Macro to Nano: One Guy’s (Mildly Uninformed) Take on the Roles and Responsibilities of an Engineer in the 21st Century and a (Brief) Overview of His Own Path to Purdue and His Professional Life Thereafter The Macro: My Take on the Professional Engineer’s Role in Society…What is a Professional Engineer?What is a Professional Engineer?Great Philosopher?Great Philosopher?Physics for Future PresidentsPhysics for Future PresidentsPhysics for Future PresidentsPhysics for Future PresidentsPhysics for Future PresidentsPhysics for Future PresidentsThe Nano: …and now for something completely differentWho Am I and How Did I Get Here?Who Am I and How Did I Get Here?What Do I Do?What Do I Do?What Do I Do?What Do I Do?What Do I Do?What Do I Do?What Do I Do?What Do I Do?How Does it Fit In?My 2¢My 2¢My 2¢AcknowledgmentsBurning Questions?Macro to Nano: One Guy’s (Mildly Uninformed) Take on the Roles and Responsibilities of an Engineer in the 21stCentury and a (Brief) Overview of His Own Path to Purdue and His Professional Life ThereafterJeffrey F. RhoadsSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Birck Nanotechnology Center, and Ray W. Herrick LaboratoriesPurdue UniversitySeptember 10, 2009The Macro:My Take on the Professional Engineer’s Role in Society…What is a Professional Engineer?3What is a Professional Engineer?• A license, a measure of technical understanding, or an scientific and ethical responsibility?4Great Philosopher?• “With Knowledge Comes Responsibility”5Great Philosopher?• “With Knowledge Comes Responsibility” – Uncle Ben6Physics for Future Presidents• Paraphrasing: Politics won’t necessarily solve problems, but physics (and engineering) can (and likely will)!• Scientists and Engineers have an obligation to help solve key problems and to provide an unbiased point of view!7Physics for Future Presidents• Key Problems?• NAE Grand Challenges– Make solar energy economical – Provide energy from fusion – Develop carbon sequestration methods – Manage the nitrogen cycle – Provide access to clean water – Restore and improve urban infrastructure – Advance health informatics – Engineer better medicines – Reverse-engineer the brain –Prevent nuclear terror – Secure cyberspace – Enhance virtual reality –Advance personalized learning– Engineer the tools of scientific discovery 8Physics for Future Presidents• Energy Example:– Facts:• “Coal is 20x cheaper than gasoline, for the same energy.” [Muller, 2008] • “Gasoline has 1000 times as much energy as an equal weight of flashlight batteries.” [Muller, 2008] • “A square mile of sunlight with current solar cells would provide as much peak power as a nuclear power plant.” [Muller, 2008]• “At $100 per barrel, the U.S. can supply all of its own oil needs for centuries to come, since coal can be converted to oil. The reason we still are importing oil is that we have not built factories [Fischer-Tropsch] to convert coal to oil; but Germany and South Africa already have .” [Muller, 2008]•“Efficient use of energy has improved steadily at 1% per year, with a burst of 4% during the oil crisis. If we improve energy use at 2% per year, then by the end of the century, everyone on the Earth (including all the developing nations) could be living at the current European standard of living, and yet the total world energy use would be less than at present.” [Muller, 2008]9Physics for Future Presidents• Energy Example:– Can politics be completely removed?– Policy implications?– Conclusions?–Is there a technical answer suitable for most?10Physics for Future Presidents• Nuclear Terrorism Example:– Fact:• “Purified uranium is hard to get, but easy to design into a bomb. Plutonium is relatively easy to get, but hard to make into a bomb. So different kinds of nuclear bombs are difficult to make, but for different reasons. Terrorists are unlikely to be able to make one; the bigger danger is that they could buy one.” [Muller, 2008]– Policy implications?• Space Example:– Fact:• “The rocket that won the X-Prize for launching astronauts "into space", would need 25x more energy to launch the same astronauts into orbit, or 50x more to get the astronauts to the Moon.” [Muller, 2008]– Policy implications?11Physics for Future Presidents• Take Away Message…12Without the input of ethical and informed scientists and engineers the grand challenges are unlikely to be solved!!!The Nano:…and now for something completely differentWho Am I and How Did I Get Here?14Who Am I and How Did I Get Here?• Born: Charlotte, Michigan (Population: 8389)• Education:– What do playing a tuba, having an interest in politics, owning a small bookstore, and mechanical engineering have in common?– Michigan State University: BSME (2002), MSME (2004), and Ph.D. (2007)• The Magic of the Classroom…15What Do I Do?• Teaching– ME 263 (Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Design, Innovation…)– ME 274 (Basic Mechanics II)– ME 297 (Roller Coaster Dynamics)– ME 375 (System Modeling and Analysis)– ME 597 (Mechanics of MEMS and NEMS)– Student Mentoring (Undergraduate and Graduate)• Service– Purdue–ASME (Student Design Competition, Micro/Nanosystems Committee)16What Do I Do?• ASME Student Design Competition17What Do I Do?• Research– Dynamics and Vibration of MEMS/NEMS– Nonlinear System– Supply Chain Dynamics (The Beer Game)• Application Space– Chem/Bio Sensors– Electromechanical Amplifiers– Signal Filters–Vibration Attenuators18What Do I Do?• Carbon Nanotube Resonators19What Do I Do?• MEMS-based Bandpass Signal Filters20Transmission [dB]0Stopband StopbandPassbandWhat Do I Do?• MEMS-based Bandpass Signal Filters21What Do I Do?• Gas-Phase Chemical Sensors– Picogram?22What Do I Do?• Gas-Phase Chemical Sensors23~1.5 mmHow Does it Fit In?• Some of the Grand Challenges– Provide access to clean water – Restore and improve urban infrastructure – Advance health informatics – Reverse-engineer the brain – Prevent nuclear terror – Advance personalized learning – Engineer the tools of scientific discovery • More Importantly, I’m Working with My Colleagues to Train some of the Finest Engineers of the 21stCentury!!!24My 2¢• Get Involved!– Educational opportunities (Yes Classes – Yikes!)– Research opportunities (SURF, ME 497, …)– Global opportunities (GEARE, …)– Professional activities (ASME, SAE,