at SE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN … · The Big Pig Award was a special event in the academic year and was conferred at the Pig Roast by the undergraduate students

MatSE Alumni News/Fall 2004 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Lewis invested as Thurnauer Professor

MatSE hosts summer research experience for undergraduates

Mat SEIllinois

Department of Materials Science andEngineering

FALL 2004 ALUMNI NEWS

2 MatSE Alumni News/Fall 2004 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

On the cover

Contents

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12

6

The cover image depicts the direct-write assembly of 3-D micro-periodic structures frompolyelectrolyte inks. A schematic illustration of ink being deposited through a fine cylindrical nozzleto create the 3-D structure (in white) within the deposition reservoir is superimposed on a SEM imageof 4-layer structures printed with associated in- and out-lead lines. (Photo Credit: BenjaminGrosser, Imaging Technology Group, Beckman Institute and Gregory Gratson and Jennifer Lewis,Materials Science and Engineering Department, University of Illinois).

4 Student Awards

5 Alumni Awards

6 Clifton Bergeron Scholarship established

7 Interview with Rick Russell (BS Met ’84)

8-9 FY04 donors recognized

10 Jennifer Lewis invested as first Thurnauer Professor

11 Department Notes

12 Summer undergraduate research program

13 Obituaries

14-15 Class Notes

16 Flashback

Editor's Note: Flashback 1970's

“The ‘Flashback’ on the back cover of the Spring 2004 issue broughtback a flood of memories. I can identify most of the students in thisphoto taken at a meeting of the Student Branch of the American CeramicSociety. I think the date was about 1971. Two of those who were gradstudents at that time are now retired after completing very sucessfulcareers: Suzanne Nagel at AT&T and Alan Marlor at 3M. Three of thewomen in the photo went on to earn their Ph.D. degrees: Carolyn(Kinney) Primus, Suzanne Nagel, and Elizabeth Richards. I’ll beinterested in hearing the comments and recollections from other alumni.

-Clif Bergeron


Published twice annually by the University of Illinois Department of MaterialsScience and Engineering for its alumni, faculty and friends. All ideas expressedin Materials Science & Engineering Alumni News are those of the authors or editorand do not necessarily reflect the official position of either the alumni or theDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering.

Editor & Development AssociateCindy Brya

Department HeadIan Robertson

Associate HeadPhil Geil

Assistant to the HeadJay Menacher

Correspondence concerning theMatSE Alumni News should besent to:The EditorMatSE Alumni News201B MSEB1304 West Green StreetUrbana, IL 61801

[email protected]

From the Head

Ian M. RobertsonDepartment Head

My first semester as Head of the MatSEDepartment has been exciting, demandingand very rewarding. The faculty have beenvery successful at attracting new researchfunding, their research work is being highlyrecognized and they continue to earn majorawards for their achievements as do ourstudents; our undergraduate program re-mains the top ranked program nationally;the Materials Science and Engineeringbuilding renovation project continues; andwe are searching for new faculty. The lasttwo items are particularly important as theydemonstrate the support the College has forour department.

This fall we welcomed 58 freshman and 35graduate students, increasing our total un-dergraduate and graduate student popula-tion to 390 students. Our Fall high schoolvisit day attracted 60 students and theirfamilies to campus to learn about the pro-gram. The faculty and undergraduates dida superb job at the visit day, and the com-ments from several parents about the enthu-siasm our students have for the programwas good to hear.

The fall semester we celebrated theHans Thurnauer Professorship in Ma-terials Science and Engineering, whichis the third named professorship in thedepartment. Learning about Hans’ ca-reer and the circumstances that directedHans to join and then lead a companyhis family had once owned was re-markable. The most notable point wasthe role that Cullen Parmelee had inshaping and molding Hans’ career.Mentoring and advising students re-mains a key activity in the departmentand it is reassuring and rewarding tolearn that it can make a difference.

We are experiencing a welcome in-crease in the number of companies ac-tively participating in the department.These activities include taking part incareer nights, giving lectures in ourclasses, making use of the department’splacement services, and providing casestudies for the undergraduate laboratories.Being active in the department helps adver-tise your company and increases awarenessof your company among our students. If

your company would like to get involved,please contact me.

I want to thank all of you for your supportof the department. As you are aware fromthe letters I have been sending, there aremany ways you can show your support. Inthe last nine months, you have demon-strated your loyalty and commitment to thedepartment in many ways. On behalf of thestudents, faculty and staff, I thank you.Your support is appreciated and does makea tremendous difference.

As always, I welcome your input and I lookforward to meeting you. We host recep-tions at some of the national meetings, andif you are attending the meeting or livenearby, please attend and learn more aboutyour department.


Student Awards

As many of our older alumni know, the Pig Roast was a special social affair held each spring in which the students properly “ribbed” thefaculty concerning teaching styles, etc., and provided the faculty the opportunity to “summarize” the student body – it was a great eventfor all. The Big Pig Award was a special event in the academic year and was conferred at the Pig Roast by the undergraduate students.The faculty member chosen was one that had made a particularly memorable impression upon these students during their years learning

the Ceramic Engineering profession at the University ofIllinois. I was on the faculty from 1961 through 1968, and itwas my great privilege to be awarded the Big Pig Award for1968. In presenting me with the award, the students cited thearduous labor involved in successfully completing my junior/senior level electronic ceramics course as something whichwould take them years to forget. This award was also anindication by the students that they understood the effort thefaculty winner put into the course content to make it a rigorouslearning experience. In the accompanying picture, takenduring the MatSE Awards Banquet ceremony on April 23,2004, I am shown holding the Big Pig Award designated “VJT68.” Also, a tradition was started many years earlier in whicha committee of the undergraduate student body fabricated aplace setting pig for each attendee commemorating the year ofthe ceremony. In the picture at left, I hold the pig made for thespring 1958 Pig Roast.

