Convergent qualities in divergent structural materials

Deborah Chung, Niagara Mohawk Chair Professor of Materials Research in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has taken the challenges of interdisciplinary engineering and made them the creative core of her successful research. In addition to pursuing groundbreaking discoveries with carbon, Chung’s research creates convergent qualities in divergent structural materials such as concrete and polymers.

Chung and her team have developed specialized self-sensing materials useful in both airplanes and buildings. Chung has also developed polymers and concrete that shield electronic devices. Among her other advancements are self-heating structural materials that may prove useful for de-icing aircraft and runways.

Recently, Chung has developed a thermal paste that promises to help solve the problem of overheating in high-performance personal computers and electronics. The paste, developed from inexpensive carbon black, is extraordinarily conformable and conductive, making it superior to other thermal pastes, including those involving exotic materials such as carbon nanotubes and diamond. Remarkably, Chung’s thermal paste significantly surpasses solder, one of the best materials currently available for improving the thermal contact between two surfaces, and promises to help break down current limits on the performance, speed, and further miniaturization of microelectronics.

Chung’s advancements with thermal paste build on her more than thirty-year background in carbon research, including ten years of work made possible by a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grant. Her extensive contributions to the field led in 2004 to an American Carbon Society Charles E. Pettinos Award, an international award given once every three years recognizing recent outstanding research accomplishments in the science and/or technology of carbon materials. With over 400 international journal articles and several books to her credit, Chung has covered diverse aspects of carbon science and technology, including research on carbons for structural, thermal, electromagnetic, electronic, environmental, energy, and sensor applications.