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Neutron Day 2017 at Perkins Student Center, Ewing Room on November 8, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

2017 Neutron Day Program, Parking Map & Building Locations: Click Here
Poster Presentation List: Click Here

Sponsored by the Center for Neutron Science
NIST Center for Neutron Research (NIST-NCNR)
University of Delaware College of Engineering
Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Department of Materials Science & Engineering.

Center for Neutron Science, University of Delaware, and NIST Cooperative Agreement beginning September 1, 2017

Executive Summary

We propose a cooperative agreement between the Center for Neutron Science (CNS) at the University of Delaware (UD) and the NCNR to focus on advancing neutron scattering metrology through the use of SANS, VSANS, Neutron Reflectometry and NSE for research addressing grand challenges in the areas of sustainable energy, human health, nanomaterials as well as engineering the tools of scientific discovery. The goals of this cooperative agreement include the promotion and development of the use of neutron scattering science by scientists at the NCNR, NIST and the broader community in science and engineering, including macromolecular, colloid, and condensed matter science and chemistry. The seven faculty, nine NIST staff and 12 doctoral students and postdocs currently or proposed to be funded by the CNS have significant, collective experience using neutron scattering in research, and in the design, development, maintenance and optimization of neutron scattering instrumentation. The PI (Wagner) has directed the CNS at UD for a decade, is a fellow of the Neutron Scattering Society of America, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Inventors, is a regular user of the NCNR and contributes to NCNR activities and the development of neutron scattering instrumentation world-wide. Collectively, the faculty have trained over 100 doctoral students and postdoctoral scientists in neutron scattering science and have an extensive scientific publication record with high visibility, as also evidenced through many professional awards, and numerous plenary and keynote invited lectures. Many UD doctoral students are or have been in residence at the NCNR for a significant fraction of their doctoral dissertation, which stems from strong, existing collaborations with NCNR scientists, including many co-publications. At least three UD students and postdocs have recently gone on to become NRC postdoctoral fellows at the NCNR. n-SOFT research staff and industrially supported postdocs at the NCNR in collaboration with n-SOFT are a consequence of UD CNS research. The UD CNS has trained generations of undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students in neutron scattering methods at the NCNR, and many continue using these facilities as part of their current careers in academia and industry.

The nine, staff to be supported under this cooperative agreement have distinguished accomplishments at the NCNR, making significant contributions to the NCNR’s new data acquisition software (NICE), the development of VSANS, as well as significant scientific advances in soft matter using NCNR resources. The beamline scientists will support the SANS, USANS, VSANS and reflectometry instruments. The beamline scientist Dr. Yun Liu is also a Research Associate Professor at UD and as such, serves as the primary thesis advisor and as co-advisor for a number doctoral students, lectures on neutron scattering at UD and other Universities, as well as teaches at the NCNR summer school. The computer scientists and engineers support NICE and the computational infrastructure of the NCNR more broadly. The mechanical design and draftsman and research scientists are integral to the design, construction, and commissioning of the new VSANS instrument (planned 2018). This proposal also includes a novel collaboration with NCNR staff to develop new interfacial rheology-neutron reflectometry sample environment that will be made available to the broader scientific user community.

The UD faculty, beamline staff scientists, graduate students and postdocs are uniquely qualified to conduct the proposed research activities and to provide excellent research assistance to U.S. neutron researchers using the NCNR. The new sample environments and data analysis methods developed in this proposed work will be made available to promote neutron scattering science more broadly through the NCNR. The close proximity of UD to NCNR, extensive track record of collaborative research, publication, and teaching jointly between NCNR and UD scientists and students greatly facilitate the strong integration of the staff into the activities of the NCNR as described in the management plan. UD is also providing special, dedicated human resources to support the UD/NCNR staff, who can effectively meet the employment needs of the proposed staff. UD students, postdocs and faculty will be in residence at the NCNR during the course of this project and will contribute to the education and support of U.S. researchers using NCNR facilities. This includes expanding our K-12 activities by providing more and improved learning modules for high school science teachers through UD’s Learning Library, which were developed by UD CNS students to educate high school students in the basics of neutron scattering and its uses. CNS faculty also offer a popular graduate course in Scattering Methods in Soft Matter that will be regularly offered during the execution of this cooperative agreement, and also hosts the highly regarded biannual “Neutron Day”, which is a regional celebration of neutron science. Importantly, UD graduates educated in neutron scattering methods and science have gone on to employment at NCNR and NIST more broadly, such that this talented pool of doctoral students and postdocs to be supported under this cooperative agreement are a source of expertise for future staffing.

NormWagnerNeutron3: Dan Neumann and Norm Wagner stand at the lectern in the Ewing Room of Perkins Hall on Neutron Day.

