cofounders of
Instron Corporation; a pledge of $500,000 in cash and equipment from
Instron; and an equipment grant of $500,000 from the Department of Defence
to purchase the nano-indenter.
Suresh is internationally recognised for pioneering contributions to the
understanding of mechanical properties and behaviour of materials, and for
leadership in materials education.
He is known for leading the advanced materials programme of the
Singapore-MIT alliance, and is credited with making major contributions to
the fields of micro-mechanics and nano-mechanics of thin films, mechanical
properties, fracture and fatigue, and the multidisciplinary area of graded
materials.
Among his numerous honours and awards is election as a Fellow or honorary
member of five different professional societies. He is a co-inventor on nine
U.S. and international patent applications.
About seven years ago, Suresh began a programme to create novel graded
materials -- two or more different materials combined such that the
proportion of one is greater at the surface but is gradually replaced by
another with depth.
This work created the first theoretical and experimental basis for the study
of indentation of graded materials with applications in fields as diverse as
biomechanical implants, geo-mechanics, advanced structural coatings and
microelectronics.
--Indo Asian News Service