Paul A. Beck Scholar: Timothy TylerHarry J. Beckemeyer Jr. Scholar: Jeffrey KalishClifton G. Bergeron Scholar: Meena BabuLouis R. Berner Scholars: Brian Bertram, Justin Mont-gomeryRobert Bohl Scholars: Matthew Hardy, David Hoying,Nicole Kwasigroch, Lynsa Nguyen, Amanda Pirih, Jo-seph Stephens, Ernest TimmonsCaterpillar Scholars: Mark Nowakowski, PhilipWaggonerEarl J. Eckel Scholar: Shawn MackM. Laird & Charisann Froberg Scholar: Philip Heil,Kristiann Rushton, Melissa SmithHenry E. Grein Jr. Scholar: Han-Joo ChoeKimberly Clark Scholars: Jessica Koschmeder, JonathanMcDanielKevin Moore Memorial Scholar: Melissa SmithJames A. Nelson Scholar: Scott NellisCullen W. Parmelee Scholars: Robert Chen, JacobDolezal, David DralleNorman L. Peterson Scholar: Michael Mulholland3M Polymer Materials Scholars: Meena Babu, MatthewDolder, Teresa MosherLucille and Charles Wert Scholars: Jennifer Gregg, Jonathan Hol-lander, Wuisiew TanAlfred W. Allen Awards: Robert Chen, Jacob Dolezal, DavidDralle, Jeffrey Kalish, Jessica Koschmeder, Eric Pressly

Arthur L. Friedberg Awards: Michelle Bielick, Riley KerestesLaird Froberg Award: Melissa SmithMaterials Science and Engineering Alumni Board Award: RachelWilliams

Department Head Ian Robertson and the student award winners at the 2004awards banquet.

Pigs of the Past by Victor Tennery, former professor in Ceramic Engineering


2004 Alumni AwardsDistinguished Merit Awardfor an alumnus who has had an illustriouscareer and whose accomplishments reflectadmirably on the MatSE Department.

Toni Grobstein Maréchaux

Toni Grobstein Maréchaux (BS Met ’81) isDirector of the National Materials Advi-sory Board at the National Academies (TheNational Academy of Sciences, the Na-tional Academy of Engineering, the Insti-tute of Medicine, and the National Re-search Council). She also directs the staffand activitiesfor the Boardon Manufac-turing and En-gineering De-sign. Bothboards act asadvisors to thenation on sci-ence and engi-neering issues.

Prior to join-ing the Na-tional Acad-e m i e s ,Maréchaux di-rected a vari-ety of projectsand programs promoting the use of ad-vanced materials and manufacturing tech-nologies. Her experience includes steelmanufacturing at National Steel, high tem-perature materials development at theNASA Glenn Research Center, and indus-trial program coordination at the U.S. De-partment of Energy. As an engineer,Maréchaux has worked with materials forStirling engines, metal matrix composites,turbine blades, fuel cells and advanced bat-teries, and space-based nuclear reactors.Her program management experience in-cludes space power technology for NASAHeadquarters, automotive applications forDOE’s Transportation Technologies Pro-gram, and mining, metals, and concretetechnology for DOE’s Industrial Technolo-gies Program. She received her M.S. andPh.D. in Materials Science from Case West-ern Reserve University.

Loyalty Awardfor time, talents, and services freely givenby an alumnus who has displayed extraor-dinary interest in and loyalty to MatSE.

Donald W. Hamer

Don Hamer (BS Cer ’45) worked as anengineer in the ceramics industry in Chi-cago after serving in World War II and theKorean War. During these years, he be-came interested in the business world and,in 1958, earned an M.B.A. from the Uni-versity of Chicago. Following employ-

ment with a number of companies, Hamertook a job as chief engineer at the ErieTechnological Products Plant, now calledMurata Electronics. In 1969, he formedState of the Art, Inc., to produce educa-tional seminars and consulting services onthick-film technology. The company soonexpanded into manufacturing and beganproducing and selling resistors.

His professional honors include Fellow ofthe American Ceramic Society, Daniel C.Hughes Award from the International Soci-ety of Hybrid Microelectronics, and theBuesseum Award for lifetime achievementin electronic materials. He has received theUI College of Engineering Alumni Awardfor Distinguished Service. In 2001 he es-tablished the Donald W. Hamer Professor-ship. He serves on the MatSE Department’sSenior Advisory Committee.

Young Alumnus Awardfor an alumnus under the age of 40 who hasdemonstrated unusual accomplishments inthe early stages of his/her career.

Atif A. Odeh (BS Met ’92)

Atif A. Odeh is President and PrincipalMetallurgist for ATRONA Material Test-ing Laboratories, a Metallurgical, Materi-als, and Mechanical testing services labo-ratory and consulting firm he founded in1999. ATRONA Material Testing Labora-tories, Inc. has grown in the last five years

to an 11,000sq ft state ofthe art engi-neering lab.A T R O N Acurrently em-ploys 10 staffmembers inthe metallur-gical and me-chanical engi-neering fields.The accred-ited labora-tory is capableof compre-hensive fail-ure analysis,all types of

metallurgical testing and mechanical test-ing including static and dynamic type test-ing and engineering services. Odeh’s expe-rience includes two years of research, de-velopment, and material testing for the ArmyCorps of Engineers and nine years of plantmetallurgy for manufacturing and privatesectors including aerospace, heavy machin-ery, off highway industry, gearing industryand heat treat. He has held the positions ofplant metallurgist, environmental manager,product engineering manager, plant super-intendent, and project manager. He hasconsulted and assisted companies in China,Korea, India, Europe, South America, Ja-pan, and Canada. He is the author of“Metallurgy and Heat Treatment, the PocketBook.”

