Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials

Research Publications Funding Group Members

Magnetic, electronic, optical and structural properties of nanomaterials

Nanoscience and nanotechnology have become commonplace in many emerging technologies, including magnetics, electronics, photonics, biomaterials, medicine, ultrafiltration, as well as energy collection and storage. The field provides huge potential to benefit diverse areas, such as drug development, water filtration and decontamination, information and communication technologies, and the production of  new materials with superior optical, electrical, magnetic, and mechanical properties. Over the past 4 decades, techniques to achieve structures at the nanoscale have become increasingly more advanced and effective. However, the hope for further reduction in feature sizes, as well as the ease of fabrication beyond those provided by conventional fabrication techniques, has prompted the exploration of novel techniques and strategies.

Baruth in front of array

PI: Andrew Baruth, Ph.D.

Andrew Baruth, PhD | Creighton University (Featured Scholar)

Associate Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Physics

office: 402.280.2644
lab: 402.280.2867
fax: 402.280.2140
mobile:
402.819.3983
email

Baruth CV
Calendar

Teaching

Spring 2022

PHY 202: General Physics II

PHY 491/791: Physics Seminar

ERG 582: Energy Innovation Project 2

Fall 2021

PHY 201: General Physics I

PHY 621: Graduate Electricity and Magnetism

ERG 581: Energy Innovation Project 1

Fall 2020 - Spring 2021

Sabbatical

Spring 2019

ERG 361: Energy Internship

ERG/PHY 591: Seminar in Engineering

ERG 582: Energy Innovation Project 2

Fall 2018

ERG 213: 3-Dimensional Design

ERG 251/595: Introduction to Material Science

ERG 581: Energy Innovation Project 1

Spring 2018

PHY 201: General Physics for the Life Sciences

ERG 520: Introduction to Solar Energy

PHY 571: Condensed Matter Physics

Fall 2017

PHY 202: General Physics for the Life Sciences II

ERG 131: Installation and Maintenance of Photovoltaic Systems

PHY 621: Graduate Electricity and Magnetism

Spring 2017

PHY 202: General Physics for the Life Sciences II

ERG 251: History and Material Science of the Modern World

ERG 521: Introduction to Photovoltaic Materials

Fall 2016

PHY 201: General Physics for the Life Sciences

ERG 131: Installation and Maintenance of Photovoltaic Systems

ERG 520: Introduction to Solar Energy

Spring 2016

ERG 251: The Stuff of History: Materials That Have Shaped Our World (CANCELLED)

ERG 521: Introduction to Photovoltaic Materials

Fall 2015

PHY 201: General Physics for the Life Sciences

ERG 131: Installation and Maintenance of Photovoltaic Systems

ERG 520: Introduction to Solar Energy

RSP 101: Introduction to the Culture of Collegiate Life

Spring 2014

PHY 491: Physics Seminar

PHY 595: Introduction to Material Science

ERG 521: Introduction to Photovoltaic Materials

Fall 2014

PHY 201: General Physics for Life Sciences

ERG 131: Installation and Maintenance of Photovoltaic Systems

ERG 520: Introduction to Solar Energy

Spring 2014

PHY 491: Physics Seminar

ERG 251: History and Material Science of the Modern World

ERG 521: Introduction to Photovoltaic Materials

Fall 2013

PHY 591: Seminar in Engineering

ERG 131: Installation and Maintenance of Photovoltaic Systems

ERG 321: Introduction to Solar Energy

RSP 101: An Introduction to the Culture of Collegiate Life

Summer 2013

Convection and Passive Solar Energy Systems

Spring 2013

PHY 211: General Physics I

ERG 251: History and Material Science of the Modern World

Fall 2012

PHY 212: General Physics II

PHY 212 LM: General Physics: Honor's Lab

PHY 591: Seminar in Engineering

Group News!
5/8/22: Congratulations to longtime group member Max Markuson DiPrince for winning the Dr. Michael Cherney Award for Undergraduate Research and Congratulations on your graduation!!
Max and DrB
 
4/25/22: In a herculean effort, the Energy Innovation course (taught and led by Dr B) - including Max Markuson DiPrince, Alex Webert, Emma Goldsmith and Ashley Nelson - beat out 63 collegiate teams for FIRST PLACE Pitch Presentation and FIRST PLACE District Use Case in the DOE Solar District Cup Challenge!! https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-district-cup
District Solar Cup Students
DOE Team
4/22: Max Markuson DiPrince and Natalie Schwartzenberger present at the Nebraska Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting in Lincoln, NE. They gave their final presentations to describe their NASA Space Grant Awards. "Virtual Reality for Physics Education" and "Observing the Hydrothermal Degradation Synthesis of D-Glucose Derived Carbon Nanodots and their Fluorescent Properties"
 
2/22: Dr B presents "Putting a New Spin on Magnetic Topology," detailing his sabbatical work on magnetic skyrmions.
 
12/21: Dr B and former student (finally) publish their work on CAD/CAM polymer infiltrated ceramic network restoration, which prominently features AFM from the Baruth lab!
 
8/21: Grace Dirks presents on "Creating, Detecting, and Analyzing Magnetic Skyrmions" for the Nebraska Materials Research Science and Engineering Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. Most impressive!!
 
3/21: Max Markuson DiPrince presents at the (virtual) APS March Meeting and is invited to speak at the Nebraska Academy of Sciences! Glucose-Derived Carbon Nanodots in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells to Increase External Quantum Efficiency
 
11/18/20: Dr. Baruth publishes in AJCU Connections on the Heartland Jesuit Physics Retreat
A group of attendees at the annual Heartland Jesuit Physics Retreat held at Creighton University in November 2019 (photo courtesy of Andrew G. Baruth)
 
6/20 - 6/21: Dr. Baruth gives several invited talks as part of his sabbatical, including a Virtual Solar Farm Tour for Conservation Nebraska, Putting a New Spin on Magnetic Topology, and Directed Self Assembly: A New Frontier for Nanolithography.
 
6/20 - 6/21: Dr. Baruth gives a variety of demo shows around the Omaha Metro, as Covid allows
Banana Hammer
 
6/20 - 6/21: Dr. Baruth received the Dr. and Mrs. Haddix Research Incubator Sabbatical Fellowship and will be taking a sabbatical from Creighton to work at the University of Nebraska with Prof. Shireen Adenwalla on detecting and controlling spin textures with high frequency strain.
 
5/12/20: New manuscript with the dental materials collaboration in the European Journal of Oral Sciences. Influence of 38% silver diamine fluoride application on bond stability to enamel and dentin using universal adhesives in self‐etch mode. https://doi.org/10.1111/eos.12701
 
5/6/20: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many scheduled talks were canceled. This includes: Max Marcussen DiPrince, A. Baruth. Implementing Glucose-Derived Carbon Nanodots in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells to Improve Efficiency. Nebraska Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting, Lincoln, NE (2020). Invited. Max Marcussen DiPrince, A. Baruth. Implementing Glucose-Derived Carbon Nanodots in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells to Improve Efficiency. CURAS “3 Minutes to Win It” Competition (2020). https://youtu.be/vHv-t4xz7oU?list=PLUorRzvCSXPhqKRb5ZCA24U6CKTGsS1ie. Max Marcussen DiPrince, Harsh Uppala, Grace Dirks, Logan Smith, John Vosicky, A. Baruth. Glucose-Derived Carbon Nanodots in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells to Increase Efficiency. March Meeting of the American Physical Society, Denver, CO. (2020).
 
