Back to school! (a little late)

First, I just want to apologize for not posting sooner! I meant to post a welcome back message to everyone the first week of school…oops In any case, welcome back! My MSE classes are pretty challenging and time-consuming, but I like them which really helps. So far, I especially like Dr. Sahai for MSE 526. His class is challenging, yet interesting (which is amazing considering it is at 9:30 AM). He really keeps you on your toes, because you never know when you might get called on!

Other than school, I’ve been busy working on projects for my job as the Microsoft Student Partner on campus. I give presentations and such on Microsoft technologies and also coordinate awesome events. I just finished a video showing how to make a bibliography in Microsoft Word. Megan liked it, so if she did then I hope everyone will Check it out!

Good luck this quarter!

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A Lesson In Phosphors And Some Cool Pictures

Remember lamp = light bulb

Take a look at an incandescent lamp or a normal light bulb. You will see the tungsten filament is producing the light (and heat). Now think about a fluorescent lamp. A fluorescent’s light is actually produced from the white coating on the inside. That material is phosphor. Phosphors emit visible light when hit by UV light. The UV light is created from a VERY small amount of mercury that is contained in the lamp. I won’t go into too many details, but when the mercury is charged it emits UV rays.  Fluorescent lights are extremely energy efficient as well as last a lot longer than their incandescent cousins.

There are two main types of phosphors. The first, tri-phosphors, are made out of rare earths on the periodic table and halo phosphors. The tri-phosphors come in green, blue and red colors. The second type, Halo, gives off different shades of white (daylight, sunlight etc etc).

If you mix the tri-phosphors together in the right amounts, you get white light! Think about how your tv works – the colored dots make all of the colors on your tv… it’s all about the correct ratio. All phosphors are white powders, but glow their color when hit by UV light. So you could make pure red, blue, or green lamps!

So part of my job at Nela is testing different companies’ phosphors to see if they compare with the standard that we currently use. I do this in one of the phosphor plants, which is located close to Nela Park.  In order to test them I actually make mixtures/suspensions of phosphor and pour that into glass bulbs. The bulbs are then made into lamps and we perform tests on them. Doing this allows us to see if the new company’s phosphor could be used as a replacement. Even a small price difference can save the company a lot of money!

And now for the cool pictures I promised. Here are three bags of phosphor – all of them look identical until I shine a UV light on them:

You can click and make them bigger.

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A Freshman’s Perspective on MSE

Hey everyone! My name is Lindsey and I am from Cincinnati.  I will be a freshman this year in materials engineering. The purpose of my blogs is to give everyone a freshman’s perspective of MSE!!  Since school has not started yet, I figured it would be best to tell everyone a little bit about how I chose materials engineering…

Ever since grade school, I always really enjoyed math and science, so, once I entered high school, I was told by family and teachers to look into engineering.  In my sophomore year, my friend asked me if I wanted to attend engineering day at the University of Cincinnati.  I decided I would attend, since I had no idea what engineering was, but everyone kept telling me it was something I would enjoy.  When I attended engineering day, I learned a lot about the various types of engineering and what being an engineer entailed.  I thought engineering was interesting but I was not going to choose my career based on what I learned in a few hours.  The following summer, I attended a Women in Engineering summer camp to spend more time exploring engineering and to actually see if it was a career field I would like to pursue. After attending the camp, I really liked chemical and materials engineering.  I found them both very interesting; however, I really had no idea which one I preferred. So…the following summer, I attended a materials engineering camp run by ASM.  I went to camp, and by the first day I knew MSE was something that I would really enjoy.  At the end of the week, I still felt the same way.  I could honestly say that I really liked materials engineering.

I remember sitting in the Women in Engineering camp when the instructor told us to think about everything in our life that was made or improved by an engineer.  I could not believe the amount of things that engineers helped to design or improve that I use in my everyday life…

One of the reasons I really like MSE is that the possibilities involved in the field are endless because MSE is integrated into all of the fields of engineering.  In ASM camp, I was taught about all of the different applications that can be used in materials engineering which range from polymers, the medical field, construction, electrical equipment and so much more!! I was told that I could get a job at GE working on materials for their airplane engines, to Nike, working on golf ball coatings, to the medical field, working on artificial implants…and so much more! This is also one of the reasons that I was drawn to OSU, because MSE has the option of many different specializations, which none of the other schools I was looking at offered.

I know that I probably sound like a total nerd by spending time during the summer at engineering camp. But, I think it is totally worth it because it really helped me decide what I wanted to do!!  And I highly suggest if you are interested in engineering, that you attend one of these camps to help you decide what type of engineering is right for you (hopefully materials!!)  I actually attended a camp this summer.  I went to the incoming freshmen Women in Engineering summer camp.  I had a blast and was able to meet a lot of new people before even starting school. If you come to OSU next year, I highly suggest you apply to attend!   During the camp, you explore different fields of engineering, which I know helped a lot of girls decide what field of engineering they wanted to pursue.  We also had the chance to visit companies, like Ashland and Honda, time to use the RPAC and learn our way around campus.  It was definitely a beneficial and fun week!

