MRI: Acquisition of a Nanoindentation System for Advanced Materials Research and Education

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"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."This project will acquire a high capability nanoindentation system for research and education in advanced materials at Clarkson University. Nanoindentation is used to probe the mechanical properties of materials at the nano-size scale (approximately 10-7 to 10-9 meters). The system will include features needed to characterize a broad range of materials such as nanocrystalline alloys, polymer nanocomposite films and thin conducting films from metallic nanoparticle dispersion precursors. It will provide critical information about the behavior of materials for a variety of scientific and engineering challenges.The nanoindentation system will create new opportunities to integrate research, education, training and outreach. The ability to probe mechanical properties at nano-size scales is needed for films that are too thin to test using traditional methods and for other materials whose properties are engineered by manipulating their structure at these small length scales. This will immediately benefit projects at Clarkson and produce results that will be transferred to industrial partners through the Center for Advanced Materials Processing. This will benefit the economy in New York State and elsewhere by enhancing research that stimulates innovation in commercial products. The instrument will provide a new tool for industry researchers in northern New York; it will provide invaluable training opportunities for graduate students and be a resource for laboratory demonstrations for many undergraduate and graduate courses. Moreover, the system will enrich the research experience of a large number of undergraduate students, and strengthen outreach efforts focused on elementary, middle school and high school education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.