Brockhouse Institute on frontier of materials research

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/brockhouse3.JPG”]Artificial implants, filters for water systems, advanced chips for computers and semi-conductor lasers for telephone transmission.

All are familiar, everyday applications of advanced materials research.

McMaster's Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research (BIMR) is at the forefront of the scientific advancements that make these technologies possible.

The institute recently attracted leading experts from Canada, the US and Europe for an interactive workshop that focused on the convergence of two ongoing scientific revolutions in materials research.

John Preston, professor of engingeering physics, explains, “One scientific revolution currently under way is our emerging ability to manipulate, fabricate and utilize structures on the length scale of a few nanometers.” These advances in nanotechnology research impact industry's ability to build smaller, smarter devices just nanometres (0.000000001 of a metre) in size.

“The second revolution involves our capacity to characterize and understand biological and other 'soft' material systems with the same rigor as conventional materials,” continues Preston, who describes encapsulation for improved drug delivery and implants that mimic the response of real bone as examples of biomaterials. Soft materials bend without breaking and in order for this to happen, they are typically made up of long molecules.

The intent of the workshop, titled Frontiers in Characterization of Soft and Nanoscale Materials, was to share cutting-edge technologies and the latest research with participants from industry, other academic institutions and McMaster students.

Participants came to the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research to explore recent advances in electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and applications of synchotron radiation, motivated by the opportunity to access leading experts in the field, including McMaster's highly regarded experts George Weatherly and Gianluigi Botton, both professors of materials science & engineering (experts in atomic and electron microscopy), as well as chemistry professor Adam Hitchcock and physicist Bruce Gaulin (experts in synchotron-based studies).

One of the more unique components of the workshop involved the sessions in which 60 students and researchers benefited from hands-on demonstrations from the experts using the research facilities in the institute.

A workshop participant noted that, “by seeing and doing we are learning techniques that have never been written down in the literature.”

The speakers represented the combined expertise of research and industry, and included respected scientists Mick Brown (Cambridge), Richard Spontak (North Carolina State), Peter Grutter (McGill), and from industry, Sergei Magonov (Digital Instruments) and DeTong Jian (Canadian Light Source).

The Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research is an interdisciplinary research organization, the largest facility of its kind in Canada, recognized as a leader in materials characterization. The institute is one of two such research facilities in North America – -the other is the Cornell Centre for Materials Research located at Cornell University.

The facilities of the institute and its pool of expertise are also available to industry and organizations that require assistance with materials research and development or material analysis. Its membership of 60 faculty members is drawn from eight departments in the Faculties of Science, Engineering and Health Sciences.

Photo:Lisa Croll, a McMaster chemistry student, discusses the finer points of atomic force microscopy with Tom Malis of National Resources Canada.