| Home | People | Research Areas | Publications | Facilities | Affiliates | Links | News |

News

September 2009 - PhD student Vinod Challa receives Stevens Graduate Student Conference Fund (GSCF) award to present at ASME IMECE Conference
Ph.D. student Vinod Challa was awarded a Stevens Graduate Student Conference Fund (GSCF) to cover the conference expenses to present two papers based on his work at the ASME IMECE Conference in Lake Buena Vista in November.

August 2009 - Professor Fisher to receive the 2009 Stevens Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Award
Professor Fisher will receive the SAA 2009 Outstanding Teacher Award at the Stevens Athletic Hall of Fame Brunch on Sept. 26 during Homecoming 2009 festivities. (For a short story, see pg. 7 of the SAA Aug 2009 Newsletter)

July 2009 - Professor Fisher awarded NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award
Professor Fisher was recently awarded the NSF CAREER grant for a proposal entitled CAREER: Fundamental Research Leveraging Nanoparticle-Induced Crystallization in Semicrystalline Polymer Nanocomposites. As described on the NSF website, the Career program is a NSF-wide activity that is one of the most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations (more here).

July 2009 - Paper published in Smart Materials and Structures
The manuscript "Coupled piezoelectric-electromagnetic energy harvesting technique for increased power output through damping matching" by V. Challa, MG Prasad, and Frank T. Fisher is published in Smart Materials and Structures [Smart Materials and Structures, 18, 095029].

June 2009 - Paper published in Journal of Applied Polymer Science
The manuscript "Polymer Crystallization and Precipitation-Induced Wrapping of Carbon Nanofibers with PBT" by Gaurav Mago, Dilhan M. Kalyon, and Frank T. Fisher is published in Journal of Applied Polymer Science [JAPS, 114, 1312-1319]

June 2009 - Professor Fisher and colleagues to serve as Guest Editor of special issue of Journal of Nanomaterials
Professor Fisher and former PhD student, Dr. Gaurav Mago (now at Lubrizol Advanced Materials), along with Professor Kalyon (Chemical Engineering) and Professor Sadhan Jana from the Department of Polymer Engineering at the University of Akron will serve as Guest Editors for a special issue of the Journal of Nanomaterials entitled Polymer Nanocomposite Processing, Characteriation, and Applications.

April 2009 - Professor Fisher to receive 2009 Ferdinand P. Beer and E. Russell Johnston Jr. Outstanding New Educator Award from the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)
The ASEE Ferdinand P. Beer and E. Russell Johnston Jr. Outstanding New Educator Award is given to young faculty members who have shown a strong commitment and made exceptional contributions to mechanics education. The award will be presented at the ASEE Annual Conference in Austin in June.

March 2009 - Vinod's paper in Smart Materials and Structures featured as a "most-accessed article" in the journal for 2008
Vinod's paper "A vibration energy harvesting device with bi-directional resonance frequency tunability" [Smart Materials and Structures, 17, 015035] was featured by Smart Materials and Structures as one of its "most-accessed articles" for the Year 2008!

January 2009 - Congratulations to Dr. Gaurav Mago, PhD!
Congratulations to Gaurav on the successful defense of his PhD dissertation 'Processing, structure and properties of semi-crystalline polymer nanocomposites'. Gaurav has accepted a position with The Lubrizol Corporation and will be moving to Cleveland, OH. Best of luck in your future pursuits!

November 2008 - Paper published in Macromolecules
The manuscript "Effects of multiwalled carbon nanotubes on the shear-induced crystallization behavior of poly(butylene terephthalate)" by Gaurav Mago, Frank T. Fisher, and Dilhan M. Kalyon is published in Macromolecules [Macromolecules, 41, 8103].

July 2008 - Gaurav Mago awarded Stevens Graduate Student Conference Fund (GSCF) award to present papers at ACS Conference
Ph.D. student Gaurav Mago was awarded a Stevens Graduate Student Conference Fund (GSCF) to cover the conference expenses for Gaurav to present two papers based on his work at the American Chemical Society 236th ACS National Meeting & Exposition in Philadephia in August.

