Particulate matter adversely affects millions of people across the globe and is becoming an increasing global health and environmental concern. This talk will highlight our work to analyze what it is that we breathe and its impact, using microscopy for visualization. Characterization of such aerosolized carbon forms lies at the intersection of multiple analytical techniques which come together to tell the story of this unwanted yet impactful material.
From eyeglass lenses to the optics in your cell phone camera, an ongoing challenge is to eliminate reflection from plastic optics that most of us use on a daily basis. This talk will highlight the development of a graded-index fluoropolymer antireflection coating that combines extraordinary durability with extreme performance, making common plastics such as plexiglass virtually disappear.
Sleep is important for normal brain function, and sleep disruption is co-morbid with many neurological diseases. There is a growing mechanistic understanding of the neurological basis for sleep regulation that is beginning to lead to mechanistic models. We aim to validate the predictive capacity of such models. If we are successful, and the models accurately describe enough of the mechanistic functions of the physical system, then they can be used as sophisticated observation systems to reveal both system changes and sources of dysfunction with neurological diseases and identify routes to intervene.
Morgan Advanced Materials, a global supplier of components for demanding applications across multiple business sectors, has established its long-range carbon science R&D capability within the Innovation Park at Penn State. I will discuss how safety plays a central role at Morgan and in general across all industries. Safety will be discussed as a body of knowledge, a skill set, a mindset, a value necessary for carrying out all manner of activities, from experiments in the laboratory to operation of large-scale plants, and extending to day-to-day activities at home.
Phil Armstrong | Lead / Carbon Science Centre of Excellence / Morgan Advanced Materials
Contributing to scholarly presentations, papers, and reports that are published online, in books, in archival journals, in PowerPoint, kept confidential in company archives, given orally at conferences, and shared among our community is foundational to all research activities. Contributions to science come in different flavors and the world is moving more and more towards science as a team sport. As such, this begs the question “how do we appropriately recognize the contributions of all team members?” Authorship and acknowledgements are not handed out based on people’s feelings or the color of the funding, they are earned through actions and contributions and are a formal part of the scientific process. This talk will discuss formal guidelines for co-authorship and acknowledgements that are stated by some of the largest science societies and publishing houses on the planet. There are no gray areas and it is time to formalize our approach to strengthen our science and strengthen our teams.
Citric acid, naturally occurred in citrus fruits, is also known as an intermediate for cellular energy production in the Krebs cycle. Leveraging the multifunctional nature of citrate in chemistry and inspired by its important biological roles in human tissues, a class of highly versatile and functional citrate-based biomaterials has been developed. In this presentation, a methodology for the design of biomimetic citrate biomaterials and their applications in regenerative engineering, drug delivery, bioimaging and biosensing will be discussed.