Dr Jeff Richards, NIST/UD NRC Postdoc, Ms. Julie Hipp, UD Grad student, and Dr. John Riley, UD, CNS Postdoc, perform some of the world’s first simultaneous rheo-SANS-dielectric measurements on NG7 beamline at the NCNR.
2016 American Conference on Neutron Scattering Queen Mary in Long Beach, California
Four awards were presented to UD and former UD students and faculty at the 2016 American Conference on Neutron Scattering on the Queen Mary in Long Beach CA in July. [From left to right in picture] Prof. Norman Wagner received the Neutron Scattering Society of America’s Service Award for his work on the executive committee and long-standing efforts to raise funding for students, post docs, and young scientists to attend the meeting. Ph.D. student, Michelle Calabrese of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, won one of four student poster prizes out of a field of over 80 scientific posters for her work on understanding the effects of branching on the flow of self-assembled surfactants. Former PhD student, Dr. P. Douglas Godfrin, won the Best Dissertation Award, while Dr. Yun Liu, UD Research Associate Professor and NIST Beamline Scientist won the Science Prize of the ACNS. Dr. Godfrin received his PhD in 2015 for his work on understanding the properties and stability of monoclonal antibodies and protein solutions under the advisement of Prof. Wagner and Dr. Liu. The ACNS is held once every two years and is the premier North American scientific venue for presenting and discussing scientific advances afforded by neutron scattering methods.
Unilever Award is given in recognition of fundamental work in colloid or surfactant science carried out in North America by researchers in the early stages of their careers. The 2016 Unilever Award winner is Prof. Matthew Helgeson from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Matthew E. Helgeson is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2004, he received a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. In 2009, he received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware, where he performed doctoral research with Norman Wagner and Eric Kaler. From 2009-2012, he performed postdoctoral research in the Novartis-MIT Center for Continuous Manufacturing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the supervision of Patrick Doyle. Helgeson joined the faculty of UCSB in 2012, where he holds an appointment in the Department of Chemical Engineering and is a faculty member of the Materials Research Laboratory. Read more about Helgeson’s research…
“The inventions of UD’s Norman J. Wagner have superheroic properties.”
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…
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
National Institute of Standards and Technology & University of Delaware
Recipient of the 2016 Science Prize of the Neutron Scattering Society of America (NSSA) with the citation “For the discovery of dynamic cluster ordering in complex colloidal systems using neutron scattering” The prize and $2500 honorarium will be awarded at the 2016 ACNS in Long Beach, CA, July 10-14, 2016 (http://www.mrs.org/acns-2016/).
Colloidal systems are found throughout nature and pervade our daily lives. They are used in foods, paints, personal-care products, biological systems such as blood or cellular components, and modern composite materials. The physics of these systems is typically dominated by very large surface areas, which amplify the importance of surface forces and thermal fluctuations. In the concentrated systems typical of most real-world applications, the underlying interactions usually exhibit many-body effects. Moreover, the geometry of the constituent “particles” can differ markedly from that of the uniform spheres that are usually invoked to model these systems. Dr. Yun Liu has performed ground-breaking research that greatly expands our understanding of colloidal systems well beyond those that can be described by simple models to complex fluids that are far more representative of those found in nature or used in industrial processes. In the process, he discovered dynamic clusters in concentrated protein solutions and related these to previously unexplained changes in viscosity that have profound implications for the production, purification, and administration of biopharmaceutical formulations.
Dr. Liu received his PhD in 2005 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a Research Associate Professor at the University of Delaware in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering since 2014, where he also holds an affiliated Research Professorship in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Dr. Liu is currently a Staff Scientist in the SANS/uSANS
team, NIST Center for Neutron Research.
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.
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…
