Education Sponsors
Kenneth Vecchio
Founding Member
Chair, Department of NanoEngineering, UC San Diego
Professor of NanoEngineered Materials
Education:
PhD, Lehigh University, Materials Science and Engineering
MS, Lehigh University, Materials Science and Metallurgy
BS, Carnegie-Mellon University, Metallurgical Engineering-Materials Science
Professor Vecchio completed his undergraduate education in 1983 at Carnegie-Mellon University in Metallurgical Engineering and Material Science and his Master of Science degree in 1985 and Ph.D. in 1988 both in Materials Science and Engineering from Lehigh University. His Ph.D. research made use of a combination of electron microscopy and fatigue/fracture mechanics.
In 1988, Professor Vecchio joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC San Diego as an assistant professor, and promoted to full professor in 1999. For ten years he served as the Director of Electron Optics and Microanalysis Facility for the Jacobs School of Engineering at UCSD.
In 2000, Professor Vecchio was the recipient of the Marcus Grossman Young Author Award from ASM-International. In November 2007, Professor Vecchio was named Chair of the newly formed Department of NanoEngineering at UCSD. One of the technologies related to nanocluster modeling of Bulk Metallic Glasses is the basis for a new start-up company called Scoperta, Inc.
Research Interests:
Research focuses on structure-property relations in advanced materials with emphasis on applications in dynamic loading events for both civilian and defense-related fields. Central to much of this research is a focus on nanoscale structure control to enhance novel properties and material performance. Design of nanoscale structures to improved bulk metallic glass materials is an active area of research. In addition, Prof. Vecchio has a strong interest in biomimetic research into synthesis processes for structural materials, particularly exploiting the hierarchical structure of marine skeletal materials for biomedical implant applications.
Recent programs include the synthesis, processing, and characterization of anisotropic laminate materials including metallic-intermetallic laminate composites, ceramic-metal layered materials, and polymer-ceramic layered materials such as shells. Of particular interest is the processing of near-net-shape laminate materials with graded or varying structures within the laminate thickness. NanoMaterials, Carbon Nanotube synthesis, nanoparticulate reinforced polymers and composites, and polymer deformation modeling are additional areas of research for Professor Vecchio over the past 3 years. Recent work has focused on tailoring nanoscale structures for functionality and commercial scalability.
Funded Projects and Related Publications
Bulk Metallic Glasses:
- Justin Cheney and Kenneth Vecchio, Prediction of glass-forming compositions using liquidus temperature calculations, Materials Science and Engineering A, (2007) 471, 1-2, pp. 135-143.
Carbon Nanotube Synthesis:
- Christian Deck and Kenneth S. Vecchio, “Prediction of Carbon Nanotube Growth Success by the Analysis of Carbon-Catalyst Binary Phase Diagrams,” Carbon, (2005) Vol. 44/2 pp. 267-275.
- Christian Deck and Kenneth S. Vecchio, “Growth Mechanism of Vapor-phase CVD-grown Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes,” Carbon, 43, (2005), 2608-2617.
Biomaterials:
- Kenneth S. Vecchio, Xing Zhang, Jennifer B. Massie, Mark Wang, and Choll Kim, Conversion of Sea Urchin Spines to Mg-substituted Tricalcium Phosphate for Bone Implants, Acta Biomaterialia, 2007, 3 (5) pp. 785-793.
- Xing Zhang and Kenneth S. Vecchio, “Creation of Dense Hydroxyapatite (Synthetic Bone) by Hydrothermal Conversion of Seashells,” Materials Science and Engineering C, 26, (2006) 1445-1450.
Polymer Deformation Modeling:
- J. Richeton, G. Schlatter, K. S. Vecchio, Y. Rémond, S. Ahzi, “A unified model for stiffness modulus of amorphous polymers across transition temperatures and strain rates,” Polymer, 46, (19), 2005, 8194-8201.
Nanotechnology:
- Ji-Ho Park, Austin M. Derfus, Ester Segal, Kenneth S. Vecchio, Sangeeta N. Bhatia, Michael J. Sailor, “Local Heating of Discrete Droplets Using Magnetic Porous Silicon-based Photonic Crystals,” Journal American Chemical Society, 2006, 128, 7938-7946.
- A. M. Derfus, G. von Maltzahn, T. J. Harris, T. Duza, K. S. Vecchio, E. Ruoslahti, and S. N. Bhatia, “Remotely Triggered Release from Magnetic Nanoparticles,” Advanced Materials, 2007, 19, 3932-3936.
- Y. J. Tang, F. T. Parker, H. Harper, A. E. Berkowitz, K. Vecchio, A. Rohatgi, Bao-Min Ma, “Microstructure and exchange coupling in nanocrystalline Nd2(FeCo)14B/a-FeCo particles produced by spark erosion”, Applied Physics Letters, (2005), 86, 122507, 1-3.
