Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for February
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Attaching to Surfaces and Passing around Electrons: the Things Microbes do
Fri, Feb 04, 2005 @ 02:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Presented by:Professor Kenneth Nealson Wrigley Professor of Geobiology,
Earth Sciences Abstract: The microbe Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, isolated from anaerobic metal-rich sediments, is representative of a group generally referred to as dissimilatory metal-ion reducing microbes -- those bacteria that use oxidized metals as electron acceptors. When presented with insoluble oxidants, MR-1 attaches to the metal surface, forms a primitive biofilm, and proceeds to grow at the expense of metal ion reduction. Properties of Shewanella, its role in metal reduction, and the relationship of these properties to extracellular electron transfer will be discussed including recent results obtained using MR-1 for current production in biofuel cells.Refreshments will be served at 2:30p.m. All first-year MASC students are required to attend.Location: Vivian Hall of Engineering (VHE) - 217
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: YUN TAO
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New Approaches to Control Biofilm Formation and Chronic infection of Medical Devices
Fri, Feb 11, 2005 @ 02:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Presented by:Professor Bill Costerton, DirectorCenter for Biofilms,
School of Dentistry,
University of Southern CaliforniaAbstract :One of the most important limitations in the design and use of medical
devices derives from our failure to find biomaterials that resist the
tendency of bacteria to form biofilms on inert surfaces. These biofilms
are
inherently resistant to host defenses and to antibiotics, and they cause
chronic infections that often necessitate the removal of the device
concerned. Now that we appreciate the nature of device-related
infections,
we can combine new anti-biofilm strategies with standard anti-bacterial
strategies, and achieve some measure of control of the infections that
virtually preclude the use of some of the most sophisticated medical
devices.Refreshments served at 2:30All first year MASC students are required to attend
Location: Vivian Hall of Engineering (VHE) - 217
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Petra Pearce
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Mechanistic Aspects of Fatigue and Fracture in Brittle Solids: Ceramics, Biomaterials and MEMS
Fri, Feb 18, 2005 @ 02:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Presented by:Dr. Robert O. RitchieMaterials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of BerkeleyAbstract:Whereas fatigue is generally considered as a major mechanism of failure in metallic and polymeric components, brittle materials, such as ceramics and silicon, are also susceptible to premature failure under cyclic loads, although the micro-mechanisms of fatigue damage are quite distinct to those encountered in ductile materials. This presentation focuses on the failure of such materials and specifically addresses the fatigue of "small-volume' structures for MEMS and fatigue-crack propagation in structural ceramics and elevated temperature. The relevance of such behavior to the failure of biological materials, such as teeth and bone, is described with particular emphasis to how these mineralized tissues degrade with age in terms of accumulated microstructural damage.Refreshments will be served at 2:30pmAll first-year MASC students are required to attend.
Location: Vivian Hall of Engineering (VHE) - 217
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: YUN TAO
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Parylene as a New MEMS Material and its Applications
Fri, Feb 25, 2005 @ 02:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Presented by:Prof. Yu-Chong TaiProfessor of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering,CaltechAbstract:This seminar will review the research on parylene MEMS material, technology and applications that is performed at the Caltech MEMS Lab. Parylene is widely available through a unique room-temperature, pinhole-free and conformal CVD deposition method. This benign parylene preparation process makes it a suitable technology for post-CMOS integration. Material wise, parylene has a low melting temperature around 300oC, but it is rather inert and biocompatible. We have shown that it is straightforward to make parylene thin films with a tensile intrinsic stress by controlling the last thermal steps. This feature allows free-standing parylene MEMS structures in many designs. As a result, we have successfully developed a multi-layer parylene MEMS technology including buried metal layers and have demonstrated various parylene MEMS applications including microstructures, microsensors and actuators. I will cover many parylene applications such as parylene-based filters, neurocages, flow sensors, pressure sensors, accelerometers, bolometers, valves, pumps, etc. It is my belief that the brightest future of parylene MEMS is for fully integrated functional systems. To this point, I will discuss two examples of retinal implants and HPLC-based labs on-a-chip.Refreshments will be served at 2:30pmAll first-year MASC students are required to attend
Location: Vivian Hall of Engineering (VHE) - 217
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: YUN TAO