Toni Grobstein Maréchaux Donald Hamer Atif Odeh


Scholarship established to honorClifton Bergeron

2004 Bergeron Scholar Meena Babu's winning essay

To educate is to impart knowledge, and to learn is to receive it. Obtaining an education is quite often associated with being taughtin a formal fashion that involves textbooks and homework problems in a lecture hall setting. But knowledge can be imparted inseveral different ways, and when the educational environment is no longer a classroom, learning becomes much more of achallenge—and much greater a reward.

It is by this token that I have come to understand what it really means to “learn.” During my co-op term with Kimberly-Clark, I haveassumed the roles of product developer, process engineer, research technician, and scientist; and by taking leave of the campusenvironment for one semester and setting foot in the working world, I have, in this brief period of time, found that experience issometimes the best teacher. I have realized that a formal university education will not serve to answer all of the questions I willencounter in my future profession as an engineer, but instead will act as an internal resource that will foster my ability to brainstormand problem-solve. I have been challenged to present my observations and conclusionsnot in a timed, written examination, but in an open round-table discussion. I havediscovered that my performance as an individual is sometimes less important than myperformance as a team player, and that high grade point averages will not guaranteesuccess when it comes to expressing your ideas or thinking on your feet.

Witnessing the inner workings of a large company has given me more knowledge thatwill help to evaluate my educational and career goals. My involvement in the consumerproducts industry has verified my interest in polymer science. And most importantly, myco-op term has prompted me to ask new questions about my future, and has made meaware of several other professional avenues that I have yet to explore.

I will return to campus in the fall as a wiser person in the sense that I have seen where aformal education will lead me, and I will be better prepared to understand and apply thematerial I encounter along the way. The hands-on experience I have gained as a co-opis something I will almost certainly value more than any class I will take at any university.During this semester I have been given a glimpse of my future, and I have learned whatwill be expected of me in just a few years; until then, I will continue to learn and developthe skills I will need to be a success once the classrooms begin to disappear and theworking world takes their place.

MatSE alumni have established a new scholarship in honor of theirformer professor, Clifton Bergeron. Prof. Bergeron (BS Cer ’50,MS Cer ’59, PhD Cer ‘61) served as head of the Department ofCeramic Engineering from 1978 to 1986. He retired in 1988. Theprimary objective of the scholarship is to encourage outstandingMatSE undergraduates to better equip themselves for successfulcareers in industry by acquiring summer internship experience orparticipating in a research program prior to graduation. To beconsidered for the award, undergraduates have to write an essay ontheir internship experience or a related research experience. Thewinner of the 2004 Clifton Bergeron Scholarship is Meena Babu.In addition to working as a co-op at Kimberly-Clark, Babu is activein a number of organizations including the Society of WomenEngineers, Undergraduate Materials Organization, and Women’sGlee Club. She has served as an engineering learning assistant forthe College’s Engineering 100 program and despite the manydemands on her time, maintains a grade point average of 3.9/4.0.Alumni who wish to contribute to the Clifton Bergeron ScholarshipFund may complete the form on page 9 of the newsletter.

Clif Bergeron and Meena Babu

Engineering Career Services recently expanded its services for allUniversity of Illinois College of Engineering alumni and nowoffers free access to job postings and other resources on its newonline job board at www.uiucengineeringjobs.com. Through thisnew job board, alumni can directly access and apply to job postingsfrom employers seeking experienced professionals or recent grads.Additionally, alumni can directly post full-time and internshipemployment opportunities for their company or organization andmanage the process by which all applicants apply. There is no costfor any of these services.

One other new feature included with the online job board is anAlumni Mentor and Networking Program. All alumni have theoption of participating in a new College-wide mentor network forboth students and alumni. Participants in this program registeronline and indicate their willingness to provide industry informa-tion and share career expertise. The system also enables volunteersto manage the frequency of requests for information by students andother alumni. In addition to enabling students to gain more directinsight and knowledge about engineering careers, alumni mentorscan also participate and expand their own professional network.

Expanded career services and mentoring


Rick Russell (BS Met ’84) is a Materials Engineer in NASA’sOrbiter Project Office. In his position, he is responsible for themanagement of aging orbiter issues including corrosion, non-destructive evaluation, nonmetallics, wiring and subsystems. Heleft NASA’s processing engineering group and the shuttle programin 1996 to join the Aerostructures Corporation in Nashville, andthen Bell Helicopter in Ft. Worth, Texas, in2000. In 2001 he rejoined the shuttle pro-gram, taking a position with United SpaceAlliance (USA). Following the Columbiadisaster, he led the Materials and ProcessEngineering team that supported the recon-struction and failure analysis of Columbia’sdebris. He rejoined NASA in March 2004.Rick and his wife, Lisa, and children, Daniel(15 yrs.), Alivia (6 yrs.), and Ryan (6 weeks)live in Melbourne, Florida. Rick invites hisformer classmates to drop him a line [email protected].

Q: What do you do for NASA?

At the time of the Columbia accident, I wasthe lead of prime contractor’s Materials andProcesses (M&P) group for processing thespace shuttle fleet. In my new position forNASA, I work for Johnson Space Centerand the Orbiter Project Office, yet still re-side at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Myprime responsibilities are to address theaging Orbiter fleet. I chair the OrbiterCorrosion Control Review Board and haverecently started a new Aging Orbiter Working Group.

Q: What was your role in the Columbia accident investigation?

