North Carolina State University engineers have created a new material that would allow a fingernail-size computer chip to store the equivalent of 20 high-definition DVDs or 250 million pages of text, far exceeding the storage capacities of today’s computer memory systems.

Led by Dr. Jagdish “Jay” Narayan, John C.C. Fan Family Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and director of the National Science Foundation Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures at NC State, the engineers made their breakthrough using the process of selective doping, in which an impurity is added to a material that changes its properties. The process also showed promise for boosting vehicles’ fuel economy and reducing heat produced by semiconductors, a potentially important development for more efficient energy production.

Working at the nanometer level - a pinhead has a diameter of 1 million nanometers - the engineers added metal nickel to magnesium oxide, a ceramic. The resulting material contained clusters of nickel atoms no bigger than 10 square nanometers, a 90 percent size reduction compared to today’s techniques and an advancement that could boost computer storage capacity.

“Instead of making a chip that stores 20 gigabytes, you have one that can handle one terabyte, or 50 times more data,” Narayan said.  Information storage is not the only area where advances could be made. By introducing metallic properties into ceramics, Narayan said engineers could develop a new generation of ceramic engines able to withstand twice the temperatures of normal engines and achieve fuel economy of 80 miles per gallon. And since the thermal conductivity of the material would be improved, the technique could also have applications in harnessing alternative energy sources like solar energy.

The engineers’ discovery also advances knowledge in the emerging field of “spintronics,” which is dedicated to harnessing energy produced by the spinning of electrons. Most energy used today is harnessed through the movement of current and is limited by the amount of heat that it produces, but the energy created by the spinning of electrons produces no heat. The NC State engineers were able to manipulate the nanomaterial so the electrons’ spin within the material could be controlled, which could prove valuable to harnessing the electrons’ energy. The finding could be important for engineers working to produce more efficient semiconductors.

Working with Narayan on the study were Dr. Sudhakar Nori, a research associate at NC State, Shankar Ramachandran, a former NC State graduate student, and J.T. Prater, an adjunct professor of materials science and engineering. Their findings are published as “The Synthesis and Magnetic Properties of a Nanostructured Ni-MgO System,” which appeared in the June edition of JOM, the journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. The research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Donald W. Brenner, Associate Department Head and Kobe Steel Distinguished Professor, has been offered the 25^th R.J. Reynolds Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Extension.  The award is the most prestigious in the College of Engineering.

The R.J. Reynolds award was created in 1981 by the College of Engineering to honor a member of the engineering faculty who excelled in activities that promote the University’s mission of teaching, research and extension.  The award is given by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company through the North Carolina State Engineering Foundation.  The award provides an annual stipend of $5,000 and may be renewed for up to five years. 

Award recipients give a lecture to an audience of faculty on a topic of their choosing.  Following the lecture, the College of Engineering will host a reception in honor of Dr. Brenner.  A time and location has yet to be determined.

Tiny objects known as nanoparticles are often heralded as holding great potential for future applications in electronics, medicine and other areas. The properties of nanoparticles depend on their size and structure. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have learned how to consistently create hollow, solid and amorphous nanoparticles of nickel phosphide, which has potential uses in the development of solar cells and as catalysts for removing sulfur from fuel. Their work can now serve as a “how-to” guide for other researchers to controllably create hollow, solid and amorphous nanoparticles – in order to determine what special properties they may have.

The study provides a step-by-step analysis of how to create solid or hollow nanoparticles that are all made of the same material. “It’s been known that these structures could be made,” says Dr. Joe Tracy, an assistant professor of material science engineering at NC State and co-author of the paper, “but this research provides us with a comprehensive understanding of nanostructural control during nanoparticle formation, showing how to consistently obtain different structures in the lab.” The study also shows how to create solid nanoparticles that are amorphous, meaning they do not have a crystalline structure.

Tracy explains that there is a great deal of interest in the formation of hollow nanoparticles and amorphous nanoparticles. But for many kinds of nanoparticles, there had previously been no clear understanding of how to control the formation of these structures. As a result of the new study, Tracy says, “nanoparticles with desired structures can be made more consistently, making it easier for researchers to determine their electronic, optical and catalytic properties.” For example, amorphous nanoparticles may be of use in future electronic applications or for nanostructure fabrication. Tracy stresses that while the NC State researchers were able to show how to create hollow nanoparticles and amorphous nanoparticles, they were not able to create nanoparticles that were both hollow and amorphous.

