Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM)

During the 2008 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference held in Washington, DC on November 20-23, 2008 UPRM PREM student Ronald Carrasquillo (Chemical Engineering) presented the poster titled “Development of an Alternative Aluminum Matrix Composite for Bearing Applications,” which was co-authored by undergraduate students Roberto Rivera (Chemical Engineering) and Yarimar Martínez (Industrial Engineering), […]

The National Science Foundation has recently awarded $5 millions to the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez for the establishment of a nanotechnology center focused on research and education of biomedical and energy-driven systems and applications. This five-year project, set to start on September 1st, is led by doctors Carlos Rinaldi, Arturo Hernández, […]

In July 2008 the Board of Directors of the Materials Research Society (MRS) has unanimously approved the establishment of an MRS chapter at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez (UPRM).

The American Society for Materials (ASM International) has named PREM professor, Dr. Kumar Sridharan a Fellow of the society. Dr. Sridharan is a distinguished research professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) Engineering Physics Department.

The summer of 2008 has become the most active season for outreach to diverse groups for the UPRM/UW PREM. Besides the scheduled research activities involving public high school teachers, this PREM partnered with other UPRM initiatives intended to attract and retain students interested in Engineering and Science.
In early July five teachers from Mayagüez, Cabo […]

The doping of MgB2 precast material with 2 at.% and 5 at.% TaB2 under varying high energy processing ball milling conditions with Pulverisete-4 and Spex mills was carried in order to investigate critical current enhancement condition. Higher critical current densities were achieved with the 5 at.% TaB2-doped MgB2 than with the 2 at.% doped MgB2. […]

Cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) possesses excellent chemical stability, good mechanical hardness and a large positive first order crystalline anisotropy constant, making it a promising candidate for magneto-optical recording media. In addition to the precise control on the composition and structure of the ferrite, the success of its practical application relies on the capability of controlling […]

The ability to perform quantum simulations of materials properties over length scales that are relevant to experiments represents a grand challenge in computational materials science.

We study the non-abelian quantum Hall effect, a spectrum gap is established to protect topological degenerating Pfaffian states, which may have novel applications in quantum computing.

Scientific and technological progress of our society demands the development of new materials as well as the optimization of the properties in those materials of actual use; materials–related issues are present in all types of industries. Therefore, the formation of professionals with an effective background in the understanding of science and engineering concepts behind materials […]

Three posters presented by University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez PREM students during the TMS Annual Meeting held in New Orleans in March 2008 received First Prizes during the poster competition. The corresponding departmental affiliation of the students reflects the inherent interdisciplinary nature that has fostered this PREM project.

In this paper we have reported development and evaluation of a miniaturized, inexpensive and battery operated ultra-sensitive nanomaterial based fluorescence resonance energy transfer (NSET) probe shown in Figure 1.

Contamination of the environment with mercury has been an important concern throughout the world for decades. Human exposure to high Hg levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system of people of all ages.

The achievements of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez PREM were highlighted in the January 25th, 2007 issue of El Nuevo Día (END). This is the largest Puerto Rican newspaper (est. circulation 250,000) and one of the largest Hispanic dailies in the US. The article titled “Fascinated by the Future Made Present” was also incorporated in […]

UPRM PREM Prof. Carlos Rinaldi who in 2006 received the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award was one of the 20 NSF nominees who received the US government’s highest honor for scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers: The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

The Material Advantage Chapter of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM), founded under the auspice of UPRM PREM, received a spotlight on the October 2007 issue of JOM. This is published by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and is distributed globally. The 2-column spotlight underscores the impact of the UPRM chapter on advancing awareness […]

In October – December 2007, PREM will bring Strange Matter to Casa Roig Museum Humacao, Puerto Rico.
See more details at prem.uprh.edu

Poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (pNIPAM) undergoes a sharp property change in response to a moderate temperature drop. When the polymer is maintained above its lower critical solution temperature (LCST, ~32 °C), most biological cells are observed to adhere. However, below its LCST, confluent cell sheets are found to detach intact–and without the use of harsh treatments usually […]

Images of H. marina 37 degrees Centigrade

We reproduce the recent experimentally discovered odd integer quantum Hall effect in graphene
The bottom image reveals a stripe order and symmetry broken state in higher Dirac Landau levels
Small projects involved in this research are used in a new course taught at CSUN by Dr. Sheng (PHYS 466) for undergraduate students, where […]