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Prof. Karlsson wins Francis Alison Young Scholars Award
Karlsson, a specialist in developing physics-based models to understand the response of structures or materials subject to mechanical loads, temperature changes or age limiting fatigue, was picked from a pool of 14 nominations made by department chairs. Karlsson received the award--a plaque and $3,000 cash reward—during a luncheon for Francis Alison Scholars, invited guest assistant professors and University administrators at UD’s Blue & Gold Club Dec. 6. “I am very happy and honored to receive the Alison Young Scholars Award,” Karlsson said. “When I was told I was the recipient this year, I could not quite believe it at first. There are many outstanding young faculty members here at the University of Delaware and being picked as the winner of this award is very humbling. To have my research contribution recognized with this award is quite thrilling.” Karlsson said she enjoys working on real-life, mostly interdisciplinary engineering problems that can only be solved through basic research that requires collaboration with a broad range of experts. She frequently works with scientists and researchers in the U.S., Europe and Asia, as well as with American-based companies. “These collaborations give me a lot of motivation to pursue my research, and I am constantly learning,” Karlsson said. “The collaborations also extend to my graduate students. For example, one of my graduate students, Jin Yan, spent three months at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne, Germany, this summer, developing a new test technique of high-temperature materials.” During the past year, Karlsson has received grants from four national funding agencies and corporations, valued at more than $1 million. Since 1999, she has published 19 articles in refereed journals, conference proceedings and other peer-reviewed papers. The AIAA Journal, published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), recently accepted a research paper jointly written by Karlsson and Justin Caulfield, a senior engineering major who was the lead author. AIAA is the world’s largest professional society devoted to the progress of engineering and science in aviation, space and defense. “I try to engage undergraduate students in my research as well,” Karlsson said. “Right now, I have three undergraduate students working in my research lab, doing both experiments and numerical simulations.” In the laboratory, Karlsson focuses on theoretical and experimental work, developing models to understand the behavior of the material systems being considered, followed by experimental work that inspires and verifies the models. “In the classroom, I commonly use state-of-the-art research as examples of the problems we are considering,” Karlsson said. “That always gets the students’ attention, and, hopefully, makes the subject matter more tangible [and] more inspiring.” Karlsson currently is working on composite structures, polymer fuel cells, thermal barrier systems and ultralight metal structures. Research on composite structures relates to how material fails. Composites by definition always involve two or more materials and the strength of a composite structure is limited by the interface between the constituents. By understanding how the interfacial failure occurs, it can be prevented to improve the strength of the composite. In order to reach U.S. Department of Energy objectives for automotive proton exchange membranes (PEM) fuel cells, a design lifetime of 5,000 hours over a wide temperature range is required. Reaching these lifetimes is an extremely challenging technical problem. The lifetime is limited due to gradual degradation of both the electro-chemical and hygro-thermo-mechanical properties of the membranes. The long-term objective of Karlsson’s research is to establish a fundamental understanding of the mechanical processes in degradation and how they influence the lifetime of PEMs. Thermal barrier coatings are widely used on hot-section components in gas turbine engines to reduce the temperature in the superalloy. The coatings are multilayered, consisting of metal and ceramic layers--materials that are not mechanically compatible with each other. Thus, the coatings tend to fail and pieces fall off in an unpredicted manner. The maximum allowable temperature in the gas turbine is determined based on the assumption that the coating has failed. Karlsson’s research in conjunction with industrial, governmental and other university partners is aimed at improving the reliability of the coating, making it possible to build more efficient gas turbines that can withstand elevated gas temperatures. Ultralight metal structures relates to a class of configured cellular trusslike structures. The concept competes with traditional structures such as honeycomb or metal foams, commonly used in the aerospace industry for lightweight structures. Because of the open space between cells, topologically configured cores provide opportunities for multifunctionality of a structure. For example, a sandwich panel designed for its traditional task, such as transferring bending moment as coupled pairs in the face sheets and shear stress in the core, could also function as an impact and blast protection device by absorbing loads striking perpendicular to the panel plane. Karlsson joined UD in 2002 as an assistant professor after receiving her doctorate in mechanical and space engineering from Rutgers University in 1999. She received the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award in June 2004 and was an invited guest scientist at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne in December 2003. Karlsson visited the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo from March 21-31, 2003. The Francis Alison Society is composed of UD faculty members who have received the Francis Alison Award, the University’s highest faculty honor that recognizes their scholarship, professional achievements and dedication. The award is funded by income from an endowment to which Francis Alison professors have contributed. Article by Martin Mbugua |
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