Content area
Full Text
This University of Pennsylvania researcher discusses the potential-and challenges-of nanotechnology for tribological applications.
Rob Carpick The Quick File:
Robert W. Carpick is the John Henry Towne Professor of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Since July 2011, he has served as chair of the department of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics. He holds a secondary appointment in the department of materials science and engineering and is a member of the Physics Graduate Group. Prior to joining UPenn in January 2007, Rob served on the faculty in the department of engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for seven years.
Rob works at the intersection of mechanics, materials and physics to conduct research into nanotribology (the atomic-scale origins of friction, adhesion, lubrication and wear), nanomechanics, nanostructured materials and scanning probe microscopy (SPM). His primary focus is on using SPM and other surface science and material characterization techniques to probe the fundamental nature of materials in contact and to apply the results to nanotechnology applications. Recently, he has focused extensively on the science and technology of ultra-hard, carbon-based thin films, including nanocrystalline diamond, ultra-thin materials such as graphene and materials under extreme conditions.
Rob was named fellow of the American Physical Society and American Vacuum Society in 2012 and 2014, respectively. He currently serves on the journal editorial boards of Tribology Letters and Advanced Materials Interfaces. He was the recipient of a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation in 2001 and was named Outstanding New Mechanics Educator by the American Society for Engineering Education in 2003. In 2009, he was the recipient of the Burt L. Newkirk Award of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is a co-recipient of an R&D 100 Award for the co-development of ultrananocrystalline diamond AFM probes in 2009. In addition, he served as the UPenn director of the Nanotechnology Institute (2007-2011), a multi-university, state-funded consortium that supports the commercialization of university research in nanotechnology. He has taught several invited short courses on nanomechanics and scanning probe microscopy. He also holds three patents and is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed archival papers.
Rob received his bachelor's of science degree with high distinction in physics from the University of Toronto in 1991 and his...