The Columbia debris was collected and sent to a hangar at KSCwhere a reconstruction was done to aid in determining root cause.I was asked to lead the M&P team assembled for this effort. TheM&P team was formed to assess recovered debris and analyzeselected component materials and to support any materials analysesdirected by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. TheColumbia Board was composed of scientists and engineers bothfrom within and outside NASA. NASA members on the Boardwere non-shuttle.

Q: What were your biggest challenges during the reconstruction?

There were many challenges. Our first task was to develop detailedprocedures and sampling techniques to preserve hardware andcritical evidence. Much effort was also expended in developing thebest nondestructive techniques to limit destructive sampling andprevent further damage to critical evidence. The nature of thedebris itself also posed its own challenges. Never before has anaircraft accident investigation been performed on a vehicle that

broke up such a high altitude and speed, producing unique thermaland mechanical damage. Once the focus of the investigation shiftedto the left wing components, several structural pieces were selectedto develop a failure analysis process for debris hardware and toobtain exploratory laboratory data.

Q: Did your team’s efforts make a difference?

In the early stages of the investigation, many people were veryskeptical that any useful data would come of the forensic analysis.I am proud to say that the conclusions reached by the M&P teamwere consistent with the conclusions reached by the NASA OrbiterEngineering Working Group and the Columbia Accident Investiga-tion Board.

Q: What are the biggest challenges ahead?

We are working very hard getting the Orbiter fleet ready for returnto flight. The vehicles are aging and new problems keep arising.Even before the accident, numerous issues and component failureshave plagued us. The orbiters were designed for 10 years or 100flights. In the beginning, a much faster turn around and aggressivelaunch schedule was anticipated. The leading orbiter in flights isDiscovery with 30. I’ve been hired to lead the aging orbiter effortbecause we are now over two times our design life. For the M&Pengineering team the real challenge is addressing all the currentknown issues and at the same time proactively analyzing thehardware and systems to prevent future failures.

An interview with 1984 alumnus Rick Russell, NASA engineer

Rick Russell


The student awards highlighted in this issue would not bepossible without your support. The list of donors includes alumniand friends who have helped maintain MatSE’s outstandingreputation. Included are individuals who directed their gifts toMatSE between July 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004. [We check thelist carefully, but if we have overlooked you, please contact theEditor so that we can correct our records.]

Some MatSE alumni chose to support other units of the Univer-sity of Illinois; those gifts are not listed here but will be acknowl-edged by those units. If you wish to direct gifts to MatSE, pleaseindicate MatSE on your check and on the donor form.

Individuals listed in boldface are currently Presidents Councilmembers. As of January 1, 1995, individuals must pledge$15,000 over a 10-year period to become Presidents Councilmembers. For more information about this program, contact:University of Illinois Foundation, Harker Hall, MC-386, 1305W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801.

Thanks to all who contributed to MatSE during Fiscal Year 2004Vasantha R. AmarakoonRajnikant B. and Nalini R. AminRobert Clark AndersonJoseph J. AuJames V. BarnettAndrea O. BarneyC. Walter Beattie Jr.James H. BechtoldClifton G. and Laura K. BergeronRalph E. BevisRobert B. BieniaszGerson B. BilowAndrew G. BlakeRodney S. BondAlfred J. BonfiglioDonald H. BooneJerry W. BrockmeyerCindy A. BryaDavid G. Cahill and Adelaide H. AimeWoodrow W. CarpenterCharles R. CaseyStanley L. ChannonWen-Li A. Chen andHwei-Ling YauAlbert S. ChowDaniel T. ConnorCharles W. ConnorsBetty A. CoulmanWilford H. Couts Jr.Joseph B. DarbyMark and Eileen DeGuireJohn P. DeLucaCharles D. DobsonJoseph W. DowScott T. DuncanMichael A. DvorackRobert J. EaganJames andAnastasia EconomyThomas FaroLorraine M. FrancisMatthew H. FreyRichard C. FriedbergJames R. GaebeWilliam A. and Roberta P. GraffSteven R. and Pamela GrantRichard B. GreenwaltDaniel J. GriesenauerSalvatore J. GrisaffePaul F. GuttmannEdgar R. HackCharles A. HallDonald W. HamerWilliam E. HeitmannBarry S. and Emily L. Hindin

Lowell M. HoffmanRichard C. HoffmanDale HollomanKristen L. HolversonEdwin M. HorakScott E. HughesJames N. Humenik and Mary JaneNelson HumenikElwin L. and Nell JohnsonJoseph M. KaplanStephen P. and Mary A. KarasBetty KepleyVictor KerlinsRory S. KirkpatrickMartin J. KopchakCarl A. KoteckiRalph G. and Virginia A. KraftJohn F. and Doris M. KrumwiedeKenneth J. KunaJames A. Laird

Elizabeth J. OpilaRobert G. ParkisonValentino M. PatariniMichael A. PershingFrederick A. PetersenJames W. Pettyjohn Jr.Ellen S. PfafflinLucas E. PfeiffenbergerWilliam O. PowersGino J. and Carolyn M. PrimusLeonard H. RadzilowskiMathew M. RetondeElizabeth A. RichardsJordan and Julie A. RiedlRobert J. RinghoferRobert A. RitaJohn H. RobertsCharles A. RobertsonDonald C. RomaniCharles Rosenberg

Kenneth R. RotunnoGregory R. RuschauRonald M. ScanlanCharles SchenkNorman SchoeppelJohn Schultz Jr.Lawrence E. Schulz and Lonna B.Streight-SchulzWilliam D. ScottGloria A. ShiffAlvin D. ShulmanRichard M. SkollyRobert B. SnowHarold G. and Gladys M. SowmanRichard M. SpriggsMark E. SpringgateDonald K. StevensStephen D. StoddardDaniel L. and Orleen F. StoltzWilliam E. TaylorVictor J. TenneryHans Thurnauer

