The History of Materials at Georgia Tech

The history of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech can be told, in part, through the evolution of its name. The current name being its third, the redefining of materials science education at Tech is a reflection of the advances in materials research and technology, the progression of industry needs, and the interdisciplinary nature of materials.

Materials Gets its Start at Georgia Tech
The early years

In 1924, during the advent of the kaolin industry, the School of Ceramic Engineering (CerE) was formed with a Bachelor of Science degree program. The same year, the School’s first director, Arthur Van Henry (pictured above), was appointed, serving from 1924 -1939. The establishment of the School was a reflection of Georgia’s growth in the ceramic and mineral industries and Georgia Tech’s prominence in engineering education.

In 1939, Professor W. Harry Vaughan became the School director. Before this appointment, he worked in collaboration with Professor Montgomery Knight of the School of Aerospace Engineering and Professor H.A. Bunger of the School of Chemical Engineering to establish the Engineering Experiment Station (EES), which began its first research projects in 1934. Now known as the Georgia Tech Research Institute, the research lab was expected to help Georgia develop its natural resources, industries, and commerce; and in addition, would assist with national programs of science, technology, and preparedness.

World War II rendered the School inactive, as members of the faculty served in the military; however, Lane Mitchell was named head of the Ceramic Engineering Department in 1941 and became the director in 1949.

Metallurgy Comes Into View
During the 1940s, Robert Raudenbaugh introduced metallurgy to the School’s curriculum—he was the only faculty member with this expertise at the time. He went on to the International Nickel Company and later became President of the American Society of Metals.

1950’s-1960’s

In 1959, the Metallurgy Program was established in the School of Chemical Engineering when Drs. Robert Hochman and Neils Engels joined the faculty. Hochman led significant research on metal dusting, a phenomenon in which metal essentially turns to dust. This research had a major impact on the types of materials that were used in the petrochemical industry where exposure to hydrocarbons was a problem.

Another major area of materials research during this period was the design of metallic alloys from first principles. By this time, theoretical work in quantum mechanics provided the necessary tools to guide such design. Engels helped to develop a theory for predicting the structure of alloys that was based on quantum mechanical concepts. This approach was widely accepted in the alloy development community and provided guidance for the development of improved nickel-base (Ni-base) alloys in the jet aircraft industry and other relevant industries.

The 1960s brought increased interest in metallurgy, and funding in the field began to expand. The School of Ceramic Engineering had also received a considerable amount of research funding, beginning in the 1950s, and was growing rapidly. In 1965, both the Metallurgy Program and Ceramic Engineering moved into the new Bunger-Henry Building. The Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering was approved in 1966.

In the mid 50’s to mid 60’s, a process for slip casting of high purity SiO2 to near net shape was developed by J.D. Walton, N. Poulous, and J. North, three graduates of the School of Ceramic Engineering. They were employed at the Engineering Experiment Station at the time this work was being carried out.  The material that they developed had very low shrinkage, good green strength, and could be sintered at approximately 1200C to avoid the damaging effects of cristobalite.  The material had a low coefficient of thermal expansion and was transparent to X-rays, making it ideal for nose cones of guided missiles as well as for molds for molten steel transfer.  Dozens of companies were formed that were based on this development.  

Dr. Robert “Bob” Hochman joined the School of Chemical Engineering in the early 60’s as the first faculty member in metallurgical engineering and established the Metallurgy Program within Chemical Engineering.  Bob, along with Michael Klett, a Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering, carried out significant research on “metal dusting,” which is a phenomenon in which metal essentially disintegrates (turns to dust).  Bob and Matt’s studies had a major impact on the types of materials that were used in the petrochemical industry where there was exposure to hydrocarbons.

In this period, one of the "hot" areas of materials research was design of metallic alloys from first principles. By this time, theoretical work in quantum mechanics such as the zone theory of metals and development of the Hume-Rothery rules for alloy design provided the necessary tools to guide such design.  Professors Neils Engels at Georgia Tech and Leo Brewer at the University of California, Berkeley, developed a theory for predicting the structure of alloys that was based on quantum mechanical concepts.  This approach was widely accepted in the alloy development community and provided guidance for the development of improved Ni-base alloys in the jet aircraft industry as well as others.  It also provided input to the development of computational schemes for precise compositional and phase control of alloys.  

