Description
Nanotechnology, hailed as the most ambitious national research investment in decades, has spurred considerable nationwide and worldwide interest across many walks of life because of the endless possibilities it could provide through the ability to build and manipulate things atom-by-atom and molecule-by-molecule. Nanotechnology will be fundamental in changing the way materials will be produced in the future. Potentially, ceramics will have improved mechanical, electrical and optical properties, and be lighter, stronger and cheaper. Ceramics will be able to be formed in exact shapes without machining, thus saving manufacturing time and cost.

Currently, nanostructured ceramics- with grain sizes from 100 nanometers down to as small as 1 nanometer (1/30,000th the width of a human hair) are being used in automotive components such as high-strength springs, ball bearings and valve lifters because they combine good machinability with excellent physical, chemical and mechanical properties. In the future, nanostructured ceramics will likely find applications in biomaterials, cutting tools, gas sensors, solid oxide fuel cells, electronic thick films, wear-resistant coatings, field effect display phosphors and emitters, and transparent functional films.

The following individuals may be contacted by the media regarding ceramic applications in nanotechnology.

Dr. James H. Adair
Professor, Material Science and Engineering
Director, NSF Particulate Materials Center
Pennsylvania State University
249 Materials Research Lab
University Park, PA 16802
814/863-6047 (phone)
814/863-9704 (fax)
jadair@mrl.psu.edu (e-mail)
Background: Adair's work at the NSF Particulate Materials Center includes developing engineering and scientific foundations for the manufacture of advanced particulate materials. The center is known for its work with granular powders, however the focus now is on nanoparticulate materials. Some of his research in nanomaterials technology includes nanoparticles with a tailored structure, and the synthesis and characterization of nanosize composite particles.

Dr. C. Jeffrey Brinker
Senior Scientist, Sandia National Labs
Professor of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering & Chemistry, University of New Mexico
1001 University Blvd. S.E.
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505/272-7627 (phone)
505/272-7304 (fax)
cjbrink@sandia.gov (e-mail)
Background: Like many researchers, Brinker and his research team looked toward nature for inspiration when they developed a nanocomposite that mimics the toughness, transparency and impermeability of the shell of an abalone. The resulting layered material has the potential to be used on anything that needs an optically transparent, tough coating, such as optical elements, plastics, eyeglasses, and even for the inflatable TransHAB dwelling proposed for crews that land on Mars.

Dr. Mark R. De Guire
Associate Professor
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
10900 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7204
216/368-4221 (phone)
216/368-3209 (fax)
mrd2@po.cwru.edu (e-mail)
Background: De Guire's work in nanotechnology involves novel, environmentally benign ways to synthesize ceramic materials having nanometer-scale structural features. His research group also studies the effects of nanostructures on the properties of the materials for application in a wide variety of fields, including chemical sensing, biomaterials, and electronic and optical materials.