Faculty Members

Zhong Yang Cheng ZhongYang (Z.-Y.) Cheng
Professor
3M Grant Researcher

Office: 280 Wilmore Lab
Phone: (334) 844-3419
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Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, Xian Jiaotong University, 1995
Research Interests:
Materials Physics: Investigate the structure-property relationship; Characterize the structure and property; especially dielectric; electromechanical; and magnetostrictive properties; of polymers; ceramics and single crystals.; Smart/Adaptive Materials: Develop new smart materials: piezoelectric; ferroelectric; electro-optic; and dielectric ceramics and thin film; magnetostrictive thin film and nanowires; dielectric and multiferroic composites including nanocomposites; electroactive polymers (artificial muscle); Device Development: Design; fabricate and characterize novel micro/nano-sensor platforms; actuators and transducers; Develop biosensors for food safety and security.; Smart materials including piezoelectric; dielectric; ferroelectric; and magnetostrictive materials as well as their (nano)composites; Electroactive polymers (artificial muscle); Electromechanical actuators; transducers;and energy harvest device; Biological and chemical sensors.

Bryan ChinBryan Allen Chin
Professor

Office: 277 Wilmore Lab
Phone: (334) 844-3322
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Ph.D., Stanford University with distinction, Materials Science and Engineering, 1976
Research Interests:
Welding and Joining: Developed infrared sensing techniques for the monitoring and control of the welding process. Developed processes for welding highly irradiated materials in power producing reactors.; Adaptive Materials: Developed methods of fabrication and manufacture for PZT and shape memory alloys. Theoretically and experimentally constructed demonstration devices for adaptive systems.; Sensor Development: Principal Investigator in a program to develop sensors for biological agent detection. Developed phage and antibody based MEMS sensors for security and medical application. Currently the director of the Auburn University Detection and Food Safety Center that funds over 25 faculty and 60 post docs; staff and graduate students.; Time Dependent Deformation: Principal investigator in an alloy development program to design and tailor alloys for high temperature applications in advanced reactor cores. Pioneered new test methods; developed phenomenological mechanisms and deformation maps to describe data; characterized failure modes and formulated constitutive materials equations for detailed reactor design.; Mechanical Lifetime Prediction: Responsible for the evaluation and development of stress to rupture design equations and end of life criteria for nuclear core materials.; Environmental Degradation of Materials: Responsible for assessing the effects of various gaseous and liquid metal environments on the creep and fatigue life of high temperature alloys. Established mechanisms describing the influence of environment on the failure of austenitic; ferritic and precipitation strengthened alloys.

Jeffrey FergusJeffrey Fergus
Professor

Office: 284 Wilmore Lab
Phone: (334) 844-3405
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Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1990
Research Interests:
Materials for energy conversion and storage: interconnect/electrode/electrolyte materials for solid oxide fuel cells and lithium ion batteries.; Chemical compatibility and stability of materials: High temperature oxidation of metals and alloys.; Chemical sensors: Electrochemical gas sensors.

Jong Woo HongJong Wook Hong
Associate Professor

Office: 278 Wilmore Lab
Phone: (334) 844-7385
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Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, the University of Tokyo, 2000
Research Interests:
Integrated Micro/Nanofluidic Systems; Nanobiotechnology; Biomolecular Engineering; Biomaterials; Sustainable Energy Production; Quantum Dot Synthesis.

Dong-Joo KimDong-Joo (Daniel) Kim
Associate Professor

Office: 276 Wilmore Lab
Phone: (334) 844-4864
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Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering (minor: Electrical Eng.), North Carolina State University, 2001.
Research Interests:
MEMS/NEMS devices; Sensors and actuators; Electronic Thin Film Devices; Energy harvesting; Smart Materials; Condition monitoring

ct liuChain-Tsuan (CT) Liu
Distinguished Professor

Office: 281 Wilmore Lab
Phone: (334) 844-2849
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Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, Brown University, 1967

Tony OverfeltRuel A. (Tony) Overfelt
Philpott-WestPoint Stevens Professor

Office: 282 Wilmore Lab
Phone: (334) 844-5940
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Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, Vanderbilt University, 1984
Research Interests:
Materials processes in manufacturing including solidification and casting; High temperature thermophysical and thermomechanical property measurements; Environmental control systems for closed spaces (e.g.; airliners)

Bart C. ProrokBart Prorok
Associate Professor

Office: 283 Wilmore Lab
Phone: (334) 844-4733
Email
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Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2000
Research Interests:
Microstructure/property relationships of thin films and MEMS materials; micro and nanoscale testing of materials; structures; and MEMS devices; and design and fabrication of novel MEMS devices.

Alex SimonianAleksandr Simonian
Professor

Office: 274 Wilmore Lab
Phone: (334) 844-4485
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Ph.D., Molecular Biophysics, USSR Academy of Science, 1973 Doctor of Science, Bioengineering, Moscow Institute of Applied Biochemistry, Russia, 1993
Research Interests:
Nanocomposite films and nanoparticles for biosensor applications.; Real-time monitoring of biological toxins.; Biosensor development for environmental analysis; food safety; medicine; agriculture; veterinary; industrial process control.; Biosensors for organophosphate neurotoxins detection; Application of Plasmon Resonance Spectroscopy for biomolecules/surface interaction analysis.

Ralph ZeeRalph H. Zee
Associate Dean for Research

Office: 1301 Shelby Center
Phone: (334) 844-2301
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Ph.D., Materials Science, University of Wisconsin, 1981
Research Interests:
Engineering education research & scholarship; high temperature materials for power conversion; sensing concepts; manufacturing processes.

Last Updated: Dec 14, 2011