The NSF Faculty Awards for Women Scientists and Engineers recognizes the high quality of the awardee's record in teaching and scholarship, as well as potential research, the academic profession, and the education of future scientists and engineers. The research to be undertaken by Dr. Farkas with this award is aimed at understanding the mechanical behavior of ordered intermetallic alloys. Ordered intermetallic alloys offer a unique opportunity to develop materials with properties intermediate between metals and ceramics. In recent years it has been shown that the mechanical properties of these alloys can be controlled by microalloying. Microalloying controls the properties of these materials through modification of the structure and mobility of extended crystal defects, namely dislocations and grain boundaries. This research for the next five years will concentrate on theoretical studies of extended defect structure in novel ordered intermetallic alloys, with emphasis in predicting mechanical behavior. The alloys to be studied will be both cubic and hexagonal, including, but not limited to Ni and Ti Aluminides. Using various computer simulation techniques, the atomic structure of grain boundaries and dislocation cores in these materials and the interaction of dislocations and grain boundaries will be investigated. The goal is to contribute to the understanding of the mechanical behavior of these alloys in both single crystal and polycrystalline form and to be able to suggest ways to improve their ductility. In the last phase of this research, the results of the defect and defect interaction simulations will constitute the basis for the development of models for mechanical behavior of these intermetallic alloys and in the design of new intermetallics with improved ductility.
