A CAREER development award will support the integration of research and education on ferroelectric composites into undergraduate and master graduate levels at Cooper Union. The research plan includes the analytical and experimental investigations on electromechanical coupling behavior of ferroelectric composites by considering the microstructure of the systems. The outcome of the proposed study will give a solid fundamental basis and guidance to the design of smart materials using ferroelectric composites. The education plan involves the development of a new senior course on smart materials and integration of the proposed research into senior design projects. The undergraduate materials science curriculum will be upgraded to include the concepts of ferroelectrics and ferroelectric composites, and hands-on experiences on the fabrication of PZT samples and measurement of electromechanical coupling behavior of ferroelectrics.
The PI will develop her academic career around analytical and experimental methods to advance the basic understanding of nonlinear electromechanical coupling of ferroelectrics and ferroelectric composites. In particular, the analytical prediction will involve micromechanics of heterogeneous materials, evolution of microstructures, irreversible thermodynamics, and physics of domain switch. The experiments will start with the fabrication of PZT samples and PZT composites, and the electromechanical testing of such samples. This work will lead to the development of a robust predictive methodology of nonlinear electromechanical coupling behavior of ferroelectric composite materials. Understanding and accurately describing the nonlinear behavior of a ferroelectric material due to the domain switch will lead to the improvement of design methodologies in smart materials and structures using ferroelectrics.
Since the PI's research endeavors and educational program are closely integrated, the educational goals are: 1) to increase the undergraduate student involvement in the ongoing research projects through out the engineering school by promoting research transfer into classroom, 2) to establish summer research programs for undergraduate students and research internship for pre-college students in materials science through outreach program, 3) to develop a new upper-level undergraduate/graduate course in smart materials, 4) to update the current materials science curricula by including the new concepts and research discoveries in the area of smart materials, and 5) to modernize the materials engineering laboratory and course curriculum.
A career development grant will be a significant factor not only in boosting the prospect of PI's contributing significantly to her research field, but in expanding at Cooper Union the involvement of undergraduates in research and its applications to significant new technologies. ***