July 2008 - Prof. Fisher co-PI on NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant
Prof. Fisher was co-PI on a grant with Prof. Yong Shi (PI, ME) and co-PIs Chang-Hwan Choi and EH Yang (ME) and Stefan Strauf (PEP) to enable the Acquisition of an Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Etcher for Nano/Micro Device Fabrication. The requested ICP etching system will greatly augment existing micro/nano fabrication capabilities within the MicroDevices Laboratory (MDL) at Stevens.

May 2008 - Gaurav Mago selected for the James H. Potter award for outstanding performance in the Doctoral Program in Mechanical Engineering at Stevens
Ph.D. student Gaurav Mago was selected for the James H. Potter award for outstanding performance in the Mechanical Engineering Doctoral Program at Stevens. The award was announced during the Provost's Banquet for graduate students May 16. Way to go Gaurav!

May 2008 - Paper published in special issue of Journal of Nanomaterials (special issue on Nanomechanics and Nanostructured Multifunctional Materials)
The manuscript "Membranes of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and PVDF nanocomposites with carbon nanotubes via immersion precipitation" by Gaurav Mago, Dilhan Kalyon, and Frank T. Fisher is published in Journal of Nanomaterials [Journal of Nanomaterials, 2008, 759825].

March 2008 - Prof. Fisher co-PI of $3M NSF grant for Multiscale Engineered Systems Research
With Professors Chassapis (PI) and co-PIs Esche, Stolkin, and McGrath, Stevens was recently awarded a $3M grant from NSF's Graduate Education Division and the GK-12 program. The grant will provide support for up to 10 Stevens doctoral students per year over a 5 year period conducting research in the broad area of multiscale engineered systems. As part of the GK-12 program, PhD students will disseminate their research results to several participating high schools within the framework of the New Jersey Alliance for Engineering Education (NJAEE). US citizens and permanent residents who are interested in this program and enrolling in the PhD program at Stevens should email Professor Fisher for more information.

January 2008 - Paper published in Smart Materials and Structures
The manuscript "A vibration energy harvesting device with bi-directional resonance frequency tunability" by Vinod R. Challa, M.G. Prasad, Yong Shi and Frank T. Fisher is published in Smart Materials and Structures [Smart Materials and Structures, 17, 015035].

December 2007 - Professor Fisher co-PI on AFOSR grant for CNT quantum dot research
Professor Fisher is a co-PI on a three-year Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) grant led by Prof. Yang of Mechanical Engineering and including Prof. Stefan Strauf (Physics) and Prof. Dan Choi (U. Idaho) to exploit novel nano-segmented, in-plane CNT structures for quantum electronics. Prof. Fisher will lead the development of the CNT nanosegmentation process.

September 2007 - Presentation at The 6th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring
Vinod presents paper "Resonant Frequency Tunable Vibration Energy Harvesting Device" at The 6th International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring at Stanford University. Click here for the paper.

July 2007 - 1st Annual Liberty Metro Area MEMS/NEMS workshop to be held at Stevens Monday July 23
A one day workshop will be held to facilitate communication and collaboration between NYC metro area researchers in the MEMS/NEMS area. Research, insight, and then applications of MEMS/NEMS will shape the basis for the creation of technologies that will impact areas as diverse as information technology and biomedical technology along with energy, transportation, robotics, manufacturing, deep space studies, and national security.

April 2007 - Professor Fisher gives invited talk "Current Issues in Polymer Nanocomposites" to Materials Science & Engineering Department at RPI

Sept 2006 - Professor Fisher awarded Harvey N. Davis Distinguished Teaching Assistant Professor award at 2006 Convocation
The Harvey N. Davis Distinguished Teaching Assistant Professor award recognizes contributions to all aspects of teaching by a member at the Stevens faculty at the level of Assistant Professor.

