Author Archives: pmstrade

Toby Tung Selected as 2024 NNCI Award Winner

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Our congratulations go out to Toby Tung for winning a national award from the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) in the category of Technical Staff.

Toby, currently and IT and Instrumentation Manager at the Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) at NC State, was nominated for the 2024 NNCI Outstanding Staff Member award by RTNN leadership. Toby’s dedication, exceptional technical expertise, and commitment to user support, education, and outreach exemplify the spirit of excellence and service within AIF, RTNN, and NNCI. His contributions, especially in user training and technical support, have been vital to AIF’s success.

Toby’s unique skill set enables him to minimize instrument downtime at AIF, where he efficiently maintains, operates, and trains users on nearly all instruments. His behind-the-scenes work ensures smooth transitions and minimal disruptions, even during complex decommissioning and instrument replacement projects. Toby’s technical skills also greatly enhance AIF’s outreach efforts. He regularly organizes and participates in STEM events for K-12 students, supports RTNN’s Research Experience for Undergraduates, and mentors students in materials science, inspiring many to pursue STEM careers.

Toby is highly deserving of this award; if you wish to read more about this efforts at AIF, please see their article here: Celebrating Excellence: Toby Tung Wins the Outstanding NNCI Staff Member Award!

You can also look at other 2024 NNCI Award Winners here: NNCI Outstanding Staff Awards 2024

 

Congrats to our 2023 Award winners!

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A hearty round of applause for our 2023 Award Winners. We continue to be impressed by the terrific work of our awardees. These individuals were celebrated at the annual RTNN Awards and Appreciation Dinner last month, which was held at BoxyardRTP.

2023 RTNN Student Awards

The RTNN Student Outreach award recognizes a student for exemplary leadership, initiative, and ongoing commitment to the mission of expanding access to RTNN nanotechnology user facilities.

  • Winston Lindqwister (Duke University) has been an RTNN Student Ambassador for over 3 years now and has been an invaluable member of the outreach programs that reach various communities, including rural outreach missions to tribal communities, Girl Scouts STEM Day, and the UNC Wonder Connection, which helps bring fun and engaging STEM activities to young inpatients at UNC hospitals.
  • Morgan Heckman (Duke University) is relatively new to the RTNN Outreach mission, but has been intently engaged since seeking out a way to be involved in STEM outreach after arriving at Duke in November 2022. Morgan is already helping at numerous RTNN outreach events on her nights and weekends, as well as mentoring a first-gen/low-income URM student that she helped recruit into her graduate advisor’s research laboratory.
  • Kathleen Bordewieck (NC State University) is part of a group of students involved with RTNN outreach from the NC State College of Education, where her experience and participation over the past three years has helped continuously ensure the success of our Nano Innovations Challenge and NanoDays outreach events, as well as assisting with the RET research program in its execution.
  • Keith Markham (NC State University) is an Electrical & Computer Engineering doctoral candidate  who has excelled enough in nanofabrication staff that he has become a leader in the research group he is part of and also has begun helping NNF staff with facility needs within the NNF in a time of considerable growth and changes by helping develop SOPs and set up new equipment.

2023 Collaborative Research Award

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Akash Singh (Duke)

Faculty Collaborators: David Mitzi (Duke), Harald Ade (NC State)

Research Participants: Yongshin Kim (Duke), Reece Henry (NC State)

Unlocking Glass Formation in Halide Perovskites: Integrating Ultrafast Calorimetry and Multifaceted Characterization for Phase Change Applications

 

This project explores the groundbreaking discovery of glass formation in metal halide perovskites (MHPs), materials previously studied mainly in their crystalline form. By demonstrating the glassy state in a specific MHP composition (1-MeHa2PbI4), this research opens new applications beyond photovoltaics, including memory and photonic devices. Using ultrafast calorimetry to capture the rapid vitrification and crystallization processes, the study reveals how slight organic loss stabilizes the glassy state. Conducted collaboratively by teams at Duke and NC State universities, the work leverages advanced techniques and facilities in North Carolina’s Research Triangle to further expand the functional potential of MHPs in next-generation technologies.

