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SRIVASTAVA RECEIVES 2017 HAYTHORNTHWAITERESEARCH INITIATION GRANTDr. Ankit Srivastava, anassistant professor in theDepartment of MaterialsScience and Engineeringat Texas A&M University,was selected as one ofthe four HaythornthwaiteResearch Initiation Grantrecipients by the executivecommittee of the AppliedMechanics Division (AMD)of the American Societyof Mechanical Engineers(ASME). Srivastava receivedhis award during the AMD Honors and Award Banquetat the 2017 ASME International Mechanical EngineeringCongress and Exposition (IMECE) in Tampa, Florida.correlations in multi-phase materials using in-situscanning electron microscope experiments andmicrostructure-based modeling.“The technological need of lightweight structures forweight-critical products, such as aircrafts and long-haultrucks, and to decrease emissions from automobiles,calls for materials with high density-normalized strength,”Srivastava said. “The current materials with highdensity-normalized strength suffer from poor fractureresistance, which limits the performance, reliability andmanufacturability of their components.”As a result, the overarching goal of Srivastava’s projectis to enable the design and discovery of more fractureresistant, high strength structural materials. Theoutcome of Srivastava's project will be presented at the2018 ASME IMECE.This award will provide 20,000 to support Srivastava’swork on investigating microstructure-fractureXIE JOINS MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERINGDr. Kelvin Xie has joinedthe Department ofMaterials Science andEngineering at TexasA&M University as anassistant professor.Xie comes to TexasA&M from JohnsHopkins Universitywhere he receivedhis postdoctoraltraining. He earned hisPh.D. in mechanicalengineering and his bachelor degrees in biomedicalengineering and finance all from the University ofSydney, Australia.Xie’s research focuses on understanding anddesigning lighter and stronger structural materials,such as Magnesium alloys, boron carbide and 3-Dprinted ceramics, assisted by advanced nano-scaleand atomic-level characterization techniques.“In the area of ceramic engineering, we revealedthe twinning mechanisms in boron carbide, alight-weight body armor material, as a function ofchemistry and local bonding,” Xie said. “This ability tocontrol twinning is expected to help design the nextgeneration of lightweight body armor, where twininterfaces provide additional strength and toughness.”In the area of metallurgy, Xie and his colleaguessystematically investigated the dislocation and twinstructures in deformed bulk magnesium singlecrystals, which substantially contributed to theunderstanding that explains why Magnesium andMagnesium alloys generally exhibit poor ductilityand formability.Xie will teach fundamentals of materials science andengineering classes this spring.TEXAS A&M ENGINEERING engineering.tamu.edu/materials7

QIAN, WANG FEATUREDIN 2-D MATERIALSElectronic devices have been constantlydecreasing in size and increasing inspeed and efficiency, from miniaturizedpersonal computers to pocket-sized cellphones. Researchers in the Departmentof Materials Science and Engineering atTexas A&M University have discovereda class of two-dimensional (2-D)materials to aid in further reducing thesize and improving the performance ofvarious devices.Dr. Xiaofeng Qian, an assistantprofessor, and Hua Wang, a graduatestudent in the department, werefeatured in a recent issue of 2-DMaterials for their work in 2-Dmultiferroic materials.“Most 2-D materials studied so far haveshown one ferroic characteristic,” Qiansaid. “When we looked into group IVmonochalcogenide layers, we discoveredthat these 2-D materials have two ferroiccharacteristics simultaneously.”Their paper “Two-DimensionalMultiferroics in Monolayer Group IVMonochalcogenides” demonstratesa special class of two-dimensionalsemiconductors. These materialsare special due to their abilityto exhibit a large spontaneouslattice strain called ferroelasticity,and a giant switchable electricpolarization called ferroelectricity.These properties appearingsimultaneously in the monolayer groupIV monochalcogenides lead to 2-Dferroelastic-ferroelectric multiferroicity.“2-D materials with more than oneferroic characteristic can be veryuseful for miniaturized multifunctionaldevices such as sensors and actuators,”Qian said. “However, they are veryscarce in nature.”8DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2017 Annual ReportThis unique class of 2-D multiferroicmaterials could be useful for 2-Dferroelectric memory and ferroelasticmemory that are as thin as onenanometer. In pocket-sized devices, thisnew material could help make the devicesmaller by decreasing the size of thesensors and materials inside the device.They can also be useful for exploringferroelectric excitonic photovoltaicsthat take advantage of both largeferroelectricity and extraordinaryexcitonic optical absorption.“Additionally, these 2-D materials withmultiple ferroic orders provide an idealplatform to demonstrate 2-D nonvolatilephotonic memory with much lowerpower consumption and at a fasterspeed,” Qian said.Currently, the group is working to betterunderstand the microscopic mechanismsof the domain wall motion and discoverother novel 2-D multiferroic materials.“Our ultimate goal in this project is todesign multiferroicity into 2-D materials,”Qian said. “We also want to be able tofine tune and control their multiferroicityfor a variety of electronic, optical andenergy applications.”Results of the duo’s work will providenew opportunities for 2-D multifunctionalmaterials research toward miniaturizedenergy efficient applications.“Many interesting properties and potentialapplications have been discovered in 2-Dmaterials and their hybrid structures.There are a lot of new fascinatingproperties waiting to be discovered,” Qiansaid. “It is so fortunate and exciting towork in this field and understand theirfundamentals and implications for futuredevice and energy technologies.”