I hope that through this blog I will be able to share what it is like to be a freshman in MSE!  If you have any questions at all or want more information or anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know!!  I know that deciding where to go to school and what major to pursue is a really difficult decision, so I am here to help in any way I can!

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PS from osumaterials:
Just heard on the radio today that the ASM Headquarters geodesic dome is being considered for the National Register of Historic Places. Cool design.

ASM International Headquarters, Materials Park, Ohio

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Sourcing? What is Sourcing?

Hello everyone,

Head over to my blog and read my ‘About me’ to get a little more info about who I am. The short version, I’m Niko and I will be entering my 3^rd year at OSU majoring in MSE in the winter. I will not be at OSU during the fall because I am currently co-oping at GE Lighting in Cleveland (Nela Park). Nela Park is headquarters for GE Lighting Division. I am currently working in the Sourcing department at Nela.

Now you might be asking, what is the Sourcing department? Don’t worry, before I started working I did not know either. Basically the Sourcing department qualifies alternate suppliers of materials. I am currently working on a number of projects to qualify new suppliers and manufactures. The ultimate goal is that the Sourcing department constantly saves the company money. Having two or more suppliers is good for many reasons (competitive price, if one can’t meet demand, etc etc). These potential cost savings/benefits are extremely important to the company.

By the way, the term ‘lamp’ means what you would think as a ‘lightbulb’. The picture is a compact fluorescent lamp, or a compact fluorescent lightbulb. I will mostly be using the term lamp as that is what I have grown accustomed to in the past 2 months. Lamp is the technical term.

So how does engineering play a role in this? New suppliers and cost saving? Am I a business/finance major in disguise? Not at all. This is a blend of both engineering and business. All of my materials science knowledge helps me understand the tests I’m doing (particle size distribution, SEM imaging, tensile tests) while I am still working with other companies about materials. I have a great mix of lab time as well as what would be considered more business stuff. I really enjoy this mix as I always thought I wanted to do some sort of engineering/business.

The lab work I do consists of testing various phosphors in order to qualify new suppliers. The majority of the projects I work on are phosphor projects. I’ll make another post about phosphors soon, but the basic deal is phosphors are what make fluorescent lamps actually glow.

Overall materials science really is one of the best majors for what I am doing. Understanding material properties allows me to understand what I am actually looking for when I talk with companies to see if they can offer a comparable material. Since not everything I work with is phosphors, the broad range of MSE allows me to transition and learn about new projects quickly.

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Summer Fun

It would seem like I have something really important to post on the blog because I have not put anything up in several months.  Well I do, sort of.  I thought it would be a great idea to talk about what I am doing this summer and because everyone is just dying to know.  Well this summer I have been working in the Materials Science & Engineering Department.  I have had the opportunity to work with two professors which has given me the chance to learn a great amount in the time I have been working.  I have been working on projects looking at corrosion in different types of aluminum as well as projects dealing with the mechanical properties of titanium alloys.

Outside of work has been exciting too.  At the end of spring quarter I signed up for the Pelotonia.  It is a cycling tour that donates all of the funds raised to cancer research at  The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.  The event is taking place on the last weekend in August.  I am excited and terrified.  I will be riding the longest leg that they provide which is a 100 mile first day and 80 mile second day.  I am excited because it will be one of longest rides I have done and it is for a great cause.  I am terrified because I haven’t really trained for the event but I will be riding with a good group and hopefully they won’t leave me behind.  If you would like to donate to my ride please go to http://www.pelotonia.org/ride/donate_search.jsp and enter my name, Adam Young.  Click on my profile page and you will be able to donate.  All of the money donated goes directly to cancer research.

Bicycles are obviously an interest of mine.  As much as I like cycling I really enjoy building and fixing bicycles.  I was never much of a road bike enthusiast but living in a large urban area (No trails to ride) and in the middle of Ohio ( incredibly flat) has helped push me into single speed road bikes.  This brings me to the most important part of the summer.  I have been researching and slowly putting together parts to build a bamboo composite fixed gear road bike.  As of right now I have found all of the necessary parts for construction with the exception of freshly cut bamboo which I hope to have with in the next week.  My frame jig is near completion.  This project has been something I have been talking about way too much and most of my classmates and professors have had to hear me talk about it at some point.  These types of frames have been produced for some time but I always thought it would be interesting to build my own.  I hope to have a road-worthy bike by the end of September.  I hope some of my classmates read this and start blogging as well.  The summer break for MSE students is a really exciting time because of the wide variety of opportunities to intern or do research on exciting materials and in exciting places.

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