Outcome of the Project
1. The obtained results in the project have been recently published in the “Journal of
American Chemical Society”, ACS publications.
Paper Title: “Study of Glass Formation and Crystallization Kinetics in a 2D Metal Halide
Perovskite Using Ultrafast Calorimetry”
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c06342
Publication Date (Web): August 08, 2023
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.3c06342
2. The obtained results from the project have also been presented at two conferences (oral
talks):
a) 2023 Materials Research Society fall meeting and exhibit, Boston on November 28, 2023
titled ‘Glass formation in Metal Halide Perovskite using Ultrafast Calorimetry’.
b) 2023 Carolina Science Symposium, Raleigh on November 17, 2023, titled ‘Glass
formation in Metal Halide Perovskite using Ultrafast Calorimetry’.
3. The work was further highlighted in the international magazine ‘Perovskite-Info’ on
August 16, 2023, titled ‘Researchers deepen understanding of glass formation and
crystallization kinetics in 2D metal halide perovskites’.
https://www.perovskite-info.com/researchers-deepen-understanding-glass-formation-andcrystallization-kinetics

Congratulations to our 2024 RTNN Image Contest Winners!

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A big thank you to everyone who submitted an image in the 2024 RTNN Image Competition. We are excited to announce the winners. These images were submitted as part of the annual  NNCI Image Contest, There’s Plenty of Beauty at the Bottom. 

These images were submitted to the next level to compete at the national level of submissions across all of the NNCI. Please make sure to go to the NNCI website and vote for your favorites; and keep an eye out for future image contest opportunities!.

Vote here: https://nnci.net/plenty-beauty-bottom

Most Stunning

Research Triangle Community
Hannah Margavio, NC State University

Captured using the SU 8700 Hitachi SEM at the AIF, this molybdenum disulfide crystal attracts TiO2 nuclei to its high surface energy edges during growth by atomic layer deposition, just as the RTNN attracts STEM leaders from all over the world to its bustling research community. This work celebrates a collaborative collection of nanoscale fabrication (atomic layer deposition, area selective deposition) and analysis techniques (SEM).

 

Most Whimsical

Nanoscale Truffula Tree
Will Hemmingson, UNC-Chapel Hill

A silicon nanowire with photodeposited copper co-catalyst. These nanoscale truffula trees are capable of performing artificial photosynthesis by using sunlight to turn carbon dioxide into more useful fuels like ethanol..

Most Unique Capability

Hierarchical Diamond Die
Lauren Micklow, Smart Material Solutions

A diamond that has been patterned with a focused ion beam to create a dual scale texture. Following this small scale patterning process, the diamond with then be used as a stamp to replicate the pattern millions of times.

It’s a Wrap! Thank you to our 2024 REU Students

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The 2024 RTNN Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program has now concluded. 12 students from across the nation spent 10 weeks in the Research Triangle doing novel research on hybrid perovskite materials and presented their research at the NNCI REU Convocation in Nebraska. Student participants in this program also enjoy many opportunities for professional development, networking, and industry exposure in addition to their research experience. If you are interested in joining future programs, please see our webpage and stay updated, or email us at rtnanonetwork@ncsu.edu to register interest! Applications will be opening this Fall, pending renewal of the program.

For more information, please see the full program webpage here.

 

 

Carolina Science Symposium 2024 – Register Today

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CSS_2024_FlyerDownload

Mark your calendars! The Carolina Science Symposium is on November 15, 2024 and is expected to draw about 100 participants, both locally and from the surrounding region. The symposium will be held at the McKimmon Center, as it was last year. A student poster session will be held and 9 student contributed papers will be selected for oral presentations. When registering, you will be asked to indicate whether the abstract should be considered for a poster or for a talk. Over $1200 will be awarded in prizes and drawings. The registration deadline is November 5.  RSVP go.ncsu.edu/css2024

CSS 2024 Webpage: Click here

 

 

See below flyers for more info for Rigsbee and AFM Photo Competitions, which will be announced at CSS 2024

 

AFM_Photo_Contest_PSDDownload
Rigsbee_PhotoDownload