Bruce R. and Sheryl A. TiptonWilliam K. and Marie M. I. TredwayStacey A. Trella-HenningRobert A. VernettiJames Lee WattersCharles A. WertTheodore R. WilkenJ. L. WillettJoseph J. YadronKent J. YancikPhilip E. ZappGreg J. ZeiglerKenneth P. ZemanJacob W. Zindel

Michael T. LanaganRonald C. LarsonCarlos G. and Lubella C. LeviGeorge J. LicinaArnold P. LitmanLowell T. LloydRobert E. LuetjeMarvin R. MehlerJack W. MoormanTerry A. MyersSuzanne R. NagelJessica M. NelsonTimothy L. and Pamela R. NosbischMark A. Ohls


Department of Materials Science & Engineering Fund

Yes, I want to support MatSE with my gift of: ❏ $1,000 ❏ $500 ❏ $250 ❏ $100 ❏ Other:_____________

❏ I have enclosed my check in the above amount made payable to: UIF/MatSE Dept. Please direct my gift to:❏ MatSE general fund [3-32845] ❏ SILC project/Kiln House (MatSE labs) [3-32331]❏ Bob Bohl Scholarship Fund [3-71507] ❏ Charlie Wert Scholarship Fund [3-73848]❏ Ceramic Engineering [3-75740] ❏ Metallurgy & Mining Engineering [3-77904]❏ Earl Eckel Scholarship Fund [3-72479] ❏ Jim Nelson Scholarship Fund [3-72833]❏ Clifton Bergeron Scholarship Fund [7-72728] ❏ Other: ______________________________________

❏ I authorize the U of I Foundation to collect my gift in the amount above through the credit card checked: ❏ Visa ❏ Discover ❏ MasterCard ❏ American Express Card no.: ___________________ Expiration date: _________Signature:_______________________________

❏ My company, ___________________________________, will match my gift with $________. I am enclosing my employer's Matching Gift form.

5M 5GEName_______________________________________________________

Home address________________________________________________

City__________________________ State_________ Zip______________

Return this form and your check to:University of Illinois FoundationP.O. Box 3429Champaign, IL 61826-9916

Companies support MatSE through gifts and matching funds

I understand that this gift is tax deductible as allowed by law.

www.mse.uiuc.edu/alumni/giving.html

MatSE relies upon the support of corpora-tions and foundations, in addition to giftsfrom alumni and friends. This corporateand foundation support is essential formaintaining high-quality teaching and re-search within the department. We wouldlike to thank the following corporationsand foundations that contributed to MatSEduring fiscal year 2004 (July 1, 2003 –June 30, 2004).

Corporations and foundations listed inboldface provided matching funds tosupplement the gifts of alumni and friends.If you work for a company that offers amatching gift program, please be sure toinclude a matching gift form with yourdonation. For more information on match-ing gifts, contact the University of IllinoisFoundation at 217-333-0675.

Alcoa FoundationThe Boeing Gift Matching ProgramWorld Reach/Cardinal Health FoundationCaterpillar FoundationFord Motor CompanyGE FoundationW.R. Grace Foundation IncThe Hamer FoundationWorld Reach/Hewlett Packard MatchingProgramHoneywell Hometown SolutionsIntel FoundationJohn Roberts AgencyJohns Manville FundKennametal Inc.Kimberly-Clark Foundation, Inc.Lockheed Martin Corporation FoundationMagneco/Metrel, Inc.The Noris FoundationPPG Industries FoundationThe Procter & Gamble Fund

Texas Instruments FoundationTyco International Inc.United Technologies CorporationUnited Way of Central New MexicoUSG Foundation, Inc.World Reach, Inc.3M3M Foundation


Lewis named Thurnauer Professor of Materials Science and EngineeringOn September 28, Jennifer Lewis (BS Cer ’86) was invested as thefirst Hans Thurnauer Professor of Materials Science and Engineer-

ing at the University of Illi-nois. Lewis joined the MatSEfaculty after earning her Sc.D.in ceramic science from theMassachusetts Institute ofTechnology in 1991. Lewis’research program currently fo-cuses on self and directed as-sembly of materials from col-loidal and organic buildingblocks. Her work is providingnew insights into the phasebehavior, rheological proper-ties, and drying behavior ofcolloid-nanoparticle, colloid-polymer, nanoparticle-poly-electrolyte, and polyelectro-lyte mixtures. The knowl-edge gained from these fun-damental studies serves to un-

derpin her group’s materials assembly efforts.

Lewis and her research group have developed novel colloidal,nanoparticle, and polyelectrolyte inks for direct-write assembly of3D periodic structures. Toform filaments, “these inksmust first flow through a veryfine deposition nozzle and thenquickly ‘set’ to maintain theirshape while simultaneouslybonding to the underlyinglayer,” Lewis said. Her grouphas fabricated filaments mea-suring only 0.5 micron wide.In comparison, a typical strandof hair is about 75 microns.“The robotic deposition equip-ment has the capability of han-dling multiple inks and dis-pensing them simultaneously.As the relative rates of depos-ited ink are regulated, struc-tures can be built that havecompositional variations inthem.” (See cover photo.) Thestructures have potential application as photonic band gap materi-als, microfluidic networks, and perhaps biodegradable andbiocompatible scaffolds for growing new tissues for surgical pro-cedures. Lewis’ work in this area was cited by C&E News as oneof the top discoveries in materials chemistry in 2002, and has beenfeatured in The Economist, The Technology Review, and MaterialsToday.

Lewis has co-authored more than 60 invited and peer-reviewedpublications, and has delivered 90 invited talks at professionalmeetings, government and industrial laboratories, and academicinstitutions. She is an associate editor of the Journal of theAmerican Ceramic Society and serves on the editorial board ofAmerican Chemical Society’s Langmuir journal. In addition, sheis a past President of the Ceramics Education Council.