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1970's-1980’s

The advent of the space age in the 1960s greatly increased the need for ceramic engineers to create spacecraft materials capable of withstanding the extreme environments of space. By the 1970s, the School was at the forefront of materials development throughout the world, engineering components for nuclear reactors, spacecraft, and electronic materials.

During this period, Professor Ed. Starke joined the faculty of the Metallurgy program and established a very strong research presence in the area of commercial aluminum alloys.  His efforts, unlike those of many researchers at the time, who concentrated on so-called "model" materials, were directed to applying basic physical metallurgy principles to understanding the mechanical behavior of commercial aluminum alloys.  This understanding of the basic processes was then used to "tweak" the composition and to modify heat treatments to improve mechanical behavior.  A strong cooperative relationship with the aluminum industry and government funding agencies was developed.  As this effort expanded, it gave rise to the establishment of the first interdisciplinary center at Georgia Tech, the Fracture and Fatigue Research Laboratory or FFRL, now known as the Mechanical Properties Research Laboratory or MPRL.  Many students graduated from this program and took top positions in industry, government labs and academia.  At this time pioneering work was done in the area of aluminum lithium alloys, which are lighter and in some cases stronger than conventional alloys. The first ever conference on Al-Li Alloys was held in Atlanta. Five additional such conferences were held at various locations around the world through the 70's, 80's and 90's. Dr. Starke went on to become the Dean of Engineering at the University of Virginia.

In the mid-70's to early 80's significant work was being done on the directional solidification of metal fibers in an oxide matrix by Ted Chapman and Joe Cochran, faculty members of the School of Ceramic Engineering.  The most important example of this research was in the tungsten-zirconia system in which tungsten wires 0.5mm were produced in a regular array in a zirconia matrix . This composite is used for low voltage field emitters, ideal for sources in scanning electron microscopy.  This work continues to the present under the direction of Dr. Norman Hill, a research faculty member in the School of Materials Science and Engineering.

During this period, Dr. Helen Grenga, a chemist by education, joined the faculty of the Metallurgy Program.  She was the first woman faculty member in the College of Engineering and served with distinction for many years.  Dr. Grenga left the Metallurgy Program in 1985 to become the Associate Dean for the Graduate School where she served for many years.  Dr. Grenga's appointment began a process at Georgia Tech that has led to more women faculty members and students than at any other major college of engineering in the United States.

In the late 70's into the 80's and 90's significant advances were made in equipment used to characterize materials. However, this equipment was in many instances underutilized, being used primarily to produce "pretty pictures.”  Dr. Ervin Underwood, a Professor in the Metallurgy Program, recognized the need to quantify structure if material behavior was to be fully understood and embarked upon developing techniques for doing this.  His work rested on taking complex mathematical concepts (e.g., fractal mathematics) and reducing them to techniques for fully characterizing parameters such as grain size, distribution, precipitate distribution, fracture surface roughness, etc.   This pioneering work was recognized in an Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Metallographic Society and has been advanced by researchers in the US, Europe and Asia.  This work is being continued and advanced by Dr. Arun Gokhale of the School of Materials Science and Engineering.  One of Dr. Underwood's Ph.D. students, Dr. Carolyn Meyers, became one of the first female faculty members in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech, accepting a position in the School of Mechanical Engineering after graduation.  Dr. Meyers later became the Associate Dean for Research at Georgia Tech and the Dean of Engineering at North Carolina A&T.

Dr. Larry Rehfield was doing work in composite materials at Tech in the School of Aerospace Engineering.  This work, some of which was done in cooperation with faculty members in Metallurgy and Ceramics, was based on the concept of "smart materials" that would undergo minor alterations in their shape in response to applied loading such that the structure (a rotary wing or control surface) would become more efficient.  These concepts were incorporated into advanced helicopter and fixed wing aircraft. 

Work on wear of metals (tribology) was being carried out in Mechanical Engineering by Dr. Ward Winer, the current Chair of Mechanical Engineering.  This work was also industrially oriented and the results had major implications for appropriate use of materials and processes in applications where wear is a primary concern.  The quality of this work was recognized in Dr. Winer's election to the National Academy of Engineering.

