2:06 p.m., Sept. 24, 2008----Two internationally recognized researchers are joining the faculty in UD's Department of Materials Science and Engineering. David C. Martin, a professor at the University of Michigan, will become department chairperson in August 2009, and Michael E. Mackay, formerly a professor at Michigan State University, joined the UD faculty earlier this month.

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Martin, who earned his doctorate in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, held appointments in three departments at Michigan: materials science and engineering, macromolecular science and engineering, and biomedical engineering.

His research addresses a number of areas in polymer science, with a particular focus on the design and development of materials at the interface between prosthetic devices and living tissue. “We have developed materials to improve the long-term performance of these devices by accommodating the differences in properties between the devices and the living tissue,” he says.

In 2006, Martin and several colleagues received a five-year, $5.6 million Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) award from the Army Research Office to create the fundamental enabling technology needed to realize new generations of artificial arms and legs, with the potential for applications to other biomedical devices. The project focuses on optimizing the geometry, mechanical properties, electrical properties and regenerative capability of the interface between, for example, sensors and muscle or protective coating and skin.

Martin and his group also are conducting research in several other areas, including surface characterization of thermoplastics, high-resolution studies of the micromechanisms of deformation and failure in polymer solids, and molecular engineering of high-strength polymer fibers.

Although he has developed state-of-the art facilities and a vibrant research program at Michigan, Martin said he is ready to move to Delaware.

“UD has a young and vibrant materials science department,” he said, “and there's a sense of cooperation and enthusiasm here with a new president and a new dean. It's clear that there is a lot of interest in biomaterials and bioengineering research, and the University has expressed a willingness to commit the resources to move this area forward. Life is about going where the opportunities are, and I welcome the opportunity to take a place that's emerging and develop it to the point where it's on the cutting edge in materials science.”

Martin's vision is to establish a central facility for materials characterization and processing at UD, with a particular focus on nanoscale structures. Components would include X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, focused ion beam systems and advanced processing and assembly systems.

“Good facilities are critical for recruitment and retention,” he said. “Grad students go where the equipment is, and we want our talented young faculty to stay here. Equipment is also critical to building a connection with local industry.”

The new facility will be the enabling factor for Martin's primary goal. “I want to really push the science and develop new fundamentals,” he said. “I also want to promote entrepreneurship and patents; there are people looking to fund research through this mechanism, where the university takes part of the intellectual property and plays a role in creating new products.”

“Dave is going to play a leading role not only in building core experimental facilities but also in helping to determine a direction for the bioengineering effort at UD and establish the nature of undergraduate education in this area,” Michael Chajes, dean of the College of Engineering, said. “The facilities will benefit many engineers and scientists on campus and in turn will stimulate interdisciplinary research and education in this rapidly growing area.”

Mackay, who earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at UD in 1979, holds master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. He was a member of the faculty at Michigan State from 2001-08 and previously held appointments at Stevens Institute of Technology and the University of Queensland in Australia.

Mackay's research focuses on nanotechnology and polymers. He and his group have shown that, when nanoparticles are properly dispersed in a liquid polymer, their presence actually reduces the viscosity of the polymer. “This is a non-Einsteinian effect,” he says, “because the presence of particles normally results in an increase in viscosity.”

The resulting material is not only easier to process but also exhibits other unique multifunctional properties, including improved toughness and strength. “This is a true nanoscale phenomenon that goes against all contemporary theories,” Mackay says.

In other work, Mackay has shown that nanoparticles can be made to self-organize in thin polymer films, yielding layered structures that can be used for tandem solar cells, sensors, optical coatings and other similar applications. “We hope to be able to use this effect to develop solar cells that are not only easier to fabricate but also more efficient,” he said.

Mackay's primary motivation for coming back to his alma mater was the desire to collaborate. “The professors here are very good,” he said, “and I look forward to working with them. I also plan to work with the Institute of Energy Conversion and the Center for Composite Materials. These large centers are a great resource because you don't have to reinvent the world in getting established.”

Martin's plans for expanding the characterization and fabrication facilities at Delaware are also appealing, Mackay said. “If you can't characterize materials on the nanoscale, you won't be in the research game, so state-of-the art facilities are critical,” he said.

Mackay will bring to the classroom both a sense of humor and an appreciation for the practical.

His Web page, [www.nanoeverything.com], draws viewers in by posing challenges to such scientific icons as Einstein, Stokes, and Flory. Across the bottom of the home page screen, he shows how “nanotechnology” is written in binary code--all 108 digits of it.

On the more serious side, Mackay required each student in his graduate-level “Experimental Methods in Nanotechnology” class at MSU to submit a research proposal following NSF program guidelines. All proposals were reviewed by three fellow students using the standard NSF review procedure, and part of the grade was based on a 10-minute presentation of the research proposal at the end of the semester.

“I take teaching seriously,” Mackay says, “and I like it because it helps students in a more immediate fashion. It also provides immediate gratification for me, since research takes so long to reach a conclusion, while teaching is complete every time you do it. It's an hour working with students that can't be interrupted--no e-mail, no phone calls, just you and the students concentrating on one common subject. I also like preparing lectures, as it gives me a chance to think more deeply about something.”

“We're very pleased that Michael has chosen to come back to UD as a faculty member,” Chajes says. “He has already begun to meet with other researchers to initiate collaborations based on his work in nanotechnology, and I'm confident that his presence here will have a major impact on UD's national visibility in this area.”

Article by Diane Kukich