James Smay, Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor 

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Education

Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering

University of Illinois, 2002

 

B. S., Mechanical Engineering

Oklahoma State University, 1996

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Major Areas of Interest

Materials Science

Direct Write Manufacturing

Colloidal Processing of Materials

Rheology of Complex Fluids

Encouraging STEM Education in the Native American Community

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Recent Research Activities

The Smay group focuses its efforts on colloidal assembly processes to enable novel devices.  The main technique employs the direct writing of colloidal gel based inks.  The inks consist of sub-micron particles of ceramic (Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, SiO₂, BaTiO₂, Pb(Zr_xTi_1-x)O₃, hydroxyl(apatite)), metal (Cu, Ni), and polymer (acrylics, PLGA) suspended in aqueous media.  A number of devices are under investigation based on printing of structures that are difficult or impossible to construct using traditional manufacturing techniques.  These include photonic band gap crystals, bone scaffolds, all-ceramic dental crowns, and metal-ceramic composites.

 

The Smay lab is equipped for powder processing, advanced rheological measurement, thermal treatment of ceramics, metals, and polymers, and particle size and zeta potential measurements.