The study could also have implications for many additional types of nanoparticles, not just nickel phosphide. Tracy says that the findings “could provide important insights for further studies to control the structures of many other kinds of nanoparticles, with a wide array of potential applications.” These could include metal oxide, sulfide, selenide and phosphide nanoparticles.

Specifically, the researchers found that they could control whether nickel phosphide nanoparticles would be hollow or solid by adjusting the ratio of phosphorus to nickel reactants when they synthesized the nanoparticles. The researchers found that they could create amorphous solid nanoparticles by controlling the temperature.

The study, “Nickel Phosphide Nanoparticles with Hollow, Solid, and Amorphous Structures,” was co-authored by Tracy, NC State post-doctoral researcher Junwei Wang and NC State Ph.D. student Aaron Johnston-Peck. The research was funded by NC State and the National Science Foundation, and was published online by Chemistry of Materials.

Related Links

• Nickel Phosphide Nanoparticles with Hollow, Solid, and Amorphous Structures Paper

Dr. Charles Koulias Chiklis, a former MSE teaching professor and a well-known local musician, died Aug. 30 at his home in Cary after a long battle with cancer. He was 75.

While on the MSE faculty during the 1990s, Chiklis directed the department’s senior design program, a required course in which undergraduates collaborate on industry-sponsored projects. Chiklis was a prolific researcher in the field of polymer materials, acquiring 19 patents during his career. Before coming to NC State, he managed the polymer research lab at Polaroid Corporation, and as an Air Force officer the in the 1950s, he performed research for the early stages of the Apollo lunar mission. He held bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from Lowell Technology Institute in Lowell, Mass.

Outside of his scientific and academic pursuits, Chiklis built a reputation on the local music scene as an outstanding drummer and band leader. His dance band, Charlie Chiklis and the Moonlighters, performed swing, Latin and other types of music at Raleigh-area venues as well as at such notable spots as the Grove Park Inn in Asheville.

Chiklis is fondly remembered by his MSE faculty colleagues. “He was the quintessential gentleman,” said Dr. Jerry Cuomo, a distinguished university research professor of materials science and engineering. “ He always came to class in a jacket and tie and a handkerchief in his pocket, and he showed great respect for the students under his guidance.” For 11 years until his death, Chiklis was vice president of TriboFilm Research Inc., a company founded and headed by Cuomo.  Chiklis also owned a chemical consulting firm, C.K. Chiklis and Associates.

Dr. John Hren, former MSE department head, had been supervising the senior design program part time with the help of another MSE professor, Dr. Ray Benson, when Chiklis came to take it over. Hren said the job required “full-time effort, teaching skills and relevant industrial experience. Chiklis clearly had all of these qualifications and an obvious enthusiasm for the challenge.” 

Survivors include Joan, his wife of 53 years; two daughters, Deborah MacQueen (along with husband Duncan and sons Robert and William) and Cynthia (husband Mark and children Michael and Meredith); a son, Gregory (wife Fadwah and children Charles, Alexander and Victoria); and a sister and brother-in-law, Christine and Harry Stamas.

The funeral was held Sept. 3 at St. Andrews Church in Apex, with burial in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh. 

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions for kidney cancer research at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (CB 7295, UNC, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7295) or to Hospice of Wake County (1300 St. Mary’s St., Suite 400, Raleigh, NC 27605).

Dr. Carl C. Koch was one of 33 top-ranked researchers at U.S. universities, laboratories and government agencies to receive the prestigious title of Fellow of the Materials Research Society (MRS) at the society’s 2009 meeting in San Francisco.

Koch, Kobe Steel Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and associate head of the MSE department, was cited for his “pioneering contributions in nonequilibrium processing and properties of novel amorphous and nanostructured materials, and dedicated service to MRS and other materials societies.”

Koch attained the prestigious rank of Fellow of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) in 2001. Over the past 40 years, he has made outstanding contributions to the advancement of materials science, and is noted for his pioneering research in the use of mechanical milling to synthesize and process nanostructured and amorphous materials. His recent research has focused on the synthesis, microstructure and mechanical behavior of bulk nanostructured materials.

Dr. Jay Narayan, John C.C. Fan Family Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, was among those inducted into the first class of MRS Fellows at the society’s annual meeting in 2008.