She has received the NSFPresidential Faculty FellowAward (1994), faculty re-search awards from theSchlumberger Foundation(1995) and the Allied SignalFoundation (1998, 1999), andthe Brunauer Award from theAmerican Ceramic Society(2003). At Illinois, she hasbeen recognized with theBurnett Teaching Award(1994), Xerox Faculty Re-search Awards (1996, 2001),and the University Scholar(2001) and Willet FacultyScholar (2002) Awards. Sheholds a primary appointmentin the MatSE Department andis affiliated with the Depart-

ment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the BeckmanInstitute, and the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory.

The Thurnauer Professorship was established by alumnus HansThurnauer (MS Cer ’32). His daughter, Marion Thurnauer, andgranddaughter, Monica Thurnauer, attended the ceremony on be-half of the family.

College of Engineering Dean David Daniel presentsJennifer Lewis with a medallion.

Prof. Lewis with Marion and Monica Thurnauer.

Jennifer Lewis


Gerard Wong’s research on self-as-sembled supramolecular structures wasfeatured in Nature Materials (Septem-ber 2004).

James Economy and Zhongren Yue,research scientist, were mentioned inFood Production Daily (August 2004)for developing a new generation of highsurface-area porous materials for re-moving atrazine from water supplies.They were also on the front page ofChampaign-Urbana’s The News-Gazette(September 7, 2004).

Jennifer Lewis and Greg Gratson,Ph.D. student, reviewed direct-writemethods for three-dimensional fabrica-

Recent Press

John Weaver was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Association for the Advancementof Science (AAAS). He was chosen “forseminal studies on the physics and chemistryof surfaces, interfaces, and nanostructures.”

The research group of Joe Greene andIvan Petrov was issued a patent (US6,762,131) that discloses a novel techniquefor forming atomic-scale structures atdesignated positions in a controlled andself-assembled manner over a large surfacearea of a substrate.

David Payne received the FerroelectricsRecognition Award from the IEEEUltrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and FrequencyControl Society at the society’s conferencein August 2004. The award was for“outstanding achievements in scientificwork as well as in promoting theferroelectrics community.”

John Abelson was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Vacuum Society (AVS). He waschosen “for seminal contributions to theatomic-level understanding of amorphousand nanocrystalline hydrogenated siliconfilms.”

Pascal Bellon and Ken Schweizer madethe “Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked

Department Notes

tion in Materials Today (July/August2004).

John Rogers and Ralph Nuzzo had thecover feature of Applied Physics Letters(June 28, 2004). Their research wasalso on the front page of The News-Gazette (July 19, 2004).

John Rogers’ research on fabricatingtransistors using a stamping techniquewas in the “Research News” in Materi-als Today (June 2004).

Paul Braun’s and Jennifer Lewis’ re-search on colloidal crystals was fea-tured on the cover of Langmuir (June22, 2004).

MatSE hosted over 150 visitors at our annual High School Visit Dayon October 10. Students and family members listened to anintroduction to materials science and engineering, toured theundergraduate laboratories, watched demonstrations, and enjoyeda pizza supper with faculty and undergraduates. In the photo above,visitors react to one of the demonstrations.

as Excellent bytheir Students”for the spring2004 semester.

Duane Johnsonwas promoted tothe rank of fullprofessor.

Wujing Xian isa new Lecturer inthe MatSE De-partment. Xianreceived her B.S.in chemistry in1990 fromZhongshan Uni-versity inG u a n g z h o u ,China, and herPh.D. in chemis-try in 1996 fromthe University ofNebraska at Lin-coln. From 1996-98, she worked asa postdoctoral fellow at the Rowland Insti-tute at Harvard University. From 1998-99,she was a research fellow in the Experi-mental Medicine/Hematology Division atBrigham and Women’s Hospital and

Harvard Medical School. Most recentlyshe worked as a postdoctoral fellow andresearch associate at the University of Penn-sylvania School of Medicine in Philadel-

phia. Xian’s doctoral training was in bio-physics, for which she used biophysicalmethods to study peptide and protein struc-tures. She also worked on problems inelectrostatic interactions of biological poly-electrolytes. This semester she is teachingthe biomaterials laboratory course, MSE472.

Wujing Xian


MatSE hosts summer research experience for undergraduates

“Positioning Silicon Microstructures Using Magnetic Forces”Mark Albrecht, Goshen College, Goshen, INAdvisor: John Rogers

“TEM Sample Preparation for the Depth Profiling of MediumRange Order in Amorphous Silicon Thin Films”Milka Alyssa, University of Illinois at ChicagoAdvisor: John Abelson

“Wear Behavior of Cu-15Ni-8Sn Spinodally Hardened Alloy”Jason Bares, University of Wisconsin-MadisonAdvisor: Pascal Bellon

“Bundling of Rod-like Polyelectrolytes in the Presence of Multiva-lent Ions”Teresa Bartal, Goshen College, Goshen, INAdvisor: Erik Luijten

“Characterization of Polymethyl Methacrylate Thin Films ThroughPico-Second Acoustics”Clayton Chan, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignAdvisor: David Cahill

“Characterization of Ethanol Grown Single-Walled CarbonNanotubes”Samantha Cruz, Northwestern University, Evanston, ILAdvisor: Moonsub Shim

“In-situ TEM Study of Grain Growth in Nanograined Copper”Jennifer Gregg, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignAdvisor: Ian Robertson

“Sintering Study of the Mullite Powders Used in the Free-FormFabrication of Ceramic Composites”John Ingram, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignAdvisor: Jennifer Lewis

