Center for Materials Innovation

Director, CMI: Stuart Solin

Location: 209 Crow Hall Email: solin@wustl.edu Telephone: (314) 935-9305

The Center for Materials Innovation, (CMI) located in the refurbished basement of Crow Hall, will enable collaborators from across campus to make basic and applied advances in materials research, eventually touching many aspects of daily life. New and improved consumer goods, better planes, vehicles, and electronics, and new biomedical products that could lead to better pharmaceuticals and innovative medical devices are among the objectives of this new, interdisciplinary center housed in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Moreover, the Center brings together researchers, some world-renowned in their fields, to get a better understanding of fundamental processes in nature, such as magnetism, that are the bases for the development of increasingly smaller, more specialized novel materials. Stuart A. Solin, Ph.D., Charles M. Hohenberg Professor of Experimental Physics in Arts & Sciences, is director of the Center for Materials Innovation. William E. Buhro, Ph.D., professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, is associate director.

Charter CMI members, who comprised a subcommittee that delved into what was needed to form the center are: Pratim Biswas, Ph.D., Stifel and Quinette Jens Professor of Environmental Engineering Science and Director of Environmental Engineering Science; Donald Elbert, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering; Ronald S. Indeck, Ph.D., Das Family Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering; Kenneth F. Kelton, Ph.D., professor of physics in Arts & Sciences; and Karen Wooley, Ph.D., professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences.

The Center initially is funded at more than $10 million from 2003-08. A portion of these funds will be supported by a gift from John F. McDonnell to the University's campaign to endow three new professorships. Two of the professorships will be in Arts & Sciences, the other in Engineering .

News Stories & Tip Sheets:

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Going platinum New catalyst could boost cleaner fuel use May 14, 2009 -- Younan Xia Download Material scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a technique for a bimetallic fuel cell catalyst that is efficient, robust and two-to-five times more effective than commercial catalysts. The novel technique eventually will enable a cost effective fuel cell technology, which has been waiting in the wings for decades and should give a boost for cleaner use of fuels worldwide.

Kind of a drag Engineer devises ways to improve gas mileage March 16, 2009 -- Agarwal A mechanical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis is developing techniques that will lessen our monetary pain at the pump by reducing the drag of vehicles — planes, autos and trucks. Drag is an aerodynamic force that is the result of resistance a body encounters when it moves in a liquid or gaseous medium (such as air). Reduction in drag means less fuel would be required to overcome the fluid resistance encountered by the moving vehicle. Working with undergraduate and graduate students, Ramesh K. Agarwal, Ph.D, the William Palm Professor of Engineering at WUSTL, has successfully demonstrated that the drag of airplane wings and cars/trucks can be reduced by employing the active flow control technology.

Chemist receives funding to unravel tricks of neuronal wiring Midline crossing Dec. 22, 2008 -- Joshua Maurer, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a four-year, $1,216,000 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for research titled, "Unraveling Development: New Materials for Understanding Neuronal Wiring." Maurer's long term objective is to develop methodology that allows the study of a variety of neuronal wiring processes. He is starting by unscrambling a phenomenon known as midline crossing using zebrafish. During development, neurons from the right eye cross the midline of the brain to make a connection in the left hemisphere.

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Faculty Experts:

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Richard Axelbaum Professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering Axelbaum Download Axelbaum is the Director of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization. He also heads the Laboratory for Advanced Combustion and Energy Research and has directed the Engineering section of the NASA Missouri Space Grant Consortium at Washington University in St. Louis since 1997. He served as the associate ... Expertise: Clean coal, nanoparticles, nanotechnology, materials, synthesis, flames Direct contact: (314) 935-7560 / rla@wustl.edu

Ronald S. Indeck DAS Family Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering Ron Indeck Download Indeck earned his doctorate from the University of Minnesota. His research involves magnetic and optical components and systems, especially in the areas of information technology and security. He is working with extremely high density magnetic recording systems, fast searching of massive databases, ... Expertise: object verification, public surveillance, magnetic information storage systems, magnetism Media assistance: (314) 935-5272 / dlutz@wustl.edu

Pratim Biswas Chariman of the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering; the Stifel and Quinette Jens Professor Biswas Download Biswas received his Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology, has published extensively in his field and served on many international organizations and conferences. His research interests include aerosol science and engineering, nanoparticle technology, air quality engineering, combustion, materials ... Expertise: aerosol science, nanoparticle technology, air quality engineering, combustion, material processing for environmental technologies, environmentally benign processing, environmental nanotechnology, … Direct contact: (314) 935-5482 / pratim.biswas@seas.wustl.edu

William Buhro Professor of Chemistry in Arts & Sciences William Buhro Download William H. Buhro, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and associate director of the Center for Materials Innovation, specializes in nanotechnology. He and his group are engaged in synthesis on the nanometer-scale. They design reactions and mechanisms for the growth of inorganic crystals having dimensions ... Expertise: nanomaterials, materials, inorganic chemistry, nanotubes, nanowires Direct contact: (314) 935-4269 / buhro@wustl.edu

Kenneth F. Kelton Professor of Physics in Arts & Sciences Kenneth Kelton is an expert in a phenomenon called nucleation, which is the most common way that physical systems change from one phase to another and is a governing process in nearly all phase transformations. Kelton has a long history of collaboration with Patrick Gibbons, Ph.D., professor of physics ... Expertise: quasicrystals, metallurgy, nucleation processes, metallic liquids, materials science, materials physics, non-crystaline solids, … Direct contact: (314) 935-6228 / kfk@wuphys.wustl.edu

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