UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
This multifaceted MRSEC enables important areas of future technology, ranging from biomedicine, separations, and plastic electronics to security, renewable energy, and information technology. The UMN MRSEC manages an extensive program in education and career development. Center research activities are integrated with educational programs, providing interdisciplinary training of students and postdocs. The MRSEC is bolstered by a broad complement of over 35 companies that contribute directly to IRG research through intellectual, technological, and financial support. International research collaborations and student exchanges are pursued with leading research labs in Asia and Europe. The UMN MRSEC benefits from an extensive suite of materials synthesis, characterization and computational facilities.
Highlights
IRG 3 Research Highlight: Phase-Locking of Spin Transfer Torque Oscillators
Spin waves are the magnetic analog of acoustic or light waves, and they have frequencies in the microwave regime. This work by IRG-3 student Xi Chen explored the microscopic mechanism by which two nanometer scale oscillators canlocktogether, resulting in an enhancement of their output power. Chen calculated the pattern of spin waves generated by two phase-locked spin transfer torque oscillators. The pattern is somewhat like the ripples generated by two rocks thrown in a pond, except that the pond is a region of ferromagnetic film less than 250 nm in diameter and the ripples propagate with a frequency of tens of gigahertz. Read More
Education Highlight: Magnetics Day - Magnetism in Technology
Three PI's (Paul Crowell, Dan Dahlberg, Chris Leighton) and four graduate students (Mike Erickson, Mike Manno, Greg McKusky, and Tanner Schulz) organized a day of activities including hands-on demos in the morning, a lunch with recent PhD graduates in industry, and an afternoon of projects. The participants were high school students in the Institute of Technology Center for Education Programs (ITCEP) Exploring Careers in Science & Engineering summer camp. Read More
Tim Lodge (IRG 1) Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
As part of the Chemistry Section of the AAAS, Tim Lodge was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of polymer science, especially in polymer dynamics and in the phase behavior of block copolymers. Read More
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modified on January 22, 2009