4/19/20: Energy Technology seniors take home 3rd place in the DOE District Solar Cup. Ball State University: District Use Case. Congratulations to Isaac Lamppa, Bridget Slavin, Nathan Adams, Logan Smith, Nick Dinaro, and Jimmy Connors. Advised by Andrew Baruth and Colin Thomas. https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-district-cup
 
4/1/20: Dr. Baruth contributes a book chapter on Solvent Vapor Annealing in the text Self-Assembly of Polymers, edited by Volodkin and Vikulina. MDPI Micromachines.
 
12/8/19: New manuscript in the journal of Jesuit Higher Education.
Ignatian Pedagogy for Sustainability to Support Community-based Projects: Client-focused Sustainable Energy Solutionshttps://epublications.regis.edu/jhe/vol8/iss2/10/
 
12/3/19: Central High students Emily Engel, Noor Himdan and Keren Lopez present their work with Dr. Baruth on Copper Sulfide.
 
10/28/19: Colin Thomas '19 and Dr. Baruth present at the annual Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education meeting in Spokane, WA.
 
10/27/19: Dr. Baruth is interviewed for the Creightonian ("Energy competition saves metric tons") about the results of the residence hall energy reduction campaign.
 
10/4/19: Dr. Baruth receives the Spirit of St. Francis Award, which recognizes excellence in campus sustainability.
 
9/26/19: Dr. Baruth is interviewed for the Creightonian ("Residence halls compete to save energy") about the residence hall energy reduction campaign.
 
5/17/19: New manuscript with collaborations from former students Nick Fischer and Jon Dang between the Creighton College of Arts and Sciences, Creighton Dental, and Nihon University was published in the Journal of Microscopy Research and Techniques.
The role of spatial frequency analysis in correlating atomic force microscopy and optical profilometry with self-etch adhesive enamel bond fatigue durability. Nicholas G. Fischer, Jonathan Dang, Toshiki Takamizawa, Akimasa Tsujimoto, Wayne W. Barkmeier, Andrew G. Baruth.

5/8/19: New manuscript with collaborations from former students Jeffrey Wong, Nick Fischer, Shrestha Samuel and Emily Johnson between the Creighton College of Arts and Sciences, Creighton Dental, and Nihon University was published in the Journal of Operative Dentistry.
Enamel Etching for Universal Adhesives: Examination of Enamel Etching Protocols for Optimization of Bonding Effectiveness
J Wong, A Tsujimoto, NG Fischer, AG Baruth, WW Barkmeier, EA Johnson, SM Samuel, T Takamizawa, MA Latta, M Miyazaki.

4/29/19: The Energy Innovation class is featured on Fox42 News for their assistance with OPPD's Community Solar Program!

Fox42

2/11/19: New manuscript with collaborations from former student Nick Fischer, Creighton College of Arts and Sciences, Creighton Dental, and Nihon University is now available in the Journal of Operative Dentistry.
Effect of Reduced Universal Adhesive Application Time on Enamel Bond Fatigue and Surface Morphology. Y Nagura, A Tsujimoto, NG Fischer, AG Baruth, WW Barkmeier, T Takamizawa, MA Latta, and M Miyazaki.

1/10/19:  Dr. B teaches AP Chem at Omaha Central High about block polymers and the physics behind self-assembly. Go Eagles!

10/26/18:  Manuscript is accepted for Journal of Operative Dentistry

Enamel etching for universal adhesives: Examination of enamel etching protocols for optimization of bonding effectiveness. Jeffrey Wong, Akimasa Tsujimoto, Nicholas Fischer, Andrew Baruth, Wayne Barkmeier, Emily Johnson, Shrestha Samuel, Toshiki Takamizawa, Mark Latta, Masashi Miyazaki.

5/29/18:  Manuscript is accepted for a Special Issue on Directed Assembly of Polymers in Micromachines. 

Development of a High-Precision Solvent Vapor Annealing Chamber for Polymer Thin Films. G. Nelson, C. Drapes, R. Gnabasik, M. Grant, J. Wong, A. Baruth.

Micromachines Abstract

Summer 2018: John Sunderland receives an REU at the University of Minnesota's MRSEC! Son Nguyen is the recipient of a Ferlic Summer Research Scholarship to investigate optical techniques for determining the order-to-disorder transition in block polymers.

5/12/18: Congratulations to graduating seniors from the nanomaterials group: Jeffrey Wong, Gunnar Nelson and Jon Dang. Jeffrey will be pursuing a masters degree in Medical Physics from Creighton, Gunnar Nelson will be pursuing a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Minnesota, and Jon Dang will be attending the Creighton University Dental School for his DDS.

4/25/18: The ERG 520 course presents their solar feasibility studies to their clients: No More Empty Pots, St. Paul's Methodist Church and Creighton University's Office of Sustainability. Well done!

3/21/18: Dr. B, along with students Nicholas Fischer and Jeffrey Wong, present at the American Association of Dental Research National Conference in sunny Ft. Lauderdale. Nick presented his work on gingival fibroblast adhesion on CAD/CAM Zirconia surfaces and Jeff presented on the effect of enamel pre-etchants on surface morphology and bond strength.

Jeff and DrB AADRNick and DrB - AADR

2/5/18: Dr. B receives the 2018 "IGGY" Award. Affectionately named after Jesuit founder St. Ignatius, the IGGY Award is sponsored by the Creighton University Office of Retention and is awarded to outstanding freshman mentors, counselors, advocates and role models.

1/5/18:  Manuscript is accepted for Journal of Operative Dentistry. 

Effect of Reduced Application Time of Universal Adhesives on Enamel Bond Fatigue Durability and Surface Morphology. Tsujimoto, Akimasa / Nagura, Yuko/ Fischer, Nicholas / Baruth, Andrew / Barkmeier, Wayne / Takamizawa, Toshiki / Latta, Mark / Miyazaki, Masashi.

7/4/17:  Manuscript is accepted for Journal of Operative Dentistry. 

Effects of polishing bur application force and re-use on sintered zirconia surface topography. Nicholas Fischer, Akimasa Tsujimoto, Andrew Baruth. Journal of Operative Dentistry.

12/13/17: Son Nguyen '19 and Dr. B are featured in the "Wait... What?" section of the latest Creighton Magazine edition. 

11/27/17: Manuscript featuring Nicholas Fischer '17 and Jeffrey Wong '18 is accepted for the special edition: Dental Implant Materials in the journal Materials.

http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/10/12/1358
11/17/17: Dr. Baruth presents "Directed Self Assembly: A New Frontier for Nanolithography" for the University of Nebraska - Kearney's Chemistry Department Seminar Series.
 
11/5/17: The ERG 131 course finishes the second EnergiPlant! Now located near the Harper Center! Here's some press:

10/28/17: The Creighton University Energy Club presented “Solar Energy 101” at the Smart Energy Talks - http://www.omaha.com/events/smart-energy-talks/

8/17/17: Dr. B hosts the annual Energy Technology Retreat. A yearly favorite, solar panel cleaning!

