Summer 2001 -- Vol. 18, No. 2

Broad, Interdisciplinary Research Efforts Started Small, with Surface-Only Focus

Twenty-two years ago, faculty members within the Eberly College of Science had just begun to scratch the surface of materials research at Penn State. In fact, about the only type of materials research conducted within the college was surface science and even that field was in its infancy.

Today, surface science remains an important part of the large, productive materials-science community at the University.

“Materials science did not exist as a field when my career brought me here,” says Nicholas Winograd, Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry, who moved from Purdue University to Penn State in 1979. “At that time we were just starting on the area of surface science, which matured into materials science and, along with inorganic chemistry, converged into the materials-science juggernaut that exists as we know it.”

As the field itself has grown, so has the diversity of the theory and experimentation conducted at Penn State. Scientists with interests in applied and fundamental aspects of surface physics conduct their work at opposite ends of the spectrum but often rely on each other for insights and perspective. Among the approximately 250 materials scientists at Penn State, a minority of them focus exclusively on surface materials and almost all of them learn from each other. All those colleagues provide valuable expertise and ideas—comprising a vibrant, albeit sometimes seemingly crowded, community.

“Life might be simpler if there were fewer of us, but it would be less interesting,” says Milton Cole, Distinguished Professor of Physics. “You need those connections because you can learn so much from people when you come at a problem from a different direction. Also, surfaces have importance in all areas of science and what you know and what you learn can be applied to fields such as biology—which might not be a field you immediately think of when you think about materials or surface science.”

For example, Winograd’s many projects include collaborations with Andrew Ewing, J. Lloyd Huck Professor and head of the Department of Chemistry, on mass spectrometry imaging of membranes. Others, such as Renee Diehl, professor of physics, and Roy Willis, professor of physics, study other surface-related matters. For example, Diehl studies the adsorption of atoms and gasses onto surfaces while Willis investigates electronic and magnetic properties of materials deposited on crystalline surfaces in ultra-high vacuum.

“My initial direction was not on this aspect of surface science, but as we continued with our work our results were much different than what we expected,” Diehl says. “As a result, it turned into something bigger because it showed that the intuition we had built up regarding other areas might not be complete, that there might be some quirks in that logic, and that we need to understand more about certain basics that probably apply in a lot of areas.”

Likewise, Kristen Fichthorn, professor of chemical engineering and physics, studies how fluids and surfaces interact. Her efforts, using molecular dynamic simulations and Monte Carlo methods, continually pique her interest and prompt questions.

“It is a challenging field and it is one that resonates well with me,” Fichthorn said. “Almost everything we do relates to fluids and surfaces and even at the most fundamental level you can envision applications for the work.”

For colleagues such as Winograd, whose many research interests include the study of the chemistry and structure of solid surfaces as well as surface chemistry of superconductors, the possibilities seem endless.

“Surface science, and materials science, are fascinating from both sides,” Winograd says. “What you can study is fascinating and so is what you can do with what you learn.”

-- By Steve Sampsell

Back to Science Journal Summer 2001 Index

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