“3D Maskless Lithography of Proximity Field NanopatterningThrough Micromolding”Robert Nidetz, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignAdvisor: John Rogers

“An Improved Synthesis of Ceramic Powders”Jeff Noga, North Central College, Naperville, ILAdvisor: Trudy Kriven

“Processing of Bulk Lead Zirconate Titanate Ceramics With Com-mercial-Grade Dielectric Properties”Daniel Shoemaker, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignAdvisor: David Payne

In the summer of 2004, the MatSE Department sponsored a ten-week long internship program in which undergraduates carried outa research project under the mentorship of MatSE professors andgraduate students. During the course of the summer, the internsvisited two national facilities for materials research; attendedweekly faculty seminars on current research topics in MatSE;participated in workshops on scientific ethics, writing, and oralcommunication; gave oral presentations on their research project;and wrote (and re-wrote) a final paper. In the process, the students,from six universities including the University of Illinois, gainedvaluable research experience that will help them as they finish theirundergraduate education and enter the job market. Professor JohnAbelson, Cindy Brya and Raju Perecherla organized this year’sprogram. Plans are underway for next summer—check out thewebsite www.mse.uiuc.edu/REU.html for project titles and pro-gram dates.

Summer 2004 Research Projects

Goshen College student Teresa Bartal and her project advisor,Prof. Erik Luijten.

Northwestern University student Samantha Cruz in thelaboratory.


Morris Berg passed away on October 13,2004, in Urbana. He was born on June 9,1921, in Columbus, Ohio, a son of Nathanand Esther Liberman Berg. He marriedBrenda Joanne Fagan Lerner on June 26,1988, in Champaign. She survives. Alsosurviving are three sons, Nicholas Berg, ofLewes, Delaware, Frederick Lerner of Chi-cago, and Scott Lerner of Champaign; twodaughters, Tracy Berg of Ardmore, Penn-sylvania, and Sandy Lerner Schwartz ofWhite Heath, Illinois; and 10 grandchil-dren.

Dr. Berg served in the U.S. Navy duringWorld War II, where he was a bomb dis-posal officer on an aircraft carrier in thePacific. He received a bachelor’s degree inceramic engineering from Ohio State Uni-versity in 1942, and he earned a doctorate inceramic engineering from the Massachu-setts Institute of Technology in 1953.

He was a ceramic scientist and engineer atthe AC Spark Plug Division of GeneralMotors, U.S. Bureau of Mines and the

Radio Corporation of America, and an ad-junct professor of ceramic engineering atthe University of Illinois. He pioneered thedevelopment of ceramic electronic circuits

in automobiles, ceramic packaging of semi-conductors, unique catalyst and sensor ma-terials for automobile exhaust control, anda wide range of ceramic and glass compo-nents for color televisions. He is alsowidely regarded for his contributions toearly theories on the fabrication of ceram-ics from powders.

He was the recipient of the David S. SarnoffOutstanding Achievement Award in Engi-neering and the Ferro Award for an out-standing technical publication. He waselected a Fellow to the American CeramicSociety and the American Society of Met-als. He authored numerous publicationsand is the holder of several significant pat-ents for his innovations in ceramic engi-neering. He was founder and president ofAdvanced Technical Products, a developerof high temperature research kilns.

He was a member of Sinai Temple, theChampaign Country Club, and KrannertMarquee Circle. He was co-chairman ofthe Parkinson’s Awareness Group.

James Healy (BS Cer ’44, MS Cer ’49,PhD Cer ’51) died July 13, 2004, in Peoria,Illinois. A World War II Navy veteran, hewas a naval officer for four years, serving asa Lieutenant junior grade on the USS SantaFe light cruiser in the Pacific Theater. Heworked in scientific research at A. O. SmithCorp. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where heheld with the firm two patents on theHarvestore. He later was a scientist forSpindletip Research in Lexington, Ken-tucky, and vice president at Bunker Ramoin Broadview, Illinois, and Janesville, Wis-consin. He taught the apprentice classes atCaterpillar Inc. through Illinois CentralCollege for five years. He and his wifedonated Doering Homeplace to the city ofEast Peoria; the gift was the stimulus for thebeginning of the East Peoria HistoricalSociety in 1999. He was a lifetime memberof the UI Alumni Association and theTazewell County Historic Places Society,and a member of the Rotary Club, BowlingClub, and the Peoria Knife and Fork Club,

where he was president and served as trea-surer for five years. He was a member ofFirst United Methodist Church in East Peo-ria and its Men’s Club. He is survived byhis wife, Barbara.

Ralph C. Goetz (BS Met ’49)died June 12, 2004. He wasretired from Novak and Com-pany in Chicago where he hadbeen superintendent. Survivorsinclude his wife, Dolores; chil-dren, Sandra Goetz, Jacqueline(Ronald) Trost, and William(Kirsten) Goetz; and five grand-children.

Michael Massing (MSMatSE ’98) passed away on Feb-ruary 2, 2004, the victim of anautomobile accident. He receivedhis J.D. from the University ofIllinois in 2001 and was an intellectualproperty attorney at the law firm of Brinks,

In MemoriamHofer, Gilson and Lione in Chicago. TheCollege of Law has announced that hisfriends, colleagues, and classmates are es-tablishing the Michael A. Massing Memo-rial Scholarship Fund. The scholarshipswill be issued to first-year law students and

will be based upon merit,need, and demonstratedevidence of a commitmentto community service. Forinformation on how tocontribute to the scholar-ship fund, contact the Col-lege of Law DevelopmentOffice at 217-333-2628,[email protected].

Michael Massing

Morris Berg

Morris Berg (1921-2004)


Class Notes1950s

Michael Griffin (BS Met ’54)visited the University of Illinoisin October for Homecomingweekend and the Class of 1954reunion.

