The Optical Society elects Prof. Tony Heinz as its 2010 vice president (Oct 22, 2009)
The Optical Society (OSA) is pleased to announce that its members have elected Tony F. Heinz of Columbia University in New York as its 2010 vice president.

NSEC PI Latha Venkataraman awarded Packard Fellowship (Oct 15, 2008)
Latha Venkataraman, an assistant professor in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, has been awarded one of the 20 prestigious 2008 Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering. “The School is very proud of this honor that Latha has received,” said Interim Dean Gerald A. Navratil. “She is a stellar example of the excellence of the new faculty we are attracting.” Venkataraman joined the SEAS faculty last fall. The Packard Fellowship, given each year to the nationSINGLE_QUOTEs most promising young professors, consists of an unrestricted research grant of $875,000 over five years. “I am deeply honored to be chosen for this distinguished award,” said Venkataraman. “The Packard Fellowship will help support my research on understanding fundamental properties of single-molecule electronic devices.” The underlying focus of her research is to fabricate single-molecule circuits—a molecule attached to two electrodes—with varied functionality, where the circuit structure is defined with atomic precision. “I am working to understand the interplay of physics, chemistry and engineering at the nanometer scale,” she said. Her group measures how electronic conduction and single bond breaking forces in these devices relate not only to the molecular structure, but also to the metal contacts and linking bonds. “These experiments provide a deeper understanding of the fundamental physics of electron transport, while laying the groundwork for technological advances at the nanometer scale,” she said. Every year, the Packard Foundation invites presidents of 50 selected universities to nominate two young professors performing innovative research in the natural sciences or engineering. The Packard Fellowship is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious awards given to junior faculty members. Venkataraman is the second Packard Fellow in her department; Adam Sobel, associate professor of applied mathematics who holds a joint appointment with the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, received the honor in 2000. Seven additional Columbians have received the Packard Fellowship, including three other SEAS faculty members—Professor Jingyue Ju of the Department of Chemical Engineering, and T.C. Chang Professor Shree Nayar and Professor Kenneth Ross, both of the Computer Science Department. The Packard Foundation, of Los Altos, Calif., was created by David Packard, co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, and Lucille Packard. The Packard fellowship program arose out of David Packard’s commitment to strengthening university-based science and engineering programs.

NSEC PI Tony Heinz awarded Julius Springer Prize (Oct 10, 2008)
Dr. Phaedon Avouris of IBM and professor Tony Heinz of Columbia University were presented with the 2008 Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics on Sept. 27, 2008, during a day-long forum at Harvard University, attended by luminaries of the field. The Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics recognizes researchers who have made an outstanding and innovative contribution to the field of applied physics. The forum was sponsored by the scientific publisher Springer.

NSEC PI Aron Pinczuk awarded Janette and Armen Avanessians Diversity Award (Oct 1, 2008)
Prof. Aron Pinczuk has been named the 2008 recipient of the Janette and Armen Avanessians Diversity Award. Nominations were received from both undergraduate and graduate students noting his encouragement of women scientists in the classroom and laboratory. He will be honored with this award during the Class Day ceremony on Monday, May 19, 2008.

Columbia Engineers Confirm Graphene as Strongest Material (Jul 18, 2008)
NEW YORK, July 18, 2008 — Research scientists at Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science have completed the first strength tests on the carbon material graphene proving it to be the strongest material ever measured. Graphene holds great promise for the development of nano-scale devices and equipment. It consists of a single layer of graphite atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, similar to a honeycomb. As a two-dimensional material, every atom is exposed to the surface. It forms the basis of graphite fibers used in tennis racquets and other durable products. When rolled, very useful tiny tubes called nanotubes can be fabricated. The studies were conducted by postdoctoral researcher Changgu Lee and graduate student Xiaoding Wei, in the research groups of mechanical engineering professors James Hone and Jeffrey Kysar. The findings are published today in the new edition of Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/321/5887/385 “Our research establishes graphene as the strongest material ever measured, some 200 times stronger than structural steel,” Hone said. “It would take an elephant, balanced on a pencil, to break through a sheet of graphene the thickness of Saran-Wrap.” Until now, graphene’s estimated strength, elasticity and breaking point were based on complex computer modeling theories. Laboratory tests had been stymied because of two major experimental challenges: the complexity in mechanically grasping graphene specimens to measure their elongation under force and the difficulty of making specimens small enough to be free of imperfections. “Our team sidestepped the size issue by creating samples small enough to be defect-free,” said Kysar. The team culled microscopic graphene samples, ones specimens where every single atom is on the surface, from larger graphite crystals. These newly created, two-dimensional samples were then placed over small circular holes etched in silicon to create miniature circular films only one atom thick. The graphene adhered to the silicon because of the attraction between their atoms, solving the second challenge. The scientists tested the strength of the films by pushing on their centers with a diamond-tipped atomic force microscope with a radius of 20 billionths of a meter. The absence of flaws in the samples, each about one micron in diameter or one percent of the width of a human hair, enabled the scientists to test both elasticity and breaking point properties. The scientists collected more than 67 test values on 23 separate films. “Until now, there’s been no definitive set of experiments that people can use to validate or invalidate the computer simulations that model the mechanical properties of materials at strains literally up to the breaking point, ” said Kysar. “It’s important because this is a fundamental parameter for all types of materials. “The Air Force wants to introduce new materials within a five-year cycle, versus 20 years now, so being able to predict the mechanical behavior of how a new material will fail under the most extreme circumstances will make it much less expensive and less time consuming to develop, and with better materials for everyday life.” “Though the strength of any practical material is still limited by many types of defects, the research can lead to a better understanding of the behavior of materials at extreme conditions, such as exist near the tip of a crack,” said Hone. “This can in turn lead to far more robust materials, ones more resistant to oxidation and fatigue. Achieving a better understanding of how materials fail allows us to design and create newer, safer materials, and ultimately to build a safer, more efficient environment for us.” To learn more about Columbia’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, visit: http://www.engineering.columbia.edu/bulletin/departments_academic_programs/me/index.html

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