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•   :: Member Recognition
  • 5 Star Chapter Award
  • Bradley Stoughton Award
  • Outstanding Young Member Award
  • Reverse Engineering Student Poster Award
  • ASMI Fellow
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•   :: Materials Camp
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MEMBER RECOGNITION

Outstanding Young Member Award

Since 1973, the Lehigh Valley Chapter of ASM has given an "Outstanding Young Member Award" to the most qualified young member in the chapter. To be qualified for the award, the outstanding young member must be 35 years of age or younger on January 1 of the year awarded, promote the field of materials in some manner, and provide service to the chapter through involvement in activities. Please contact Dr. Wojciech Misiolek with any nominees for this award or feel free to fill out the nomination form at the following link:

Nomination Form

OUTSTANDING YOUNG MEMBER 2011: BRANDON BRINKMEYER

Biographical Sketch
Brandon is currently a Product Engineer for Carpenter Technology Corporation in Reading, PA covering high temperature billet products for the aerospace industry. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Rolla with a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Brandon has been involved heavily with the Lehigh Valley ASM Chapter by serving as the Online Chair from 2008-2009, the Vice Chairman for a brief period in 2009, and then Chairman for 2009-2011. He is currently serving as the Treasurer for the Chapter. 

Abstract
Directional Drilling in the Marcellus Shale
The discovery of a vast deposit of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale has greatly impacted the state of Pennsylvania. Old technologies are being improved by the use of new, high tech materials that improve the ability to increase the output of the sites and minimize the impact to the surrounding area. One of these old technologies is directional drilling, which allows one rig to access natural gas over a mile away. This presentation will talk about the technology behind direction drilling and the materials used in the process.

OUTSTANDING YOUNG MEMBER 2010: LAUREN BACIGALUPO

Biographical Sketch
Lauren Bacigalupo is a third year graduate student at Lehigh University. She obtained her Bachelors in Materials Science and Engineering from Lehigh University in 2008 and is anticipated to graduate with her Masters in Materials Science and Engineering in spring 2011. The focus of her masters research is the influence of mechanical and thermal properties on epoxies modified with block copolymers. In this study the styrene-butadiene-methacrylate (SBM) block copolymer was found to have superior mechanical and fracture toughness properties to the current standard rubber modifiers. In the spring of 2013, Lauren is scheduled to graduate with a Doctorate in Polymer Science and Engineering from Lehigh University. Her PhD research will focus on the morphology of different block copolymers and how this affects the resulting fracture toughness.

Abstract
Epoxies are often used as underfil resins in microelectronic packaging. Such resins are used to reduce the shear stress in the solder joints between the chip and the substrate that result due to by the mismatch in the CTEs. The net result is a more reliable system, however, the mode of failure has shifted from the fatigue of the solder joint to the fracture of the underfill resin.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the use of both micro- and nano-scale toughening agents to improve the fracture resistance of epoxy resins. Toughening agents such as the micron-sized CTBN (carboxyl terminated butadiene nitrile) and nano-sized SBM (styrene-butadiene-methylmethacrylate) will be examined. It has been shown in the literature that the micron-sized toughening agents improve toughness but at the detriment of other mechanical properties. Nano-scale toughening agents, like SBM, are promising because only a small amount of SBM yields a substantial increase in fracture toughness with only a marginal reduction in stiffness and strength. Details of the toughening mechanisms will be discussed as well as future directions.

Outstanding Young Member Award Winners