This past Thursday evening, I was privileged to again, for the 9th year, serve as a judge for the Clemson University Materials and Optics Research Poster Contest. This event features detail posters, produced by Graduate and Under-graduate students, outlining, describing and explaining their research projects from this past year. And what these young people are doing is just incredible to say the least.
There were 41 research posters presented for review and to be judged by members of the research, academic and manufacturing communities. Each of the posters is required to contain certain information related to the purpose, procedures, statistical results and conclusions of the research project. It also includes references and acknowledgement to the source of the funding of the project. These projects are funded and directed by, and performed for both government and private entities. As a judge, I was one of three judges who scored 5 of the 41 posters.
Each of the 41 posters is judged by 3 different judges and scored on the following: 1. The professionalism of the actual poster and its content. 2. The quality of the information and graphics of the poster. 3. The ability of the student to present and explain their project, the conclusion/results of their research and the value they see in their research. 4. The level of potential societal/commercial impact the research may produce. 5. The acknowledgement of funding and research associates who participated in the project.
I will be the first to admit that as an old, simple-minded, metal finishing engineer, there is so much of what these young people are doing that is so far over my head, that I have to really work hard as a judge to just grasp what they are actually doing. But after now observing and participating in 35+ years in the manufacturing environment, and now several years as a judge, I’ve developed a fairly good process for doing my job in this project. I would just like to share a very basic overview of the 5 posters I judged so you might get an idea where our research universities, in the theater of Materials and Optics, are today. Each student is acknowledged at the end of each note.
- “Did butterflies find the key to chemistry-free leak prevention?” Leak prevention is a monumental issue in any closed liquid system. This research involved separation and analysis of the components of butterfly blood that may lead to the development of a polymer to disperse in liquid process systems, to heal leaks in a purely physical method. –Pavel Aprelev-
- “Solution-processed planar CH3NH3PbI3 solar cell.” The purpose of this project is to develop a more economically viable and efficient material and manufacturing method to improve the feasibility of solar cells for energy capture and production. The solar industry is doing this kind of research to move away from the expense and potentially environmental damaging materials used in current solar cell production. –Yi Jin-
- “Understanding the Durability of Single and Multiphase Ceramic Waste Forms.” As we continue to develop the nuclear industries, increased attention has been given to the development of materials as alternatives to glass waste forms that are currently in use. This research uses Vapor Hydration Testing to examine the results of using these ceramics as fixation agent in comparison to the current glassification method of fixating nuclear waste. -Devin Harkins-
- “Liquid Sampling-Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge (LS-APGD) Optical Emission Spectroscopy: A Tool for Elemental Analysis” As the concern of nuclear proliferation grows around the world, this research is part of developing a field-deployable testing device to detect various elements in water. This could be a source-critical tool in the detection of clandestine nuclear material in the field and to determine that certain materials are present. –Sarah Harris-
- “A cantilever based optical fiber acoustic sensor, fabricated by Femtosecond Laser micromachining.” As simply as I can describe this, using this process to fabricate pure silica micro-cantilever based optical fiber sensors can totally revolutionize the world of acoustic wave detection. This particular fabrication method allows incredible flexibility in the design and application of acoustic sensors. –Jie Lin-
WOW! And these was just the 5 posters, out of 41 presented, that I was privileged to judge. It gives me great hope that our research universities are working on these kinds of actual science and technology. And it is uplifting that there are young people who are dedicated to researching and developing tangible solutions, products and processes for the future. If I was to make one other point, 3 of the 5 students whose posters I judged were not native-born Americans. Why? I think this has everything to do with what we are doing, as a Nation, to our Elementary and Secondary Education systems. But that’s to be discussed another day. For today, let’s celebrate these future leaders of the world in research.
God Bless America! And America, Bless God Again!
