News
August
Easley and Simonian win NSF grant
08/30/2013
Associate Professor Christopher Easley and Alumni Professor Alex Simonian of Mechanical Engineering have received funding from the National Science Foundation for their collaborative project entitled “Development of multi-parametric/multimodal spectroscopy apparatus for characterization of functional interfaces.”
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SCB hosts Wild Animal Safari at COSAM Open House
08/29/2013
Auburn University’s chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) invited Wild Animal Safari (of Pine Mountain, GA) to bring some animals to COSAM’s Open House on Aug. 28, 2013 to help advertise our group and its activities. Safari staff brought a serval, a young hyena, a blue and gold macaw, a hedgehog, two lizards (a gecko native to New Caledonia and a lizard from Australia), and a baby pig to the event. There was great interest from staff and students, and even Aubie posed some of the animals. Anyone interested in joining SCB can contact our President (Pia Kulakowski).
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Liu receives grant from the National Science Foundation
08/16/2013
Kaijun Liu, assistant professor in the Department of Physics, received a three-year, $240,444 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences. The project, “An Integrated Study of Fast Magnetosconic Waves in the Radiation Belts,” aims to comprehensively understand the excitation of fast magnetosonic waves, or “equatorial noise,” and their interactions with relativistic electrons in radiation belts. Liu and his team will use satellite data analysis, linear kinetic dispersion theory, kinetic plasma simulations, and test-particle computations to carry out an integrated study. For more information on Liu’s grant, click here.
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Bozak receives grant from U.S. Department of Defense
08/16/2013
Physics professor Michael Bozack received a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense for research addressing the reliability of Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) lead-free solder alloys under harsh environmental conditions. The work follows a successful world-wide effort to develop alternative, environmentally friendly materials for electronics packaging. Currently, SAC alloys have replaced conventional lead-bearing solder alloys in most consumer electronics. Prior work by Bozack and a team of Auburn University researchers in CAVE3, the Center for Advanced Vehicle and Extreme Environment Electronics at Auburn, showed significant reliability degradation in SAC alloys when used for long term, higher temperature conditions common to military applications. The results also indicated the potential of mitigating these effects with elemental additions to SAC solder. The grant from the U.S. Department of Defense will provide Bozack and a team of Auburn University scientists with more than $2 million to run a comprehensive program of tests to fully explore solutions to the SAC solder joint reliability problem.
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COSAM programs ranked among best in the nation
08/16/2013
In a recent edition of the newsmagazine Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, the Top 100 Degree Producer rankings of institutions that confer the most degrees to minority students was published. Auburn University received a top 100 ranking in 26 categories, including 49th for biological and biomedical sciences degrees and 53rd for degrees in mathematics and statistics. Other rankings include seventh in undergraduate degrees awarded to African American engineering students; 14th in architecture and related services; 23rd in foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics; 25th in agriculture and related sciences; and 44th for finance and financial management. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education is a newsmagazine focusing on matters of access and opportunity for all in higher education. For more information, visit the website.
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Dhar receives grant from the National Science Foundation NSF
08/16/2013
Sarit Dhar, assistant professor in the Department of Physics, was awarded a $598,777 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Partnerships for Innovation program. The grant will support collaborative research between Auburn University and industry partners CoolCAD Electronics, LLC, in College Park Md., and United Silicon Carbide, Inc., in Monmouoth Junction, N.J. CoolCAD Electronics performs design, analysis and prototyping for cryogenic SiC and IR electronics, and United Silicon Carbide works on the design, fabrication and commercialization of SiC technologies. The grant, “Building Innovation Capacity,” is focused on building the basic foundations of a silicon-carbide-based, high-temperature, integrated circuit technology. The final goal is to demonstrate a major polytype of silicon carbide (4H-SiC) metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect-transistor (that is, a 4H-SiC MOSFET)-based operational amplifier, operating at 250°C or higher. The research will increase U.S. technological competitiveness, increase the viability of small business partners, and develop students capable of contributing to the semiconductor industry. Click here for more information on the grant.
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COSAM welcomes new dean, Nicholas Giordano
08/16/2013
On August 5, Nicholas Giordano began his tenure as dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics. Previously, Giordano was at Purdue University serving as the head of the Department of Physics.
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Knowles Professorship for Christopher Easley
08/12/2013
Associate Professor Christopher Easley has been selected as the first C. Harry Knowles Professor for Leadership in Research or Outreach to Enhance Science Teaching and Learning in the College of Sciences and Mathematics. The five-year term of this appointment begins on August 16, 2013.
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Summer Science Institute at Auburn College of Sciences and Mathematics
08/07/2013
Some area high school students are getting an opportunity to explore cutting-edge research topics in biology, chemistry, geology, physics and mathematics through the Summer Science Institute at Auburn University. The College of Sciences and Mathematics' academically competitive enrichment program is for rising 11th and 12th grade students who demonstrate a heightened interest in a career in the sciences or mathematics. Physics professor Allen Landers, Howard Carr Professor of Outreach and faculty director of the institute, conceived the program with a vision toward exciting young minds about science. Read more at this link.
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