Bob Cowan (BS Cer ’54, MSCer ’55) visited the Universityof Illinois in August. He hasbeen retired from Los AlamosNational Laboratory since1991. He spends his time insearch and rescue operationsand training, amateur radio,genealogy, and traveling. Hehas two daughters, one inAlbuquerque and one nearAtlanta. He also has fivegrandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He lives in LosAlamos, New Mexico.

1960s

Lowell M. Hoffman (BS Met’63) was appointed adjunctresearch professor and IndustryFellow, Center for Logistics andDigital Strategy, KenanInstitute of Private Enterpriseat the University of NorthCarolina’s Kenan-FlaglerBusiness School. He continuesin his worldwide consulting,mentoring and supply chainmanagement strategy workshop

enterprise, Global SourcingSolutions. He and his wife,Ruth, make Chapel Hill theirhome base.

1970s

Susan Plies (BS Cer ’75) wasrecognized for being the firstwoman glass plant manager inthe U.S. for PPG Industries.She was honored on October 6at the first annual “Power ofPositive Women” seminar inWichita Falls, Texas.

1980s

Neil S. Berke (PhD Met ’80)has been elected chair of ASTMCommittee G01 on Corrosionof Metals. In his career, he hasfocused on materialsengineering with aconcentration on corrosion ofmetals, durability of concreteand processing effects oncorrosion. He is an R&D Fellowat Grace Construction Products,W.R. Grace and Company, inCambridge, Massachusetts.

1990s

Brian Karr (BS Met ’92, MSMet ’94, PhD MatSE ’97)returned to campus on October27 to give a guest lecture inMSE 461, Electronic Materialsand Processing. He has workedwith magnetic memory materialfor hard drives at Seagate forthe past 6 years.

Toby Padfield (BS MatSE ’96)married Michelle Kees on May29, 2004. Michelle is a clinicalassistant professor in theDepartment of Psychiatry at theUniversity of MichiganMedical School in Ann Arbor.Toby was promoted to theposition of senior materials

engineer with ZF SachsAutomotive, where he has beenworking for the past 4 years.He will be moving to the ZFGroup NAO Technical Centerin Northville, Michigan nextyear.

Marge Kaunas (BS Cer ’97)gave birth to her first child,James Allen, on August 28,2004. He surprised his parentsby arriving a few days earlierthan the planned C-section.Marge and her husband, Brian(BS UIUC Industrial Engr. ’98),write that this was James’ “firstact of defiance towards hisparents.”

Paul Osenar (PhD MatSE ’98)and his wife, Amy, celebratedthe birth of their first child, TorinRiley, on October 14, 2004.

Kevin Grens (BS MatSE ’99)recently accepted a position as

a sales engineer for InstronCorporation. He is covering amulti-state territory in theMidwest.

2000s

Steve Frisbie (BS MatSE ’00)married Jen Kenter (BS UIAccountancy ’01) on June 12in Tempe, Arizona. Steve is adevice engineer for Motorolain Tempe. Jen is working as astaff accountant for GaintnerBandler Reed in Phoenix.

Mark Veliz (BS MatSE ’02)married Grete Savage (BSMatSE ’02) on July 17, 2004,in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mark is aTurbine Airfoils MaterialApplications Engineer at GEAircraft Engines in Cincinnati.Grete is an assistant programmanager at UniversalTechnology Corp. in

Bob Cowan

Three alumni returned to campus on October 25 to speak toMatSE undergraduates about their careers. Becky (Giesfeldt)Reuhs (BS MatSE ‘00) is a scientist for Clorox in Willowbrook,Illinois. Casey (Motter) Harmon (BS MatSE ‘00) is a seniorprocess engineer for Zimmer in Warsaw, Indiana. Cory Padfield(BS Met ‘96) is an associate engineer for Hyundai America inAnn Arbor, Michigan.

MatSE Career Night


Beavercreek. They live inMason, Ohio.

Adam Vincens (BS MatSE’02, MS MatSE ’03) marriedMagda Soejarto (BS UIUCKinesiology ’02), on May 28.Adam is working for AppliedComposites Corp., SaintCharles, Illinois, in materialdevelopment.

Zack Birky (BS MatSE ’03)and his wife, Julie, celebratedthe birth of their first child, EvanZachary, on August 23. Zack isan engineer for Caterpillar inEast Peoria.

Intel recognizes outstanding graduate researchThe MatSE Department’sRacheff Award forOutstanding GraduateResearch is given basedon the quality andoriginality of a student’sresearch and itspresentation. From theresearch summaries andfaculty recommendations,finalists are selected whothen give an oralpresentation to a panel ofjudges. The awardconsists of a plaque andup to $1,000 financialsupport to attend aconference at which thestudent recipient willpresent his or her research.This year, award recipients received an unexpected prize of laptop computers donated by IntelCorporation. At the department colloquium on May 3, Zhiyong Ma (PhD MatSE ’94), pictured atcenter, presented the computers on behalf of the company. Ma is a senior principle engineer for Intelin Logic Technology Development Quality and Reliability. The 2004 winners, pictured from left toright, (advisors in parentheses) are Stephanie Pruzinsky (Paul Braun), Blythe Gore (Ian Robertson),Jiwen Liu (Erik Luijten), and Hongjun Liang (Gerard Wong).

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University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering1304 West Green StreetUrbana, IL 61801, USA

Do you recognize these smiling faces from the Class of 1990? Where are they now? We would love foryou to share your memories with us as well as any pictures you may have from our department’s past.Contact the Editor at 217-333-8312, [email protected].

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at SE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN … · The Big Pig Award was a special event in the academic year and was conferred at the Pig Roast by the undergraduate students