TEXAS A&M ENGINEERING engineering.tamu.edu/materials9

CHANNELING HELIUM:RESEARCHERS TAKE NEXTSTEP TOWARD FUSION ENERGYFusion is the process that powers the sun, harnessing iton Earth would provide unlimited clean energy. However,researchers say that constructing a fusion power planthas proven to be a daunting task, in no small partbecause there have been no materials that could survivethe grueling conditions found in the core of a fusionreactor. Now, researchers at Texas A&M University havediscovered a way to make materials that may be suitablefor use in future fusion reactors.The sun makes energy by fusing hydrogen atoms, eachwith one proton, into helium atoms, which contain twoprotons. Helium is the byproduct of this reaction. Althoughit does not threaten the environment, it wreaks havocupon the materials needed to make a fusion reactor.“Helium is an element that we don't usually think of asbeing harmful,” said Dr. Michael Demkowicz, associateprofessor in the Department of Materials Science andEngineering. “It is not toxic and not a greenhouse gas,which is one reason why fusion power is so attractive.”However, if you force helium inside of a solid material,it bubbles out, much like carbon dioxide bubbles incarbonated water.“Literally, you get these helium bubbles inside of themetal that stay there forever because the metal is solid,”Demkowicz said. “As you accumulate more and morehelium, the bubbles start to link up and destroy theentire material.”10DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2017 Annual ReportWorking with a team of researchers at Los Alamos NationalLaboratory in New Mexico, Demkowicz investigated howhelium behaves in nanocomposite solids, materials madeof stacks of thick metal layers. Their findings, recentlypublished in Science Advances, were a surprise. Rather thanmaking bubbles, the helium in these materials formed longchannels, resembling veins in living tissues.“We were blown away by what we saw,” Demkowiczsaid. “As you put more and more helium inside thesenanocomposites, rather than destroying the material, theveins actually start to interconnect, resulting in kind of avascular system.”This discovery paves the way to helium-resistantmaterials needed to make fusion energy a reality.Demkowicz and his collaborators believe that helium maymove through the networks of veins that form in theirnanocomposites, eventually exiting the material withoutcausing any further damage.Demkowicz collaborated with Di Chen, Nan Li, KevinBaldwin and Yongqiang Wang from Los Alamos NationalLaboratory, as well as former student Dina Yuryev fromthe Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The projectwas supported by the Laboratory Directed Research andDevelopment program at Los Alamos National Laboratory.“Applications to fusion reactors are just the tip of theiceberg,” Demkowicz said. “I think the bigger picture hereis in vascularized solids, ones that are kind of like tissueswith vascular networks. What else could be transportedthrough such networks? Perhaps heat or electricity or evenchemicals that could help the material self-heal.”

MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING GRADUATESTUDENT SERVES AS ASM INTERNATIONAL OFFICEROlga Eliseeva, a graduate student in the Departmentof Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&MUniversity, is serving as one of three student voices onthe board of trustees for ASM International (ASMI).“The mission of ASMI is to connect material engineersfrom research, industry and government, as wellas provide access to reference materials, data andeducational content,” Eliseeva said.She hopes to one day become a member of the boardof directors for a company or larger internationalorganization and credits this experience with providingexclusive opportunities to learn more about largeorganizations and how they function.“I also enjoy meeting individuals leading the cuttingedge companies in the field of materials science andengineering,” Eliseeva said. “This opportunity excitesme because I love learning of people’s stories and howtheir careers have unfolded. This also gives me a betterunderstanding of what to expect in the future.”Satisfying her desire to give back, this position s

Arconic/ RTI Directed Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing TEA AM ENNEERN engineering.tamu.edu/materials 5. The National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) has sele