This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009(Public Law 111-5).
Trends such as increasing energy costs and desire for improved functionality are driving materials and structures to be lighter, smaller, and more complex without sacrificing critical properties such as strength and endurance. Examples of these advanced technologies include: ultra-lightweight and biologically-inspired structures, advanced composite materials, micro-electro-mechanical systems, fuel cell technology, and snow engineering. In order to meet performance expectations, engineering researchers in the College of Engineering at Montana State University (MSU) must be able to explore across widely different length and time scales. The combination of the acquired ARAMIS high resolution digital imaging system and the Polytec laser vibrometer provides assessment of static and dynamic structural responses that can be connected back to material microstructure.
This capability allows MSU researchers to discover new material properties and solve important problems in material/structure interaction, while simultaneously providing new opportunities for research and teaching activities. The flexibility of the acquired instruments stimulates interdisciplinary study that improves the quality and depth of research at MSU. These tools are utilized for education at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral level to illustrate fundamental concepts and new ways of engineering "seeing". MSU's strong commitment to undergraduate research through required senior research projects, summer undergraduate projects, and Native American summer research programs such as the Montana Apprenticeship Program, further expands the impact of this acquisition as educational research instruments. The capabilities of the new instruments also opens opportunities for new fields of study at MSU, as well as the discovery of new materials for basic science and technology.