Scientists Discuss Promise of New Agreement Between UD and NIST

The day began with coffee, bagels, and some hearty discussions about experimental data. The University of Delaware’s fifth Neutron Day was held Wednesday, Nov. 8 in Perkins Hall and the Patrick Harker Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (ISE) Lab. This year, Neutron Day was a celebration of more than its namesake subatomic particle. UD’s Center for Neutron Science (founded in 2007) recently entered into another cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR). Under this new agreement, UD’s Center for Neutron Science will advance the field of neutron scattering by developing new techniques, applying these techniques to new applications, and training the next generation of neutron scientists. The agreement began on Sept. 1 with $1.7 million of funding and projects a funding total of more than $8.7 million through Aug. 31, 2022, which brings the total funding to the center to well over $30 million over the past ten years. UD’s Center for Neutron Science is directed by Norm Wagner, the Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chair in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He is a fellow of the Neutron Scattering Society of America, a regular user of NCNR facilities and a contributor to the development of neutron scattering instrumentation.

Read UDaily article

“The inventions of UD’s Norman J. Wagner have superheroic properties.”

Two UD professors inducted into National Academy of Inventors

You might say that curiosity got the best of University of Delaware inventors Norman J. Wagner III and the late Richard F. Heck. And we’ve undoubtedly been the beneficiaries of their scientific sleuthing and tinkering. The two were inducted as fellows into the National Academy of Inventors on Friday, April 15, in ceremonies at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia. Wagner, who is the Unidel Robert Pigford Chaired Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, answered some questions for UDaily about developing superhero materials called shear thickening fluids – some that he has developed into “liquid armor” – and what it’s like to be an inventor. Read more about how ‘shear” genius provides super-hero protection…

P. Douglas Godfrin

University of Delaware

Dr. P. Douglas Godfrin is the recipient of the 2016 Prize for Outstanding Student Research Neutron Scattering Society of America (NSSA) with the citation “For seminal neutron scattering studies of concentrated protein solutions and protein dynamics with application to biopharmaceutical engineering.” The prize and $1000 honorarium will be awarded at the 2016 ACNS in Long Beach, CA, July 10-14, 2016.

Concentrated protein solutions present challenges for formulators of biopharmaceuticals as well as scientists investigating the cellular environment. A key scientific question in modern protein science concerns protein structuring in concentrated solutions and how this organization arises from molecular association to lead to anomalous transport properties. A signature feature of Dr. Godfrin’s investigations into concentrated protein solutions is the combination of SANS/USANS to determine solution microstructure, with complementary measurement of the dynamics in these concentrated solutions by neutron spin echo. Combined with theory and simulation, Dr. Godfrin was able to directly probe a new liquid state of matter, the clustered fluid, discovered both experimentally and theoretically within the past 20 years, and showed how this is relevant to our understanding of the stability and transport properties of concentrated protein solutions. Furthermore, Dr. Godfrin performed these experiments on globular protein solutions, which can be successfully used to test and validate our theoretical understanding of cluster liquids, as well as on model monoclonal antibodies provided by Genentech, which are directly relevant for biopharmaceuticals used for oncology treatment. In achieving these results, Dr. Godfrin collaborated with experts in simulation methods and fundamental theory to develop a new, universal state diagram that extends the Noro-Frenkel law of corresponding states to systems with competing short-range attraction and long-range repulsive interactions. In his doctoral research, which was conducted in part at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, Dr. Godfrin also contributed to the development of the novel 1-2 plane flow SANS sample environment commissioned both at the NCNR and ILL, Grenoble France. This unique sample environment enables directly probing the microstructure via SANS in shearing samples in the plane of shear.

Dr. Godfrin graduated from the University of Delaware in June of 2015, and is currently a Postdoctoral Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His current interests include developing pharmaceutical formulations for encapsulation of monoclonal antibodies and hydrophobic small molecule drugs in hydrogel beads to control crystal size and bead morphology in order to engineer a specific drug release profile. UDaily Article

Neutrons are far too tiny for the human eye to see, but they can help us “see” deep into matter and determine the properties of materials at the subatomic level.

Neutrons can behave like microscopic magnets, diffract like waves, or set particles into motion, revealing properties not available using other probes or imaging techniques.

More than 100 scientists and engineers came to the University of Delaware on Wednesday, Nov. 4, to learn about the latest developments in this technology at the fourth annual Neutron Day.

The event, “Solving Real-World Problems with Neutrons,” was held in collaboration with the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR), a national resource for industry, universities, and government agencies.

Professor Norman Wagner presenting research using neutron scattering at Neutron Day.

Directed by Norman J. Wagner, UD’s Center for Neutron Science is a cooperative agreement between the University and the NCNR that supports over 30 faculty, students and scientists between the two institutions in cooperative research, instrumentation development and education.

“Our partnership with UD is extremely important to NIST in broadening our scientific base, improving our instrumentation, and furthering neutron science,” said NCNR director Dan Neumann. “It’s critical that we have a window to the outside in identifying real-world needs and problems.”

The day-long program featured 10 technical talks by presenters from UD, NIST, and industry, as well as some 30 student posters on topics from methane conversion to disease detection.

Students represented not only UD but several other universities as well, including Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, the University of Maryland, and Indiana University.

“We are very fortunate to have such close ties with NCNR, which provides world-class capabilities in terms of both staff and physical infrastructure,” said Wagner, who is the Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chaired Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UD. “This technology is helping to unlock the secrets of materials at the atomic level and providing the foundation to tailor them for a broad range of medical, energy, environmental, and manufacturing applications.”