Solar Array Wash

7/4/17:  Manuscript is accepted for Journal of Operative Dentistry. 

Effects of polishing bur application force and re-use on sintered zirconia surface topography. Nicholas Fischer, Akimasa Tsujimoto, Andrew Baruth. Journal of Operative Dentistry.

6/30/17: Figure selected for Cover Art in this month's Journal of Adhesive Dentistry!
Journal of Adhesive Dentistry

June 2017: Dr. B visits the University of Sydney!

Baruth_Australia

5/13/17: Nick Fischer receives "Spirit of Creighton" Award. The highest honor Creighton bestows upon any of its graduates. Well deserved Nick!!

Nick Fischer Graduation

5/13/17: Congratulations to present and past group members Meagan Grant, Nicholas Fischer, Rachel Pham and Jack Widmer as they receive their degrees! Best of luck!

 Meagan and Dr B

5/11/17: Manuscript is accepted for Journal of Adhesive Dentistry. 

  • Effect of Reduced Phosphoric Acid Pre-etching Times on Enamel Surface Characteristics and Shear Fatigue Strength Using Universal Adhesives. Tsujimoto, Akimasa / Fischer, Nicholas / Barkmeier, Wayne / Baruth, Andrew / Takamizawa, Toshiki / Latta, Mark / Miyazaki, Masashi. Journal of Adhesive Dentistry 19 (2017), No. 3  (30.06.2017), Page 267-275
  • doi:10.3290/j.jad.a38437

4/23/17: Annual group dinner at Dr. Baruth's house and a fond farewell to seniors Meagan Grant, Nick Fischer and Jack Widmer.

Group Picture 2017

4/21/17: Nick Fischer, Ben Marcussen, Gunnar Nelson, Meagan Grant and John Sunderland present at the 2017 Nebraska Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting. Good showing!

4/19/17: Nick Fischer and Jack Widmer present their research at Creighton University Honor's Day. Nick is presented with the Honor's Award for Research!!

4/2/17: Dr. Baruth presents at the invited symposium "Frontiers in Nanoscience" at the ACS Spring Meeting in San Francisco.

Baruth ACS 2017

3/30/17: Nick Fischer (oral), Son Nguyen, John Sunderland, Isaac Lammpa, Jack Widmer, Meagan Grant and Gunnar Nelson present posters on their research at Creighton University Research Day.

3/22/17: Nick Fischer presents at the International Association of Dental Research meeting in San Francisco in the distinguished, invite-only Frechette Award Session in prosthedonics. Nick was runner-up.

3/15/17: Meagan Grant and Gunnar Nelson present their research at the APS March Meeting in New Orleans.

12/21/16: Hannah Okelberry represents the ERG 131 class in her description of creating the new EnergiPlant! https://ccas.creighton.edu/news/solar-structure-home-quad
Students and EnergiPlant

12/21/16: Baruth lab alumna Erin Cheese '15 featured in the Creighton Magazine for her work at DoE's SunShot! 

Erin Cheese

12/20/16: Students from ERG 131 are featured in OPPD's "The Wire" http://oppdthewire.com/creighton-oppd-students-solar-plant/

12/12/16: Nick Fischer's abstract was selected to give an oral presentation at this year's International Association of Dental Research annual meeting in San Francisco!

11/6/16: Students from ERG 131 complete the EnergiPlant, an integrated wind and solar-powered USB charging station that looks much like a sunflower. The plant resides on Creighton's campus between the Eppley and Hitchcock buildings.

11/1/16: Nick Fischer has been selected as a finalist for the International Association of Dental Research Frechette Award Competition. The two Frechette award winners will be decided on the scientific merit from their manuscript and their oral presentation of the research at the upcoming San Francisco meeting in March. Good luck Nick!

10/24/16: Dr. Baruth gives a seminar for the physics department at St. Benedictine in Atchison, KS on directed self-assembly of block polymers and their use in nanolithography.

10/12/16: We were thrilled to have alum Erin Cheese, Sun Shot Fellow with the Department of Energy in Washington DC, back in Omaha to present "DOE's National Community Solar Partnership." The presentation was sponsored by the Creighton Energy Club, Nebraskans for Solar and Green Bellevue. Welcome home Erin!

9/30/16: Dr. Baruth hosts Stephanie Huettner and Julie Anderson, Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo, as part of a panel discussion, including Creighton faculty and students, to present on sustainability iniatives at the Zoo.

9/21/16: Dr. Baruth hosts Dr. Kneifel, Applied Economist from NIST Gaithersburg, to present a guest lecture "Measuring Sustainability in Buildings" as part of Creighton's annual Spirit of St. Francis celebration.

9/20/16: Dr. Baruth is named Teacher of the Week by the Theta Eta Chapter of the Delta Zeta Sorority. Thanks Ladies!

9/16/16: Dr. Baruth is invited to give a talk at the ACS Spring Meeting in San Fransisco for the session "Frontiers in Nanoscience"

9/1/16: Dr. Baruth is named President of the American Association of Physics Teachers - Nebraska Chapter.

8/15/16 - 8/19/16: Dr. Baruth heads up the annual Energy Technology Retreat at the Creighton Retreat Center in Griwsold, IA.

8/11/16: Summer research students participate in the Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium, hosted by Dr. Baruth and CURAS.

8/1/16: Dr. Baruth is featured in the The Green Scene section of The Reader for their August Issue. The article can be found on page 49.

Summer 2016: Teresa Kooima and Meagan Grant were invited to write sustainable energy curriculum for K-6 students for after school programming at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo! Their 3rd grade curriculum will be piloted in Spring 2017.

Summer 2016: OPPD-funded Summer research internships for incoming students are announced. Welcome Isaac Lammpa, Joseph Gray and Talia Adamowicz!

Summer 2016: Gunnar Nelson is invited to participate in a summer REU at the University of Minnesota's Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. Go get 'em!

6/6/16: Dr. Baruth presents a demo show for the grant "Building Bridges: Health Science Education in Native American Communities." This is part of the Science Education Partnership Award of the NIH.

6/2/16: Nick Fischer is the recipient of the Dr. John F. Sheehan Scholarship, awarded for his "excellence in research."

5/23/16: OPPD-funded Summer Interns in the Creighton Energy Technology program are announced: Meagan Grant, John Sunderland, Teresa Kooima, Will Jakubowski, Colin Thomas and Sierra Brown.

5/14/16: Congratulations to Graduating Seniors Ala'a Rayyan and Anton Yanchilin! Ala'a is considering Architectural Engineering programs and Anton will be moving to Boston. Best of luck!

5/12/16: Dr. Baruth received a CURAS faculty research grant to support Nick's work, Influence of Clinically Relevant CAD/CAM Zirconia Abutment Modification on Gingival Fibroblast Viability, Adhesion, and Normal Proliferation.

4/24/16: Annual Group Party, "A Vacation for the 'Buds'!"

2016 Group

4/24/16: Nick Fischer was awarded BEST ORAL PRESENTATION in the Clinical Sciences Category at Creighton University Research Day. This was based on his talk "Comparing Self-Etch Adhesives with Atomic Force Microscopy and Optical Profilometry." NICE!!

