School of Materials Science and Engineering Undergraduate Research Option Theses
The Research Option offers students majoring in materials science and engineering the opportunity for a substantial, in-depth research experience. Students are strongly encouraged at the end of their experience to work with their faculty mentor to develop a journal publication or conference presentation on the research in addition to the actual thesis.
All materials in SMARTech are protected under U.S. Copyright Law and all rights are reserved. Such materials may be used, quoted or reproduced for educational purposes only with prior permission, provided proper attribution is given. Any redistribution, reproduction or use of the materials, in whole or in part, is prohibited without prior permission of the author.
Recent Submissions
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Applicability of Cytocompatible ALD Barrier Films as Protective Barriers for Biological Implants
The ability of atomic layer deposited (ALD) metal oxide films to serve as protective, encapsulating barriers for biological implants is determined through testing the corrosion resistance and degradation behavior of the ... -
Optimizing Pressure in Compressive Textiles and Utilizing Smart Sensors to Monitor Patient Recovery
This study was designed to examine how to better monitor patients throughout compression therapy. Compressive wraps are used to optimize blood flow in patients in order to encourage proper healing and decrease the likelihood ... -
The Effects of Polycrystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Performance
The objective of this study was to investigate the differences in performance between monocrystalline silicon and monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic cells in addition to the effects on the performance of solar powered ... -
Load Dependent Fatigue Crack Initiation in High Purity Al
Fatigue crack initiation sites and mechanisms in metals and alloys have long been investigated, since metal components are often subjected to cyclic loading, and fatigue cracking is one of the major causes of failure. ... -
Atomic Layer Deposition of Sub-Nanometer Inorganic Layers on Natural Cotton to Enhance Oil Sorption Performance in Marine Environments
Over 1 million tons of oil is inadvertently spilled each year. The economic and environmental costs of these spills are enormous and necessitate further development of environmentally friendly sorbent materials. Here, ... -
Low-Cost Hydrothermal Synthesis of Porous Carbon Spheres with Tunable Particle Size
Spherical porous carbon particles find applications in gas storage, biological and medical sorbents, energy storage devices and other demanding applications. At the same time, the common routes for their synthesis are ... -
The structural coloration mechanisms of Morpho butterfly wing scales
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-07-18)Many bright colors in nature are generated by the optical effects of biological structures. These intricate structures, combined with the absorption and reflection effects of the chemical pigments within, provide the ... -
Stretchable and transparent silicone/zinc oxide nanocomposite for advanced LED packaging
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014-04-30)At present, one of the key challenges in the light-emitting diode (LED) packaging technology is light extraction due to the difference in index of refraction between LED chip and air. Silicone nanocomposites have been ... -
Thin Films Made From Colloidal Antimony Tin Oxide Nanoparticles for Transparent Conductive Applications
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-05-08)In this study, antimony tin oxide (ATO) nanoparticles from Alfa Aesar were redispersed in water using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) as a dispersing agent and deposited onto glass substrates by spin coating. Films ... -
A molecular dynamics simulation study of oxygen within hydrated nafion-117 for fuel cell application
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012-05-07)Fuel cells have several obstacles before they can see widespread use. Nafion, the current most successful polymer for use in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs) has been characterized by numerous other studies both ... -
Effects of microstructure on the susceptibility of austenitic and martensitic stainless steels to pitting and intergranular corrosion in aqueous chloride environments
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012-05-07)Stainless steels are utilized for their high toughness and resistance to general corrosion. Austenitic (300 series) stainless steels are the most popular because they are ductile and can be easily formed into desired ... -
Investigating steric protection of DNA in the presence of nucleases
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-05-11)In the human body, DNA-linked colloidal assemblies are prone to cleavage by nucleases, yielding the uncontrolled release of particles and any associated therapeutics. Thus, for in vivo applications, the DNA-linkages must ... -
Investigating steric protection of DNA in the presence of nucleases
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010-05-11)In the human body, DNA-linked colloidal assemblies are prone to cleavage by nucleases, yielding the uncontrolled release of particles and any associated therapeutics. Thus, for in vivo applications, the DNA-linkages must ... -
Amorphous silicon and carbon nanotube-based photovoltaics
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010-12-20)In this study, the possibilities of creating an effective amorphous silicon (a-Si) based photovoltaic (PV) cell supported by a 3D carbon nanotube (CNT) structure are investigated. Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes ... -
The Path to Graphene Synthesis and Applications
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010-05-12)Graphene is an amazing novel material consisting of one atomic layer of carbon in a hexagonal lattice. The crystal is incredibly versatile, exhibiting useful electrical, thermal, optical, quantum, mechanical and chemical ... -
BaF₂:Ce Polymer Composite Gamma-ray Scintillators
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010-05-12)A nanocomposite gamma-ray scintillator contains nanoscale phosphor particles (nanophosphors) encapsulated in a polymer matrix. These scintillators show great promise for improving the cost and durability of scintillators ... -
Zinc Oxide coated Carbon Nanotubes as Piezoelectric Nanogenerators
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-12)Piezoelectric nanogenerators were created using two designs: coating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown on a silicon wafer substrate with a thin film of zinc oxide (ZnO), coupled with an additional gold-coated CNT grown wafer ... -
Modeling and Simulation of the Impact Response of Linear Cellular Alloys for Structural Energetic Material Applications
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-05-04)We investigate the deformation and fracture as well as stress transfer behavior of 250 maraging steel linear cellular alloys (LCAs) undergoing high velocity impact upon a rigid target. Of paramount importance for application ...