Aug 2006 - Cross-disciplinary Nanotechnology Graduate Program (NGP) at Stevens starts Fall 2006
The goal of the Nanotechnology Graduate Program (NGP) is to create a vibrant interdisciplinary environment that provides stimulating and cross-fertilizing educational training in nanotechnology to contribute to the Institute’s research excellence in related frontiers while preserving strong disciplinary fundamentals. The mission of the Program is to equip Stevens’ graduate students with the interdisciplinary intellectual capacity necessary to compete and excel in the ever expanding world of nanotechnology.

July 2006 - Professor Fisher receives NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant
NSF DMI-0619762 - MRI: Acquisition of an Instrument for Nanoscale Manipulation and Experimental Characterization
This grant provides funding to acquire a state-of-the-art nanomanipulation and visualization system for scientific research and training in prototyping, characterization, and performance evaluation of functional nanostructures and micro/nanoscale devices and systems. This system will provide nanometer-resolution, scanning electron microscope (SEM)-compatible manipulation capability and enable critical nanoscale experimental investigations spanning many key emerging nano/microtechnology areas at Stevens, including: nanomaterials development/characterization, nano/micro sensors and actuators, and micro-chemical and micro-mechanical systems.

Sept 2005 - Professor Fisher receives NSF Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) grant
NSF ESI-0532555 - NUE: Virtual research experiences for undergraduates in nanotechnology
An interdisciplinary team of Stevens faculty conducting research in various areas of nanotechnology (Fisher, Pochiraju, Shi in Mechanical Engineering; Libera, Du in CBME, and Sukhishvili in Chemistry and Chemical Biology), the Visual Information Environment Lab directed by Hong Man in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Center for Innovation in Engineering & Science Education (CIESE) has been funded to develop “Virtual Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Nanotechnology” (VREUN) modules. These multimedia learning modules will be based on video documentation of undergraduate nanotechnology research projects performed in the labs of the nanotechnology faculty and designed for use within undergraduate science and engineering curricula.

Aug 2005 - Stevens receives funding from US Army TACOM-ARDEC to develop Microdevices Laboratory
The Microdevices Laboratory will include a 500 sq. ft. Class 100 Clean Room.

Aug 2005 - Professor Fisher part of team studying feasibility of online Mechanical Engineering undergraduate curriculum
NSF EEC-0530626 - A framework for an online undergraduate engineering program: Planning study to determine how best to develop, implement and assess
This grant funds a team of Stevens faculty led by Professor Chassapis of Mechanical Eingineering to study how to create an accredited online undergraduate mechanical engineering degree. In addition to Professor Chassapis, the research team at Stevens includes, from the Mechanical Engineering Department, Associate Professors Hamid Hadim, and Sven Esche, and Assistant Professor Frank Fisher. Furthermore, Robert Ubell, Dean for Online Learning and Corporate Development, and Keith Sheppard, Associate Dean of the Charles V. Schaefer Jr. School of Engineering are also members of the research team.

Apr 2005 - Fisher group profiled in Schaefer School of Engineering InFOCUS magazine.
The Fisher group was one of several profiled in the feature article "Interdisciplinary research in the realm of the very small", highlighting the efforts of resaerchers in the School of Engineering working in the area of Multiscale Engineering. (The issue can be downloaded here.)

Oct 2004 - Professor Fisher is a panelist on StevensViews Radio forum on micro- and nanotechnology
Professor Fisher joins Professor Kurt Becker of the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics and Professor Keith Sheppard of Materials Engineering in a discussion of research directions in micro- and nanotechnologies. (The program is archived here.)

Sept 2004 - Professor Fisher travels to Yamagata, Japan to participate in the 11th US-Japan Conference on Composite Materials

Aug 2004 - Professor Fisher and PhD students Vinod Challa, Gaurav Mago, and Kon-Chol Lee start the Nanomechanics and Nanomaterials Lab at Stevens

Nanomechanics and Nanomaterials Laboratory
Professor Frank Fisher
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, NJ 07030

last update: June 9, 2009
for more information, contact: Professor Frank Fisher, Department of Mechanical Engineering