4/22/16: Nick Fischer was awarded the "Outstanding Undergraduate Research in Biomedical Sciences Award" from the Nebraska Medical Center, based on his presentation and abstract for the Nebraska Academy of Sciences annual meeting. Incredible!!

4/22/16: Chloe Drapes, Nick Fischer, Meagan Grant and Gunnar Nelson presented at this year's annual meeting of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences. 

4/12/16: Nick Fischer (oral and poster), Chloe Drapes, Meagan Grant and Gunnar Nelson present posters on their research at Creighton University Research Day.

3/19/16: Nick Fischer presented the poster "Comparing Self-Etch Adhesives with Atomic Force Microscopy and Optical Profilometry" at the American Association of Dental Research Annual Meeting in Los Angeles! https://aadr2016.zerista.com/poster/member/55712

3/18/16: Anton Yanchilin presented his poster "The Energy of Climate Change Activism" at Loyola University Chicago’s third annual Climate Change Conference

3/16/16:  Dr. Baruth presented on "Effects of ultra-fast solvent evaporation in solvent vapor annealed cylinder-forming block polymer thin films" at the APS March Meeting in Baltimore
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR16/Session/V33.6

3/16/16:  Chloe Drapes and Gunnar Nelson presented their posters "The role of ultra-fast solvent evaporation on the directed self-assembly of block polymer thin films" and "Towards ultra-fast solvent evaporation, the development of a computer controlled solvent vapor annealing chamber" at the APS March Meeting in Baltimore!
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR16/Session/M1.50
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR16/Session/M1.51

3/12/16: Nick Fischer receives the 2016 Honors Program Summer Research Scholarship based on his research proposal entitled "Influence of Clinically Relevant CAD/CAM Zirconia Abutment Modification on Gingival Fibroblast Viability, Adhesion, and Normal Proliferation." WOW!

2/22/16: The project "lmpact 1.7 Million: Zoo Produces Solar Electricity for the Public to Experience" was selected for funding by the Nebraska Environment Trust. The project includes the installation of 40kW of solar electricity at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. Creighton Energy Technology students will aid in developing solar electricity curriculum and public information guides to accompany the new installation.

1/13/16: The nanomaterials group welcomes new group members Christopher Landis (Quantum Efficiency), John Sunderland (Sulfide Thin Films) and Ben Marcussen (Sulfide Thin Films). Welcome!

12/18/15: First-year students Sierra Brown, Mafer Correa and Teresa Kooima, under the guidance of Dr. Baruth and senior Energy Technology Students, designed a solar powered mobile hospital unit for Afua, Nigeria in consulation with Dr. Ekpenyong. The plans are scheduled for implementation on site over the holiday break.

12/15/15: Dr. Baruth won the Sarpy County Board’s support for an effort to study the costs and obstacles associated with building a utility scale solar farm on an old Sarpy County Landfill along Cedar Island Road in Bellevue. The project was recently featured in the Bellevue Leader.

12/9/15: Students from ERG 520: Introduction to Solar Energy present their final feasibility studies for a solar array to the new director and campus coordinator of the MICAH house.

11/19/15: Dr. Baruth gives a crash course in solar energy to Omaha Central's Engineering Group. The short course ended with a hands on look at Creighton's 85 kW solar array.

11/4/15: Dr. Baruth and solar students featured in Omaha World Herald.

10/14/15: OPPD agrees to renew sponsorship of the Energy Technology Program and undergraduate research in the nanomaterials lab at Creighton.

10/9/15: Dr. Baruth visits Doane College in Crete, NE to discuss careers in physics and academia.

9/22/15: Gunnar Nelson presents his poster "Time Dependence of Self-Assembly in Block Polymer Thin Films" for the 2015 Dr. Randolph M. and Teresa Kolars Ferlic Research Scholar Symposium.

9/21/15: Anton Yanchilin accepts a Marketing Internship with *sparkCleanEnergy

9/14/15: Dr. Baruth is selected to be a featured alumni for the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience:
http://www.unl.edu/ncmn/alumni

8/18/15: Dr. Baruth publishes in Journal of Applied Physics on "Isothermal tuning of magnetic coercivity in NiFe/NiO/[Co/Pt] heterostructures with orthogonal easy axes"
http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/118/9/10.1063/1.4929760

8/17/15 - 8/21/15: Dr. Baruth heads up the annual Energy Technology Retreat at Carol Joy Holling Center.

7/22/15: Congratulations to Gunnar Nelson for receiving a NASA Space Grant Fellowship!

7/13/15: Dr. Baruth, along with Michael Watras, Colin Thomas, Sierra Brown, Keelan Okazaki and Meagan Grant, hosted a Boy Scouts of America merit badge clinic for the Energy and Engineering merit badges. 25 youth attended.

7/6/15: The Nanomaterials Group welcomes incoming first year students Michael Watras, Colin Thomas and Sierra Brown. Welcome!

5/16/15: Congratulations to Graduating Seniors Erin Cheese and Ryan Gnabasik! You will be missed! Ryan is pursuing a Ph.D. in Material Science at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and Erin was just accepted as a Junior Fellow with the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot Fellowship Program in Washington, D.C.

Ryan and Erin

5/15/15: Recipient of the Dean's Award for Outstanding Senior... Erin Cheese!

5/14/15: Dr. Baruth presents on the "States of Matter: How Solid is a Solid?" to the Jesuit Academy.

Jesuit Academy

Summer '15: Ala'a Rayyan will be working at Iowa State University  in the Microscale Sensing Actuation and Imaging Center (MoSAIC) in the College of Engineering.

Summer '15: Anton Yanchilin will be working at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in the NASA/APL Internship Program.

Anton at REU

4/27/15: The nanomaterials group welcomes Meagan Grant, Jeffrey Wong and Keelan Okasaki to the group. Meagan and Jeffery will be working on block polymer thin films, starting this summer. Keelan will be studying surface structures of dental materials, also starting this summer. Welcome!

4/25/15: Ryan Gnabasik is awarded the Sam Cipolla award for excellence in physics research. Well deserved!

4/25/15: Erin Cheese is awarded for her service and scholarship in the Energy Technology program. Yay!

4/17/15: Ryan Gnabasik, Erin Cheese, Anton Yanchilin and Gunnar Nelson present at the Nebraska Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting in Lincoln, NE.

4/15/15: Nick Fischer and Anton Yanchilin present their research at Creighton University Honors Day!

4/14/15: Ala'a Rayyan, Karen Sass and Anton Yanchilin receive the award for Best Poster in the Basic Sciences category at Creighton University Research Day. Way to go!

4/14/15: Ala'a Rayyan, Karen Sass, Nick Fischer, Anton Yanchilin, Chloe Drapes, Gunnar Nelson, and Ryan Gnabasik present posters at Creighton University Research Day.

4/10/15: Group members Erin Cheese, Ryan Gnabasik and Gunnar Nelson discuss research in the nanomaterials lab with the Creighton University Energy Technology Program Industry Advisory Council.

3/23/15: Group members Erin Cheese, Ryan Gnabasik and Anton Yanchilin participate in a panel discussion on the Creighton University Energy Technology Program.

Nebraskans for Solar

3/6/15: Gunnar Nelson is a 2015 recipient of the Ferlic Undergraduate Summer Research Scholarship. Way to go Gunnar!