Neutron Day was sponsored by UD’s College of Engineering, Center for Neutron Science, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Using STF-ArmorTm and Self-Healing Polymers

NASA EPSCoR Stimuli Highlight 2016-2017: Melisssa Gordon and Prof. Norman Wagner of the University of Delaware, and Willie Williams, NASA, Johnson Space Center

University of Delaware/NASA Johnson Space Center, Human Exploration & Operations and Space Technology Mission Directorates
As NASA propels science, technology and exploration forward, the need for spacesuits composed of lightweight, long-lived and flexible materials becomes increasingly urgent. In space, micrometeorites and orbital debris (MMOD) can compromise the air barrier of a space suit, causing pinhole punctures that are difficult to identify and repair. Our work focuses on developing healing materials capable of regenerating functionality after damage. In our approach, we are synthesizing fundamentally new, self-healing polymers in which a dynamic bond is built into the network architecture to enable a lightactivated secondary polymerization, increasing the modulus by two orders of magnitude and strengthening the network by over 100%. This work has been recently published in Advanced Materials (2015, 27, 8007–8010). We demonstrated that the material can be completely severed and then remended with increased material strength and no visible scarring. Moreover, our approach confines healing and strengthening to the damaged area; thus, an EVA suit could maintain flexibility in unaffected areas. By developing healing polymer networks, the safety and service lifetime of the material are enhanced. This material was selected by NASA to be tested on the exterior of the International Space Station in 2017 to test its response the extreme environment of outer space. See article…
Stimuli is a summary collection of college and university basic research and technology development reports impacting NASA’s earth science, aviation, and human and robotic deep space exploration programs. This document addresses research which is relevant to NASA’s mission, and currently administered by the agency’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

National Academy of Engineering elects UD’s Norman Wagner — Norman J. Wagner, a University of Delaware engineering professor noted for his groundbreaking research in fluid mechanics and molecular thermodynamics, has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering.

Wagner, the Robert L. Pigford Chaired Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UD, is among NAE’s 67 new members and 12 foreign members.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature, and to the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.

“We welcome Norm Wagner’s election to the National Academy of Engineering, a well-deserved honor that recognizes an outstanding career that has encompassed research, innovation, entrepreneurship and education,” said Babatunde Ogunnaike, dean of the College of Engineering. “This is a good day for the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the College of Engineering, the University of Delaware, and indeed the entire state of Delaware.” Read more…

The University of Delaware’s first “Neutron Day” symposium in 2012 drew about 30 participants. This year, the event attracted more than 100 attendees, reflecting the rapidly expanding use of neutron scattering as a research tool.
Neutron scattering, which shows the location and behavior of atoms, allows researchers to see in real time how material structure changes with variations in temperature, pressure, and magnetic or electronic fields.

The technology supports the development of new materials for a broad range of applications from drug delivery systems to nanostructured membranes for environmental and energy applications, superconducting cables, and solar cells.

The one-day event at UD brought leading scientists and engineers from the University’s Center for Neutron Science together with more than 30 scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR). The group, which also included industrial scientists, met to discuss new areas of neutron scattering science, with an emphasis on strengths in complex fluids, macromolecular science, and condensed matter physics.

The program featured seven technical talks and more than 25 posters.

In welcoming the participants, Babatunde A. Ogunnaike, dean of the UD College of Engineering, talked about UD’s new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Laboratory (ISE Lab), which is enabling new work in microscopy, materials characterization, and nanofabrication.

Norman J. Wagner, director of the Center for Neutron Science, said that the center grew out of ongoing efforts at UD and NIST and strong collaborations between the two institutions. “We actually have a UD-South at NIST’s facility in Gaithersburg,” he said. “Faculty, postdocs, graduate students, engineers and scientists in residence are not only advancing the science there with NIST researchers but also serving as a bridge back to UD.” Read more…

• Doug Godfrin, jointly advised by Norman Wagner and Yun Liu was awarded the NIST Sigma Xi Most Outstanding Poster Presentation Award for Biotechnology, Biology, and Polymers. His poster, entitled: “Cluster Mediated Dynamics and Viscosity in Concentrated Protein Solutions” will be posted in the NIST Main Admin building for two weeks.
• Congratulations to Jingsi Gao, a graduate student at the University of Delaware, who won Second Place in the student poster session at the Society of Rheology’s 86th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. The title of her poster is “Rheology of dispersions in ionic liquids” with Dr. Mark Shiflett and Dr. Norman Wagner.
• Congratulations to Doug Godfrin, a graduate student at the University of Delaware who is stationed at NCNR, who won a poster prize for his high impact work on Monoclonal Antibody Characterization at the American Conference on Neutron Scattering.
• University of Delaware Professor Norman Wagner was selected as a fellow of the Neutron Scattering Society of America (NSSA)
• Congratulations to Yun Liu, material physicist in the SANS group at NIST Center for Neutron Research and a research assistant professor in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, for being selected to receive the 2014 NIST-Sigma Xi Katharine B. Gebbie Young Investigator Award! Yun is being recognized “For the discovery of dynamic cluster ordering in complex colloidal systems.”