In the early 80's Dr. Stephen Antolovich joined the faculty of the Metallurgy Program from the University of Cincinnati (with strong ties to the General Electric Jet Engine Aircraft Group) and became Director of the Mechanical Properties Research Laboratory and Associate Director of the Metallurgy Program.  He initiated a very strong research program in the area of nickel base superalloys that are used in jet engines.  Strong collaborations were established with major jet engine producers in the US, UK and France as well as with major funding organizations in the US. At the same time, the MPRL expanded its interdisciplinary character and had researchers from most engineering units as well as from Emory medical school.  The quality of the program was recognized by students being NATO Fellows and by receiving prestigious fellowships from NASA and industry. Many former MPRL students now occupy top positions in academia, industry and government laboratories.

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1980's-1990's

This was a period of rapid growth and increasing visibility for materials at Georgia Tech on many fronts.  Faculty members were added, research at Tech became increasingly prominent, the School of Materials Science and Engineering was established, and an impact was starting to be made on undergraduate education at the national level.

Dr. Joe Cochran developed new processing techniques for producing virtually any kind of solid material in the form of microballoons.  Particular emphasis was placed on making small ceramic spheres with uniform wall thickness, density and diameter.  These materials are excellent insulators and energy absorbers.  They have been used in automobiles to provide energy -absorbing capacity in collapsible steering wheel columns and for head liners to minimize the effects of impact.

Georgia Tech's leadership in the area of Al alloys was reestablished when Dr. Tom Sanders joined the faculty from Purdue University with extensive experience at the Alcoa Technical Center.  A new research field was carved out by combining thermodynamics with the ever-more powerful numerical techniques that were coming on line to predict complex phase equilibria and to construct computed phase diagrams.  This work has proved to be pivotal in the economic development of alloys and heat treatments and represents, as do the other advances that were described, the Tech trademark approach of being "scientifically interesting and technologically important".   In addition to advancing the frontiers of research, a new conference was initiated by Dr. Sanders and Dr. Starke (now at the University of Virginia) to bring together the top researchers in the aluminum alloy field.  The first International Conference on Aluminum Alloys was held at the University of Virginia and the second one at Georgia Tech in 1996.  The eighth such conference is being held in 2004.

In addition to the strong effort in jet engine materials, high temperature research on materials used in the power generation industry was initiated by Dr. Ashok Saxena who joined the faculty from Westinghouse in the mid 80's.  This work significantly advanced the safety of conventional and nuclear power installations by developing new approaches to predicting crack extension and fracture in materials that exhibit significant plasticity.  Perhaps the most important aspect of this work was the development of a new mechanics-based parameter that could be used to correlate crack extension rates under creep conditions.  Dr. Saxena authored the graduate text, "Nonlinear Fracture Mechanics for Engineers" (CRC Press) in 1998 and was the editor of Volume 5 on Creep of a 10 Volume Reference set "Comprehensive Structural Integrity" published by Elsevier Press in 2003. The world -renowned National Symposium on Fracture Mechanics was organized by Profs. McDowell, Ernst, and Saxena in 1992, resulting in an ASTM book entitled "Fracture Mechanics: 22nd Symposium."  This work received substantial support from industry and government. Dr. Saxena became the second Director of the School of Materials Science and Engineering in 1992 and left Tech in 2003 to become Dean of Engineering at the University of Arkansas.

The School of Materials Science and Engineering was established in 1985 (then known as the School of Materials Engineering), with Prof. Stephen Antolovich becoming the first Director of the School. The School was formed through a combination of the Metallurgy Program and the School of Ceramic Engineering.  A new undergraduate degree program in materials engineering was established and eventually became the sole undergraduate degree after phasing out the B. Cer. Eng program.  This program was accredited by ABET in 1990 and in many ways served as the model for modern programs in the emerging materials field.  The program very rapidly became recognized for its high quality, with students winning prestigious scholarships and being named as outstanding seniors in the College of Engineering. 

The increased presence in undergraduate education was furthered by the publication of a text written by Georgia Tech faculty members entitled The Science and Design of Engineering Materials.  This text has been adopted by top departments in the US and Canada and has been translated into Spanish and Chinese.

Work in the MPRL, which is strongly associated with the School of MSE, increased its efforts in the areas of composites, biomaterials, and computational materials.  New advances were made in combining classical mechanics with numerical modeling to predict the detailed behavior of practical engineering materials under the direction of Dr. David McDowell, who divides his time between MSE and ME.  Work in high temperature materials has continued and expanded and a major effort has been on going in cooperation with NASA and various industrial members. This activity is particularly important since it is one of the very few places in the world where a student can be educated in the basics of materials used in the aerospace and power generation industries and at the same time gain an appreciation for the practical aspects by short visits and internships.  This research thrust has attracted students and visiting faculty from around the globe.