3/4/15: Dr. Baruth presents on "Isothermal tuning of magnetic coercivity in NiFe/NiO/[Co/Pt] heterostructures with orthogonal easy axes" at the APS March Meeting in San Antonio http://meeting.aps.org/Meeting/MAR15/Session/Q30.8

3/3/15: Ryan Gnabasik is a finalist for "Best Poster Award" at the APS March Meeting in San Antonio

3/3/15: Ryan Gnabasik, Gunnar Nelson and Chloe Drapes present their poster "Investigation of solvent annealing time dependence on morphology formation in polystyrene-block-polylactide thin films" at the APS March Meeting in San Antonio
http://meeting.aps.org/Meeting/MAR15/Session/P1.275

1/20/15: Dr. Baruth publishes in ACS Nano on "Size-Tuned ZnO Nanocrucible Arrays for Magnetic Nanodot Synthesis via Atomic Layer Deposition-Assisted Block Polymer Lithography." http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn505731n

1/14/15: Ala'a Rayyan, Karen Sass and Chloe Drapes join the Nanomaterials Research Group. Welcome!

12/19/14: Dr. Baruth is the 2014 recipient of the Nebraska EPSCoR FIRST Award for "Directed Self-Assembly of Block Polymer Thin Films Via Solvent Vapor Annealing."

12/4/14: Dr. Baruth is recognized by the Theta Eta Chapter of the Delta Zeta Sorority as this week's outstanding teacher.

11/16/14: Erin Cheese presented a poster on “Thin Film Photovoltaics Response to Heat on Various Substrates” and received 3rd place in the student section of the sustainability division at the 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChe) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. Under the guidance of her REU supervisor, Dr. Ruth Douglas Miller of Kansas State University, she installed 14 Copper-Indium-Gallium-Sulfide (CIGS) thin film solar panels on a flat white roof and compared their performance for hot and cool days with traditional silicon panels. She also worked to set-up a remote monitoring system using Arduino. The system automatically reports data to sustain.ece.ksu.edu. Incredible!

11/13/14: Dr. Baruth attended the AAPT New Physics Faculty Workshop.

9/12/14: Dr. Baruth presents "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Nanotechnology and Superparamagnetism: Potential Relevance in Neuroscience Research" to the Creighton University Neuroscience Journal Club.

8/28/14: Ryan Gnabasik and Anton Yanchilin received a NASA Nebraska EPSCoR Space Grant Fellowship. Congrats gentlemen!

8/12/14: Dr. Baruth, along with the Energy Technology Program, received ongoing grant funding from the Omaha Public Power District to advance research in photovoltaic materials. This substantial investment will ensure state-of-the-art research and teaching in the sustainable energy space will never have pause over the next DECADE at Creighton!!

Summer 14: Erin Cheese accepts an REU with Kansas State, working in Electrical Engineering on flexible CIGS solar panels. Nice work Erin!

Summer 14: Ryan Gnabasik accepts an REU with UC-Davis, working in Physics on superfluid Helium. Way to go Ryan!

Summer 14: Anton Yanchilin participated in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) HS-STEM Summer Internship program and spent 18 days of his 10-week internship sailing the Arctic Ocean on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, Healy!

7/16/14: Dr. Baruth publishes in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces on "Optimization of Long-Range Order in Solvent Vapor Annealed Poly(styrene)-block-poly(lactide) Thin Films for Nanolithography." http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/am503199d

7/14/14: Gunnar Nelson joins the Nanomaterials lab, working on block polymer thin films. Welcome Gunnar!

6/20/14: Caroline Ladley joins the Nanomaterials lab for the summer as she visits from Cornell. Welcome Caroline!

5/10/14: Katherine Osterman, Jason Rogers and Briana Baca graduate! Katherine is off to work with Kiewitt in their sustainability office, Jason is off to officers training in the Air Force, and Briana is working with Bluestem Energy Solutions. Best of luck!

4/22/14: Nick Fischer and Rachel Pham join the nanomaterials research team to work on dental materials

4/11/14: Erin Cheese, Ryan Gnabasik and Dr. Baruth presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences.

3/26/14: Ryan Gnabasik is a 2014 recipient of the Ferlic Undergraduate Summer Research Scholarship. Way to go Ryan!

3/6/14: Dr. Baruth presented at the APS March Meeting in Denver, CO on "Optimization of long-range order in solvent-annealed polystyrene-b-polylactide block polymer thin films for nanolithography."
http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR14/Session/S19.5

3/6/14: Ryan Gnabasik gave an oral presentation at the APS March Meeting in Denver, CO on "Design, construction, and testing a purpose-built climate-controlled solvent vapor annealing chamber for guided self-assembly of block polymer thin films." http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR14/Session/S19.3

3/1/14: Erin Cheese was elected to the Board of Directors for Nebraskans for Solar, a non-profit solar energy advocacy group.

2/19/14: Dr. Baruth receives the 2014 Haddix Presidential Award for "The Material Science of Dental Restoration Materials."

1/31/14: Dr. Baruth receives a Public Information and Outreach Award from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and the Nebraska Academy of Sciences to run a high school summer camp on passive solar energy.

7/1/13: Dr. Baruth receives a grant from the Creighton University Graduate School for "Solvent-induced ordering of self-assembled block copolymer thin films"

5/6/13: Dr. Baruth and his Material Science course are featured on the cover of the Omaha World Herald!

OWH

2/25/13: Dr. Baruth publishes in ACS Nano on "Crossover From Nanoscopic Intergranular Hopping to Conventional Charge Transport in Pyrite Thin Films"
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn4003264

7/3/12: Dr. Baruth publishes in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces on "Nanoscale Rings from Silicon-Containing Triblock Terpolymers" http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/am300603x

7/1/12: Dr. Baruth joins the physics faculty at Creighton University. Go Jays!

 

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AndrewBaruth Mon, 07/29/2013 - 09:08

Creighton Cumin St Array - Fronius

Creighton Cumin St Array - Fronius
AndrewBaruth Thu, 10/01/2015 - 16:34

Dr. Baruth Calendar

Dr. Baruth Calendar

On Sabbatical

AndrewBaruth Mon, 08/31/2015 - 16:23

Funding

Funding
Research Publications Funding Group Members

 

Block Polymer Thin Film Self Assembly

NASA Nebraska Space Grant

Nebraska EPSCOR

Ferlic Summer Scholarship

EPSCoR FIRST Award Recipient

Creighton University Summer Faculty Fellowship


Photovoltaic Thin Films
Omaha Public Power District: 2014 to present
NASA Nebraska Space Grant


Dental Materials

Dr. George F. Haddix President's Faculty Research Fund
Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship
Creighton University Summer Faculty Fellowship
 


Magnetic Materials

National Science Foundation
Faculty Research Incubator Award (Haddix Family)


Grants

--Funded

Expansion of Creighton University Energy Technology Program’s Commitment to Renewable Energies (Omaha Public Power District, $300,000 direct, 09/01/14 – 09/01/23, P.I. A.G. Baruth). This funding is for 1) investment in new photovoltaic research and analysis equipment for A. Baruth, 2) repair and replacement/upgrading of current Windspire installations on Creighton’s campus, 3) renewable energy and energy conservation related public outreach, and 4) research stipends for Energy Technology Program students.

