MechSE Professor Wins 2008 Xerox Award for Faculty Research

Assistant Professor Min-Feng Yu has been named a recipient of a 2008 Xerox Award for Faculty Research. The award recognizes his groundbreaking research in materials behavior at the nanoscale and his very strong publication record during the previous year. This February, Yu's work was also highlighted in the Science & Technology section of The Economist.

Yu's research during 2006-2007 led to significant breakthroughs that have influenced the development of nanomaterials in three key ways: by shedding light on their ability to turn mechanical energy into electricity; by adapting them for use in investigating the composition and behavior of microscale environments, such as those inside living cells; and by finding novel and economical ways to fabricate them into commercially valuable structures that can be used in manufacturing.

His breakthroughs during that time include:

• the design of a barium-titanate nanowire that, when stretched, can generate 16 times as much voltage as a similarly sized zinc-oxide nanowire

• the development of a nanoelectrode that can sense the chemical environment within a droplet of liquid 10 microns in diameter and be manipulated like a needle
• the development of a novel economical nanofabrication technology that allows him to write solid nanoscale nanostructures in three-dimensional space using a nanoscale electrochemical "fountain pen"

Established by the Xerox Foundation, the Xerox Awards for Faculty Research honor faculty members for outstanding research based on one or five years of accomplishments. The awards will be presented at a special honors awards convocation this April.