The Advanced Carbon Based Materials Research Lab (CBML) at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) is a Center for Graduate Studies and Research. UTSI is a graduate education and research institution located in Middle Tennessee adjacent to the U. S. Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center. UTSI was established in 1964 as part of the University of Tennessee and has become an internationally recognized institution for graduate study and research in engineering, physics, mathematics, materials, and aviation systems, and has made remarkable contributions at the local, state, national, and global levels. Within UTSI, we have established the CBML encompassing fibers, films, and polymers for various applications.

Disciplines / Departments

  • Carbon Fibers
  • Carbon/Polymer Composites
  • Diamond Films
  • Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon Films
  • Multifunctional Activated Carbon Materials
  • Diamond Microelectronics
  • Molecularly Imprinted Polymer (MIP) Sensors and Sequestering Agents

Faculty Members / Participants / Partners

  • William Hofmeister, Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering
  • Jacqueline Johnson, Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering
  • George Murray, Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering
  • Zhongren Yue, Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering
  • Ahmad Vakili, Ph.D., Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering

Contributors / Sponsors

  • The University of Tennessee Space Institute
  • State of Tennessee
  • Federal Transit Administration
  • National Science Foundation

Results / Achievements

Doctoral students: Deepak Rajput

Master’s students: Russell Lee Leonard, Matthew Parrish, Chang Liu

Research

CBML is designed to build carbon materials research infrastructure in Middle Tennessee in collaboration with nearby institutions such as Vanderbilt University; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and Fisk University. The main goals of CBML are to

  • advance the synthesis, fabrication, and characterization of carbon-based materials with a view to applications and technology transfer, and
  • provide education for graduate students in the form of M.S. and Ph. D. programs, with an emphasis on future employment. The research will also be integrated into the summer camps for the school children in the community.

To meet these goals, UTSI has created the CBML as a focus area for research and education.

The lab performs research in the areas of carbon fibers and their composites, aiming to develop low cost carbon-based material technologies to meet current and future high-performance fiber-reinforced composites for applications in aerospace/aircraft, automobile, transportation, industry, and sports.

In collaboration with Vanderbilt University, we have a large-area chemical vapor deposition diamond machine that is used to make micro- and nanocrystalline films for diamond microelectronics and electron emitters.

Diamond-like carbon films (DLC) are deposited and characterized as part of a broad effort in the area of materials for medical applications. Particular emphasis is placed on biocompatibility of DLC for heart stents, bronchoscopes, and hip implants in collaboration with Vanderbilt University and Argonne National Laboratory.

Research in multifunctional activated carbon materials encompasses high performance porous carbon adsorbents and novel ion exchange materials that are converted from isotropic pitch and various polymers. Such materials with high surface area, controllable nanopore sizes, and multifunctional groups, have wide applications in water and air purification, biological and medical engineering, electronic parts, and catalyst supports.

We are using controlled free radical polymerization methods to prepare molecularly imprinted polymers that are soluble and processable. These materials are useful as coating for the production of optical and electrochemical sensors.

Education

Faculty members at the lab carry out the academic programs through classroom teaching, informal seminars, active research, and directing the research of their students in an environment of creative work and advanced study. Programs are available to students devoting full-time or part-time effort toward M.S. and Ph.D. degrees and those who wish to pursue post-doctoral research. Off-campus classes are available through distance learning technologies in some academic disciplines.

Outreach / Economic Development

The University of Tennessee Space Institute hosts student groups from elementary to high school throughout the year, but in the summer, kids flock to the UTSI campus to take part in our day camps. The camps are the Materials Camp for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors; the Computational Science Camp for rising eighth and ninth graders; the Tech Camp for rising sixth and seventh graders; and the UTSI Science Camp for rising fourth and fifth graders.

Contact Information

Jacqueline A. Johnson
Email: jjohnson@utsi.edu
Phone: (931) 393 7474
Website: http://www.utsi.edu/research/carbonfiber/