--Completed (funded)

Student Fellowships 2021/2022 Markuson DiPrince (NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR, $5000 direct, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides annual stipend for one student.

Student Fellowships 2021/2022 Grace Dirks (NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR, $4000 direct, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides annual stipend for one student.

Student Fellowships 2021/2022 Natalie Schwartzenberger (NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR, $5000 direct, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides annual stipend for one student.

MRSEC College Science Faculty and Students Research Opportunity (NSF MRSEC, UNL, $15,000 direct, 05/01/2021 – 08/01/2021. This is funding for a faculty-student pair for summer research at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. The award also provides a summer stipend for 1-2 students, Grace Dirks will be joining me.

Ferlic Undergraduate Research Scholarship (Creighton, $5000 direct, 06/01/20 – 9/1/20, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides a summer stipend for one student, Grace Dirks, and advisor. Declined.

MRSEC College Science Faculty and Students Research Opportunity (NSF MRSEC, UNL, $15,000 direct, 05/01/2020 – 08/01/2020. This is funding for a faculty-student pair for summer research at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. The award also provides a summer stipend for 1-2 students, Grace Dirks will be joining me. This was canceled due to Covid-19.

Acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope for Use in Undergraduate Research (Nebraska EPSCoR Major Research Instrumentation, $111,925 direct, 03/14/19 – 12/15/19, co-P.I. A.G. Baruth). This award provides for the acquisition of a scanning electron microscope.

Student Fellowships 2019/2020 Marcussen DiPrince (NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR, $4000 direct, 09/01/19 – 3/31/20, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides annual stipend for one student, Max Marcussen DiPrince.

Ferlic Undergraduate Research Scholarship (Creighton, $5000 direct, 06/01/18 – 9/1/19, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides a summer stipend for one student, Son Nyugen, and advisor.

Studies of Carbon Nanodots with Atypical Morphologies (Dr. George F. Haddix President's Faculty Research Fund, Creighton University, $5,000 direct, 02/15/18-2/15/19, co-P.I. A.G. Baruth)

Ferlic Undergraduate Research Scholarship (Creighton, $5000 direct, 06/01/17 – 9/1/17, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides a summer stipend for one student, John Sunderland, and advisor.

Dean’s Undergraduate Research Scholarship (Creighton, $5000 direct, 06/01/17 – 9/1/17, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides a summer stipend for one student, Son Nguyen, and advisor.

Influence of Clinically Relevant CAD/CAM Zirconia Abutment Modification on Gingival Fibroblast Viability, Adhesion, and Normal Proliferation (Creighton University: Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, $3,196 direct, 06/01/17 – 6/1/18, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides materials to study Zirconia surfaces following proprietary polishing protocols.

Student Fellowships 2017/2018 Sunderland (NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR, $4000 direct, 09/01/17 – 3/31/18, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides annual stipend for one student, John Sunderland.

Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund: Impact 1.7 Million: Zoo Produces Solar Electricity for the Public to Experience (Nebraska Environmental Trust, $140,614 direct, 4/1/2016 – 6/1/2017, P.I. Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, A.G. Baruth, Partner). Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium proposes to install a solar photovoltaic (PV) system to demonstrate renewable electricity production for its 1.7 million visitors per year. The Zoo’s envisioned solar PV system will be unique because it will provide a hands-on interactive kiosk for the 1.7 million visitors to better understand its extensive environmental, health and financial benefits. We provided information and planning for kiosks, solar energy curriculum for summer camps and after school programming, as well as volunteered in educational capacities.

Influence of Clinically Relevant CAD/CAM Zirconia Abutment Modification on Gingival Fibroblast Viability, Adhesion, and Normal Proliferation (Creighton University: Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, $1000 direct, 06/01/16 – 6/1/17, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides materials to study Zirconia surfaces following proprietary polishing protocols.

Student Fellowships 2016/2017 Nelson (NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR, $6000 direct, 09/01/16 – 3/31/17, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides annual stipend for one student, Gunnar Nelson.

Honors Program Undergraduate Research Scholarship (Creighton, $5250 direct, 06/01/16 – 9/1/16, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides a summer stipend for one student, Nicholas Fischer, and advisor.

Student Fellowships 2015/2016 Nelson (NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR, $3000 direct, 09/01/15 – 3/31/16, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides annual stipend for one student, Gunnar Nelson.

The Material Science of Dental Restoration Materials: Forming Collaborations between the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Dentistry (Dr. George F. Haddix President's Faculty Research Fund, Creighton University, $15,000 direct, 02/15/14-2/15/16, P.I. A.G. Baruth). The study will focus on dental restorative materials, a class of fabricated materials specifically designed for restoring tooth form and function. Several key issues exist, primarily in the areas of biocompatibility and physical wear, which must be fully addressed to evaluate their efficacy in a clinical setting. We propose that the establishment of new collaborations between the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Dentistry, which will enhance the study of dental materials and provide a meaningful experience for undergraduate students interested in pre-professional programming.

Ferlic Undergraduate Research Scholarship (Creighton, $5000 direct, 06/01/15 – 9/1/15, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides a summer stipend for one student, Gunnar Nelson, and advisor.

Directed Self-Assembly of Block Polymer Thin Films Via Solvent Vapor Annealing (Nebraska EPSCoR, $20,000 direct, $20,847 indirect, 01/01/15 – 09/01/15, P.I. A.G. Baruth). This proposal focuses on the systematic investigation of the solvent-assisted self-assembly process in block polymer thin films. We plan a series of experimental investigations in order to elucidate and control the parameters most critical to the directed self-assembly of block polymer thin films.

Student Fellowships 2014/2015 Yanchilin & Gnabasik (NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR, $4000 direct, 09/01/14 – 3/31/15, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides annual stipends for two students, Ryan Gnabasik and Anton Yanchilin.

Omaha Youth’s Path to Passive Solar (Nebraska Academy of Sciences and the Nebraska Environmental Trust, $3,000 direct, 06/01/14 – 07/01/14 , P.I. A.G. Baruth). This is to help fund a three-week camp that will meet for three hours a day and focus on the design, installation and maintenance of convection and passive solar heating systems. The camp is open to all Nebraska youth and funding will help subsidize camp costs. Students are able to receive college credit though Creighton Summer Sessions under course number ERG 132 at an additional cost.

Ferlic Undergraduate Research Scholarship (Creighton, $5000 direct, 06/01/14 – 9/1/14, P.I. A.G Baruth). The award provides a summer stipend for one student, Ryan Gnabasik, and advisor.

Collaborative Research: Understanding and Supporting Student Intrinsic Motivation in STEM Courses (NSF TUES Type 2 Grant, 10/13-10/15, P.I. Jonathon Stolk, Role: Faculty Partner). Prior and emerging educational research suggests that understanding students’ motivational relationship to their learning experience could be a crucial insight necessary for a systemic shift toward high-level outcomes. This study will facilitate a deeper understanding of student motivation through analysis of motivation research data from undergraduate classroom contexts, and by coupling context-specific research data with course design tools that enable targeted instructor action to enhance intrinsic drive.

