The Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is seeking candidates for multiple faculty positions.  We especially seek candidates at the junior level whose primary interests are experimental in nature.  The research areas of interest include energy systems, manufacturing and materials processing, experimental solid mechanics, and bio/MEMS fabrication and design.  One of the open positions may be at the senior level, as part of a strategic excellence hiring program that focuses on energy and sustainability.

Brian C. McGuigan and Harley T. Johnson, UIUC

The photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion industry continues to make progress toward grid parity; within 3-5 years solar energy may be competitive with fossil fuel energy sources on a cost per watt basis.  New forms of lightweight, flexible, off-grid solar energy conversion are also in development.  Many of the barriers to further PV development are associated with materials and mechanics issues.  For example, in silicon PV technology, which currently makes up more than 80% of the commercial PV market, over 60% of the cost of a PV module is due to the silicon in the PV wafers.  This journal club issue presents an overview of PV energy conversion challenges from a mechanics and materials perspective, highlighting a few key issues that may be of interest to iMechanica readers.  The key classes of PV energy conversion technologies are briefly described, including silicon PV; other thin film PV technologies; and then multi-junction designs and other third generation technologies such as organic PV.  Several cross-cutting issues that apply to multiple PV technologies are also noted.  Some of the references below may be useful in understanding PV topics on a broad level, while several citations are somewhat focused and may be more relevant to specific mechanics issues.

The Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is actively seeking candidates for faculty positions in all areas of mechanical science and engineering. We especially seek candidates whose research and teaching interests are in the areas of energy, manufacturing, and biomedicine.  However, the innovative nature of the candidate’s research and the candidate’s potential for leadership are more important than specific research area.

A postdoctoral position is available starting immediately in the Johnson Research Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  The position will involve theoretical and computational modeling of the mechanics of soft materials/flexible electronics/adhesion, with applications in photonics and energy storage.  The work will involve significant interactions with experimental groups in the Department of Materials Science at the University of Illinois.  Applicants should send a CV with a list of references to htj@illinois.edu.

The Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is actively seeking candidates for faculty positions in all areas of mechanical science and engineering.  Please see the official announcement below.

A postdoctoral research position is available immediately in the Johnson research group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  The position will involve continuum finite element modeling of multiphysics and interfacial phenomena in micro- and nanoscale electronic materials processing applications.

Abstracts are now being accepted for the 2008 Society of Engineering Science Annual Technical Meeting, to be held October 12th-15th, 2008 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  The conference will feature more than 30 technical symposia in Applied Mathematics, Bioengineering, Dynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Imaging, Multiscale and Nanomechanics of Solids, Mechanics of Materials, etc., as well as special symposia in honor of the 2008 SES Medalists, listed at the conference website: http://ses2008.mechse.uiuc.edu .

We are pleased to announce that the 2008 Society of Engineering Science (SES) Annual Technical Meeting will be held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on October 12-15, 2008.  The meeting will feature themes in Solid and Fluid Mechanics; Biomechanics; Physics, Chemistry & Biology in Engineering; and Applied Mathematics.  The members of the local organizing committee, including faculty from the new Department of Mechanical Science & Engineering, the Department of Aerospace Engineering, the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, cordially invite you to make plans to attend this exciting conference.  More information is available at the conference website: http://ses2008.mechse.uiuc.edu/.  Individuals interested in organizing symposia at the conference should contact the organizers at ses2008mechse@uiuc.edu.

Since the early 1990s, when quantum dots and quantum wires began to attract the attention of physicists, and when carbon nanotubes were discovered, mechanics related issues have begun to emerge as important in understanding properties of nanostructures.  These structures were first considered useful mostly for their electronic or optical applications, yet deformation has been seen to play an important role in their functional characteristics.  Advances in modeling also have begun to link electronic structure with mechanical properties of materials at larger length scales, particularly when microstructural or crystallographic effects influence bulk behavior.