CESE students take top honors at the National Association of Corrosion Engineers conference

 Over 6,000 people attended the National Association of Corrosion Engineers meeting last week. UVa had some notable accomplishments in the category of student awards.   In addition to the award winners below, there were numerous CESE students who gave excellent technical talks.

Highest student honor

Went to Andrew King, who received the A.B. Campbell Award for the best paper published in CORROSION in 2012 by an author under 35 years of age.  His paper was on the Mechanism of Function of a Magnesium Rich Primer Coating

This is the 4th time a student has won this award from CESE in recent years. Past students and faculty at UVA MSE/CESE have also won the award.

Awards for graduate poster session
There were 106 student posters presented in the graduate poster session.  Rebecca Schaller and Jay Srinivasan each received student poster awards.   Jay received the Third Place, Marcel Pourbaix Prize for the Best Poster in Corrosion Science.   Rebecca received the Mars Fontana - Corrosion Engineering 3rd place award. 

Rob Kelly Endowed AT&T professor of Engineering Chairship

Professor Robert G. Kelly will become the AT&T Professor in Engineering.

After joining the MSE department in 1990, Kelly became a full professor in 2004. In addition to serving as Co-Director of the Center for Electrochemical Science and Engineering at UVa, Professor Kelly is a Fellow of Nace, an H. H. Uhlig Award recipient, author of over 100 papers, and an often-lauded "best" teacher - having been selected as a favorite teacher by his students numerous times for his skills as an educator.

His research focus includes:

Studies of the electrochemical and chemical conditions inside localized corrosion sites in various alloy systems, corrosion in aging aircraft, development of embeddable corrosion microinstruments, microfabrication methods to probe the fundamentals of localized corrosion, and multi-scale modeling of corrosion processes. [Past] work has included work on the corrosion of metals and alloys in marine environments, non-aqueous and mixed solvents as well as stress-corrosion cracking and other forms of localized corrosion.


According to his bio, Rob is married "to a wonderful lady and their home is completed with a son and daughter, as well as two whippets and three two fish"

Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing holds Grand Opening

From CCAM news:  The Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) near Richmond, Va., today unveiled its new 62,000 square foot research facility during a grand opening event.   “The new CCAM manufacturing research center represents the expertise and passion of our industry members and university partners,” said Dr. Mike Beffel, CCAM Interim President and Executive Director. “With the goal of bridging the gap between leading edge research and product development, CCAM is at the forefront of new manufacturing processes.”

CCAM is a public–private collaborative research center that undertakes research critical to the surface technology and advanced manufacturing industries. The Prince George County, Va., facility was completed in late 2012 and features computational and engineering research labs, high bay production space for commercial scale equipment, and tools required for research in surface engineering and manufacturing systems.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, who has helped further CCAM’s research and manufacturing goals, said, “Today’s opening of the CCAM research facility marks a pivotal moment for America’s global competitiveness. Companies that take the important step to join the CCAM research center in the Commonwealth of Virginia become partners of a one-of-a-kind asset in the U.S.—one that drives competitive advantage in the rapidly-transforming advanced manufacturing segment of our nation’s economy. The innovations produced at CCAM are cutting-edge, and the new facility will further Virginia as a hub for advanced manufacturing technology and high-skill jobs in the 21st century.”

Research is currently under way in the areas of surface engineering and new manufacturing systems. Approximately 50 student interns from Virginia’s participating universities – Virginia State University, the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech – will work alongside industry experts in several research areas at the new facility and in labs around the state.

CCAM industry members include Canon Virginia Inc., Chromalloy, Newport News Shipbuilding, Rolls-Royce, Sandvik, Siemens, Sulzer Metco, Aerojet, Hermle Machine Company, Mitutoyo, TurboCombustor Technology Inc., Buehler, Cool Clean Technologies, GF AgieCharmilles, and Blaser Swisslube. University members include Virginia State University, the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The CCAM facility is located adjacent to the 1,000-acre campus of the Rolls-Royce engine component manufacturing facilities, Rolls-Royce Crosspointe.


by Cathy Gedvilas on the CCAM new: http://www.ccam-va.com/news/

ARCS Foundation awards Luk-Kun Tsui additional scholarship

Luk-kun Tsui, advised by Giovanni Zangari, recently earned a second ARCS Foundation (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) scholarship.  ARCS, through these awards, aids in maintaining the scientific and technological edge of the United States and supports STEM field candidates working in areas of global impact.

Luk-kun's research seeks to advance utilization of TiO2 nanotubes to harness ultraviolet energy for photoelectric hydrolysis.  The potential implications of his research could lower the cost of harnessing solar energy, a key infrastructural concern.  This award is the second for Luk-Kun from ARCS the foundation.






From the ARCS website:

ARCS Foundation Metropolitan Washington Chapter (MWC), located in the Nation’s seat of government, is surrounded by our country’s largest defense, technology and research companies. It leverages an unparalleled opportunity to influence and respond to the National STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - agenda.

Founded in 1968 by women from the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland, MWC is an integral part of a national organization committed to supporting the ARCS Foundation mission of advancing science and technology in the United States by providing financial awards to academically outstanding United States citizens studying to complete degrees in STEM fields.