Solvent-induced ordering of self-assembled block copolymer thin films (Creighton University Graduate School, $4800 direct, 07/01/13-9/1/13, P.I. A.G. Baruth). The study will focus on the construction and testing of an advanced solvent vapor reaction chamber for block copolymer thin films. Such materials naturally self-assemble into a wide-range of morphologies (i.e., shapes); however, without direction, this order has little periodicity at large lateral length scales. The solvent-induced, directed ordering of self-assembled block copolymer thin films will allow access to these novel periodic nanostructures with unprecedented control and precision.

--Not Funded

Fundamental Interactions Between Oscillating Strain Fields and Magnetic Textures (National Science Foundation, $545,687 direct, 9/1/2022 – 9/1/2025, P.I., A.G. Baruth). Proposal focuses on the interaction between very high frequency sound waves, well above the limits of human hearing, and unique magnetic configurations – specifically ferromagnetic textures. The NSF panel summary stated that our proposal was "exciting and promising for a number of applications." Reviewer 1 stated that this project is "very exciting. This will definitely advance the knowledge within its own field and across different fields which includes acoustic physics, materials science, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering" and "If the PIs are successful, then this will be a breakthrough result.". Reviewers also recognized our expertise.  

Quantum Electron Technology, Imaging, and 3D-Visualization (Nebraska NSF EPSCoR RII, $11,643,125 direct, 8/1/21 – 12/31/22, Outreach partner). This pre-proposal is a pre-cursor to a $25 million RII award to fund a 26-member collaboration across Nebraska using Quantum electron technology to enhance imaging at the nanoscale and investigating into utilizing 3D-visualization tools.

Studies of Carbon Nanodots with Atypical Morphologies (NSF, $387,594 direct, co-PI AG Baruth). The grant provides funding for a collaboration with Dr. Sidebottom (Creighton Physics) on the synthesis of carbon nanodots with atypical morphologies that have relevance in biological tagging and solar cell research.

REU Site: Undergraduate Research & Training in Chemical & Physical Biosciences at Creighton University (NSF, $351,699, co-PI AG Baruth). The grant provides funding to make Creighton on REU site.

Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. ($60,000, 9/17 – 9/22). 5-year award to recognize teacher-scholars in Chemistry.

Creighton Global Initiative. Solar Electricity for the Sienna/Francis House of Omaha, NE ($80,400, 2016)

Creighton Global Initiative. Creighton-Sponsored Solar Power for Mobile Clinics/Research Hospitals in Nigeria ($9,500, 2016). Joint submission with Andrew Ekpenyong

NSF MRI: Acquisition of a Multi-Purpose X-ray Diffractometer for Structural Characterization (National Science Foundation, $426,000 direct, 09/01/16 – 09/01/18, P.I. A. G. Baruth). Proposal to acquire a versatile, novice-friendly X-ray Diffraction (XRD) facility to provide critical information about the structural properties of materials at the atomic, molecular, and nanometer scale for a variety of disciplines, including physics and chemistry, as well as material, energy, biomedical, and pharmacy sciences. Specific measurement capabilities of the XRD system will include small and wide-angle XRD, reflectometry, microdiffraction and powder diffraction, all with the added capability of temperature control. These included XRD capabilities will be especially valuable to our emerging research programs pertaining to (i) earth-abundant photovoltaic materials, (ii) self-assembled block polymer thin films, (iii) drug-polymer complexes for drug delivery, (iv) clustering of simple sugars in solution, and (v) structural characterization of synthetic structures.

NSF MRI: Acquisition of a Multi-Purpose X-ray Diffractometer for Structural Characterization (National Science Foundation, $426,000 direct, 09/01/15 – 09/01/18, P.I. A. G. Baruth). Proposal to acquire a versatile, novice-friendly X-ray Diffraction (XRD) facility to provide critical information about the structural properties of materials at the atomic, molecular, and nanometer scale for a variety of disciplines, including physics and chemistry, as well as material, energy, biomedical, and pharmacy sciences. Specific measurement capabilities of the XRD system will include small and wide-angle XRD, reflectometry, microdiffraction and powder diffraction, all with the added capability of temperature control. These included XRD capabilities will be especially valuable to our emerging research programs pertaining to (i) earth-abundant photovoltaic materials, (ii) self-assembled block polymer thin films, (iii) drug-polymer complexes for drug delivery, (iv) clustering of simple sugars in solution, and (v) structural characterization of synthetic structures.

NSF CAREER: Directed Self-Assembly of Block Polymer Thin Films via Solvent Vapor Annealing (National Science Foundation, $326,311 direct, $137,097 indirect, 01/01/16 – 01/01/20, P.I. A. G. Baruth). The proposed research addresses a broad, long-term strategy to elucidate the key mechanisms involved in the solvent-assisted self-assembly of block polymer thin films and relating them to well-known properties of thermal annealing of single-component solids. In addition, the generality of this analogy to multiple block polymer systems with various polymer-polymer interaction parameters, surface energies and architectures is of supreme interest. Ultimately, identifying whether these analogs can be applied to highly immiscible blocks (providing the smallest potential feature size) is critical for the creation of any standardized nanolithography production scheme, which remains absent in this field.

AndrewBaruth Fri, 01/02/2015 - 10:41

Group Members

Group Members
Research Publications Funding Group Members

 

Dr. Baruth's Nanomaterials Research Group

Group Alumni

Name

Major

Years

Project

Current Location

Hannah Mullally

BIO

2012

Cryostat Mount

University of Tennessee

Molly Berringer

H.S.

2012

Cryostat Mount

MIT, Mechanical Engineering

Daniel Dean

ERG/BIO

2012

Cryostat Mount and X-ray Fluorescence

Montana Conservation Corps

Erin Cheese

ERG/ PHY

2013-15

Ex-situ Sulfidation

Special Assistant to Gina McCarthy (Climate Advisor to President Biden), White House,

OMB, White House, Program Examiner, Energy

M.P.A.: Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton

REU: K-State

Brianna Baca

ERG

2013-14

Ex-situ Sulfidation

Asst. Developer, Tradewind Energy

Ryan Gnabasik, PhD

ERG/ PHY

2013-15

Solvent Annealing/ Dental Materials

Post-Doc: University of California, Santa Barbara

Ph.D., University of Minnesota – Material Science

REU: UC-Davis, Olin

Sam Rosol

ERG/ PHY

2013

Polymer Characterization

Project Manager, SITE Construction

Engineer 1, Kiewit

Katherine Ostermann

PHY

2014

Dental Materials

LEED and WELL Certification Reviewer, Catalyst Partners

Analyst, BranchPattern

Kiewit Building Group Services – Sustainability Engineer

Anton Yanchillin

ERG

2014-16

Ex-situ Sulfidation

Launch Operations Strategy, SpaceX

Lockheed Martin

Data Analyst

Jason Rogers

PHY

2014

Hall Effect Instrument

United States Space Force, Officer

Gunnar Nelson

PHY

2014-18

Solvent Annealing

PhD, University of Minnesota – Material Science

Caroline Ladley

CHEM. E

2014

Ex-situ Sulfidation

Scientist, Uniliver

Cornell University

Nick Fischer, PhD

BIO/ EVS

2014-17

Dental Materials

DDS-PhD Fellow – University of Minnesota

Rachel Pham

CHM

2014

Dental Materials

 

CU Medical School

Koy Matthews

ERG

2014

Hall Effect Instrument

Follet

Jake Yager

ERG

2014

External Quantum Efficiency Apparatus

Inspector at Alfred Benesch & Company

AMI Environmental Systems, Project Manager

Ala’a Rayyan

ERG

2015-16

Ex-situ Sulfidation

Electrical Engineer at CMTA, Inc.