One of the Ph.D. graduates of the program, Dr. Andrew Hunt, along with Professors Joe Cochran and Brent Carter developed a new approach to producing thin oxide films via flame spray deposition.  This technique was based on dissolving the desired metallic component of an oxide in an organic solution and flame spraying onto a substrate.  A patent was granted to Drs. Hunt, Cochran and Carter and, based on this technique, Dr. Hunt founded a very successful company, nGimat that has employed over 150 people in the Atlanta area.  Dr. Hunt has been a very active and substantial supporter of the educational and research programs of the School and currently serves as the Chair of the External Advisory Board for the School.

Many new faculty members were recruited from other universities and industry during these years to develop research programs in the areas of nano materials, the effects of shock loading, ceramics, polymers, numerical modeling and advanced characterization techniques.  These faculty members have made their marks in advanced fuel cell technology, nano materials and processing and along with existing and former faculty have established the School of Materials Science and Engineering as one of the 10 best in the US, as judged by various ratings such as US News.

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1990's-2000's

In this period, the role of the School of MSE broadened to include increased emphasis on nano and biomaterials.  Dr. Robert Snyder joined the faculty as the Chair of MSE (the title of the head of the group was changed from Director to Chair in the mid-90's) from Ohio State in Jan of 2003 and has pursued a strategy of establishing Tech in a leadership role in the nano/bio and computational materials design fields. 

MSE faculty member Z.L. Wang, who joined Tech in 1996 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has made a number of dramatic breakthroughs.  Recently a series of binary semiconducting oxide nanobelts (or nanoribbons), such as ZnO, In2O3, Ga2O3, CdO and PbO2 and SnO2 have been successfully synthesized in Dr. Wang’s laboratory by evaporating the source compound in the presence of a catalyst (Science, 209 (2001) 1947) .  The nanobelts are an ideal system for fully understanding dimensionally confined transport phenomena in functional oxides and building functional devices along individual nanobelts. Over 20 media and professional society journals have reported this discovery, which became the most referenced paper in all of chemistry in 2001 and 2002.  Most recently, piezoelectric nanobelts and nanorings have been produced for applications as sensors, transducers and actuators in micro- and nano-electromechanical systems. 

Meilin Liu, as the director of the Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technologies has established the largest academic fuel cell group in the world.  This group has made dramatic advances in fuel cell technology, and Professor Liu holds 15 patents on these advances.

Rao Tummala and C.P. Wong have established the largest and most successful research effort on electronic packaging in the world as an NSF Engineering Research Center.  This center has as members essentially every major semiconductor company and it is responsible for the design of every modern electronic chip socket.

Z.L. Wang, R. F. Speyer and R. L. Snyder have established a world class capability for analyzing materials using electron scattering , X-ray analysis and thermal analysis.  Our developing Center for Nanostructure Characterization headed by Prof. Wang will soon rank as one of the best in the country.

Arun Gokhale, David McDowell, Hamid Garmestani, Mo Li and Naresh Thadhani are collaborating in establishing a center in Computational Materials Design aimed at bridging the length scales from the nano to the continuum.

Recently, Dr. Ken Sandhage joined the faculty from Ohio State and is pursuing the use of biological entities to manufacture preforms that can then be converted to materials of choice and sintered into desirable forms.  This work promises to revolutionize the way in which we view manufacturing and can lead to improvements in properties while at the same time making processing more economic.  Additional applications of nano materials might be in producing "hunter/killer" particles whose surface properties would make it possible for them to find "bad" cells and kill them by attachment and chemical modification. 

Summary

Only of few of Tech’s very important contributions to materials research and technology have been mentioned.  The significant achievements of former and existing faculty in advanced fuel cell technology, nanotechnology, bio-inspired manufacturing, photonics, light emitting diodes, electronic packaging, hypersonic materials, bionics, nanocomposites, light weight nano-actuators and nano-sensors and the next generation of personnel and aircraft protecting armor has already established MSE as one of the top ten best schools in the United States, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report.  As you can see, the School of Materials Science and Engineering has played a key role in the advancement of our technological society and is poised to make even more significant contributions in the years to come. 

contributed by
Stephen D. Antolovich
Professor Emeritus

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