An overview of recent research at the Nano Mechanics and Tribology Laboratory will be presented first, followed by detailed discussions on the work related to nano-engineered surfaces (NESs) fabricated by aluminum-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon and their applications. NESs are surfaces engineered with nanoscale topographies and/or chemistries. NESs have great potential to be applied to many applications. For example, they can be used to improve tribological properties, including stiction/adhesion and friction in micro-electro-mechanical systems, to change the wetting properties of surfaces for anti-fogging and self-cleaning applications, and to facilitate cell adhesion and growth in tissue engineering. Since this field is still in its infancy, many fundamental issues, including fabrication and understanding of the properties of the NESs, remain to be investigated before these applications can be fully realized.

Biographical sketch: Dr. Zou is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a faculty member of microEP program at the University of Arkansas. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1999 and worked at Seagate Technology prior to joining the University of Arkansas in 2003. Dr. Zou’s current research interests are in the areas of nano-surface-engineering, nanotribology, and nanomechanics. She currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Journal of Multidiscipline Modeling in Materials and Structures and the Open Mechanical Engineering Journal. Dr. Zou’s research has been recognized by several awards including the NSF CAREER Award (2007), the Best Paper Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2007), and Walter D. Hodson Best Paper Award from the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (2001).

联系人： 摩擦学国家重点实验室    邵天敏     电话  83160      shaotm@tsinghua.edu.cn