Nanostructured ceramics offer significant improvements in properties over the
corresponding materials with grain sizes on the order of tens to hundreds of microns.
Silicon carbide (SiC) is an important structural ceramic whose properties can
potentially be enhanced due to nanoscale microstructures. It has been suggested that
SiC samples with grain...
A Bulk Metallic Glass (BMG) is an amorphous solid with thickness greater than 1mm. Material properties of BMG, like twice the strength of regular steels and excellent corrosion resistance, make them ideal materials for fabrication of MEMS and MECS devices which have attracted a lot of research activity recently. Diffusion...
A novel technology for processing pulp slurries with high inorganic filler content and at high consistencies (solids content) is extrusion. The paper industry waste comprises of fibers mixed with inorganic filler content. Using extruders similar to food extruders and consistencies ranging from 30-45%, profiles can be extruded from this waste...
The effectiveness of robot autonomy is governed by the ability to make decisions based on online sensor measurements and a prior belief of the environment. Uncertainty in the environment introduces challenges to robotic decision making. This thesis address two key robot decision making problems: exploration and navigation. The robotic exploration...
The adduction of proteins and other biomolecules by electrophilic lipid peroxidation products such as 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE), 4-oxo-2-nonenal (ONE), malondialdehyde (MDA) or acrolein (ACR) is thought to be an initiating and/or propagating factor in the pathophysiology of several diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other age-related disorders. The identification...
The development of micro total analysis systems (µTAS), also called “lab-on-a-chip”, or microfluidic analysis systems, is presented in this dissertation. Various research areas, covering subjects from magnetic particles synthesis to novel microchip fabrication techniques, are explored to develop a lab-on-a-chip system capable of performing magnetic bead-based bioassays. These devices are...
Measurements of δ²H and δ¹⁸O in isotope-based field studies have fundamentally
improved our understanding of water flow and transport time scales in soils and headwater
catchments. Until recently, however, technical constraints have limited the temporal
resolution at which water samples could be collected and analyzed. We introduce a new
sample...
Oxidative stress is recognized as an important underlying factor in the
pathogenesis of many degenerative diseases as well as normal senescence. The
free radicals, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and electrophiles produced during
oxidative stress are capable of modifying nucleic acids, lipids and proteins. There
are a variety of oxidative modifications...
Silicon carbide (SiC) and aluminum nitride (AlN) exhibit a combination of thermal and mechanical properties that are relevant to applications in electronics, aerospace, defense and automotive industries. However, the successful translation of these properties into final applications lies in the net-shaping of these ceramics into fully dense microstructures. Increasing the...
Among recently found multi-component Zr-based bulk metallic glasses (BMG), Zr₅₈.₅Cu₁₅.₆Ni₁₂.₈Al₁₀.₃Nb₂.₈ is characterized by its lower critical cooling rate requirement and absence of beryllium as one of the constituent element which makes its handling more convenient. Its large supercooled liquid regions made possible the study of thermodynamics and kinetics of this...