Drs. Rainer Hebert and Bryan Huey have been chosen Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Graduate Studies, respectively, for the Materials Science & Engineering Department. Dr. Hebert’s research focuses on the phase stability of metallic materials, including the crystallization behavior of metallic glasses under thermal and mechanical loads and phase formations during intense plastic deformation and wear. He is active with ASM International and currently serves as the vice chair of the ASM Hartford Chapter. Dr. Huey directs the NanoMeasurements lab, an IMS user facility for atomic force microscopy (AFM), which includes the fastest AFM in the U.S.  His research spans a wide range of disciplines and includes projects on future data storage systems, MEMS, drug delivery, biomechanics, tribology, composites, high-strain rate alloy testing, etc.

Dr. Hanchen Huang, Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Professor in Sustainable Energy (Mechanical Engineering) has been invited to serve on the Editorial Board for physics topics, for the journal Nature Scientific Reports.  During his two-year appointment, Dr. Huang will contribute toward the assessment of manuscripts for peer review, management of the peer review process and final editorial decisions regarding publication.

Professor emeritus (Mechanical Engineering) Lee Langston recently began a new column entitled Technologue, in the July-August 2013 issue (Vol. 101) of American Scientist.  For his first topic, Lee chose to profile “The Adaptable Gas Turbine,” covering the history, advantages and challenges, and current applications of gas turbines in jet engines and non-aviation applications such as natural gas pipeline compressors, ships and combined cycle power plants.