ti_eng_facultyupdate

February 2008

“Faculty”
  • In January, the department of Materials Science & Engineering welcomed two new faculty members, Xuanhong Cheng and Sabrina Jedlicka. Xuanhong Cheng comes to Lehigh from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where she has been a post-doctoral fellow since 2005. She has a longstanding interest in developing and applying engineering tools, including micro/nanotechnological, chemical and electrical approaches to the study of biological problems. Her research emphasis has been on biomaterials, surface modification, surface science, cell-curface interaction, bioMEMS and global health diagnostics. Sabrina Jedlicka is interested in the development of novel materials, modification of existing platforms, and translation of traditional materials science characterization tools into the biological and organic environments. In addition, Dr. Jedlicka also pursues research in biomolecule-materials interactions, specifically related to biophysics and modeling.
  • Miltos Hatalis, professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and director of Lehigh’s Display Research Laboratory, has reported in the December 17, 2007 issue of Applied Physics Letters the results of the first experiments investigating the behavior, under mechanical strain, of polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors for flexible displays. These flexible displays are thinner, lighter, stronger and more conformal than traditional displays mounted on glass substrates, and consume less power. Their ability to withstand folding and other physical manipulation make them an ideal solution for electronic communications in a host of future military, industrial, and consumer applications.
“Students”
  • Aleksandar Angelov, a former graduate student affiliated with Lehigh’s Manufacturing Science Laboratory (MSL), recently earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in the area of micro- and nano- injection molding. He has leveraged his experience in nanomanufacturing into a position with Tyco Electronics in Harrisburg, PA, where he will focus on the development of advanced manufacturing processes for the ever-expanding range of complex electronic, optoelectronic, and bioelectronic products pursued by the firm. Aleksandar was advised by John Coulter, professor of Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics and director of the MSL.
“Programs”
  • The 2008 program of Lehigh University’s Fazlur Rahman Khan Lecture Series begins February 15 at 4pm in the Sinclair Lab auditorium with a lecture from Richard Tomasetti, Chairman of Thornton Tomasetti, Inc. Tomasetti is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has extensive experience in the structural design of numerous major commercial, industrial, residential and transportation projects and unique structural systems -- some of the most recognizable structures in the world. His talk, entitled “Engineering of Major Architecture, Then and Now,” will cover some of the history of engineering including the integration of architecture, engineering design and materials technology. The Khan Lecture Series is organized by Professor Dan Frangopol, and is co-sponsored by the department of civil and environmental engineering, and the department of arts & architecture. For more details on the Khan Lecture Series, go to http://www.lehigh.edu/frkseries.