PhD Program in Architectural Engineering

Karen (Sass) Hardy

PHY

2015-16

Ex-situ Sulfidation

User Experience Analyst, University of Nebraska Foundation

Associate Project Manager, Siemens

Intern: Kiewit, Berkshire Hathaway, Omtimized Systems

Keelan Okazaki

ERG

2015-16

Dental Materials and Outreach

Project Manager at PhotonWorks Engineering LLP

Meagan Grant

ERG

2015-17

 Solvent Annealing and Outreach

MSE, Polymer Science and Engineering. University of Akron

Coatings and Materials Approval Engineer at PACCAR Technical Center

Jeffery Wong

PHY

2015-18

Solvent Annealing

CU Medical Physics MS

Sierra Brown

ERG

2015

Outreach and LED efficiency

Designer, Gensler

U. Virginia

Architecture

Colin Thomas

ERG

2015

Outreach and LED efficiency

Optimized Systems

Creighton University

Verdis Group

Michael Watras

ERG

2015

Dental Materials, Solar Array, Outreach and LED efficiency

Kiewit

Building Analyst

Data Presentation Engineer, Spreetail

John Sunderland

PHY

2016-18

Ex-Situ Sulfidation

U. Wisconsin

Material Science PhD

Christopher Landis

PHY

2016

LabView Control for Quantum Efficiency Testing

Sales Consultant, Mauer Chevrolet

Teresa Kooima

ERG

2016-17

Ex-Situ Sulfidation

Development Strategist

Bluestem Energy Solutions

Project Manager

Branch Pattern

Will Jakubowski

ERG

2016-17

Solvent Annealing

Retail Trader

Junior Financial Analyst, Garrett Consulting

Isaac Lamppa

ERG

2016-18

Ex-Situ Sulfidation

Senior Analyst, Renewable Project Development at Invenergy LLC

Joseph Gray

ERG

2016

Quantum Efficiency Testing

Left Creighton

Son Nguyen

PHY

2016-18

Solvent Annealing

Deported

Jack Arkfeld

ERG

2016-17

Designing a four-terminal probe station

Habitat for Humanity

Solar Energy Consultant at LGCY Power

Jimmy Connors

ERG

2016-17

Solvent Annealing

 

Hannah Okelberry

BIO/EVS

2016

Solvent Annealing

Research Study Coordinator, Institute for Human Neuroscience at Boys Town National Research Hospital

Jon Dang

BIO

2016-17

Dental Materials

Creighton Dental School

Mitchel Pham

BIO

2016-18

Dental Materials

Creighton Medical School

Yidedia Bekele

ERG

2017

Solvent Annealing

Risk and Financial Advisory Analyst at Deloitte

Shrestha Samuel

CHM

2017-18

Dental Materials

Creighton Medical School

Emily Johnson

CHM

2017-18

Dental Materials

Creighton Dental School

Sam Ruiz

PHY

2017-18

Ex-Situ Sulfidation

U. Nebraska – Lincoln

Materials Engineering, PhD

Jack Widmer

PHY

2017

Ex-Situ Sulfidation

National Energy Technology Laboratory Oregon

Graduate Research Assistant at University of Colorado Boulder

Max Marcussen DiPrince

ERG/ PHY

2019-2021

Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

MS Creighton University

Grace Dirks

PHY

2019-2021

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Magnetic Skyrmions and Virtual Reality

BS Creighton University

Vikram  Venkataraman

H.S.

2019

Dental Materials

BS U. of Miami, FL

Logan Smith

ERG

2019 - 20

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Energy Analyst at Taitem Engineering

John Vosicky

PHY

2019

Glucose-Derived Carbon Dots

Runner at Locher Pavelka Dostal Braddy & Hammes, LLC

Emily Engel

H.S.

2019

Copper Sulfide

 

Noor Himdan

H.S.

2019

Copper Sulfide

 

Keren Lopez

H.S.

2019

Copper Sulfide

 

Natalie Schwartzenberger

CS

2021

Virtual Reality

Software Engineer

Telcoin

Aaron Musson

H.S. Teacher

2022

Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Chem teacher – Omaha North

Davis Reed

PHY

2022

Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Active

Name

Major

Years

Project

Last Known Institution

Rustin Haase

PHY

2012-2014

Solvent Annealing

1Staff Training and Development, Network Manager

Mark Akubo, S.J.

PHY

2013-2015

Solvent Annealing

PhD Candidate, Learning Systems Institute, Florida State University

Post-doc: Cornell

Chloe Drapes

PHY

2015-17

Solvent Annealing

 

Ben Marcussen

PHY

2016-18

Ex-Situ Sulfidation

Midwest Labs

Ikenna Odeluzigbo

PHY

2021-

Magnetic Skyrmions

Active

Max Markuson DiPrince

PHY

2021 -

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Active

AndrewBaruth Mon, 11/17/2014 - 13:01

Research

Research
Research Publications Funding Group Members

Block Polymer Lithography

Block polymer overview

Directed self-assembly of a PS-PLA thin film

The use of block polymers in nanolithography has emerged as a powerful technique for patterning large-area nanostructure arrays in a wide range of functional materials with a huge potential for expansion. Block polymers are comprised of two or more homopolymer subunits linked by a covalent bond. Their mutual immiscibility results in microphase separation leading to the formation of self-assembled periodic nanostructures in a variety of morphologies (holes, dots, lines and rings) with controllable size and density.

Through the controlled introduction of organic solvent (a vapor that will solubilize the polymer blocks, increasing their mobility and decreasing their immiscibility), one can control the thermodynamics and kinetics of ordering as the solvent evaporates. Of critical importance, it is possible to direct the ordering of the phases during self-assembly, orient resultant features, and, speficially, produce hexagonally packed cylinders (critical to nanolithography) via this method.

Upon successful solvent-induced ordering, the next logical step is transferring the well-organized pattern/template to a material of interest (e.g., magnetic, filtration, optoelectronic, biocompatible, etc.). This can be achieved by a variety of schemes, several of which we are working to develop in our lab. Specifically, we are looking at methods developed for magnetic materials. We have demonstrated unprecedented success in this regard, providing compatibility with many material classes.

State-of-the-art Solvent Vapor Annealing Chamber... a labor of love with unprecedented control of all aspects of the solvent vapor annealing process, including swelling rate, concentration control, and solvent evaporation rate.

For a 3-D Walkthough. Click Here


Atomic Force Microscopy

To study materials at the nanoscale, one must often be able to see at the nanoscale. We employ an Agilent 5420 Atomic Force Microscpe to view objects down to a resolution approaching 5 nm. We typically operate in both contact and tapping mode, dependent on material and feature size.

This tool has been used to investigate the ordering properties of block polymer thin films, grain structure in sulfide-based opto-electronic thin films, as well as surface morphologies and cellular attachment of dental implant materials before and after cellular plating in verious states of wear.

Presently, we are investigating methods for imaging in a liquid medium to allow for imaging of live cells and polymer films in various swollen states.