Tracy, Zhu receive Alcoa Foundation Engineering Research Awards

The Alcoa Foundation Engineering Research Awards for 2014 were presented to Dr. Joseph Tracy, associate professor of materials science and engineering, and Dr. Yuntian Zhu, Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering, at the spring faculty meeting for the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University. Tracy was awarded the Alcoa Foundation Engineering Research Achievement Award, which recognizes young faculty who have accomplished outstanding research achievements during the preceding three years. Zhu received the Alcoa Foundation Distinguished Engineering Research Award, made to a senior faculty member for research achievements over a period of at least five years at NC State.

Tracy has established himself as a leader in the synthesis, characterization, self-assembly and applications of metal and magnetic nanoparticles. His recent work has developed a technique for efficiently producing nanoscale gold rods in large quantities while simultaneously controlling the dimensions of the nanorods and their optical properties. The optical properties of gold nanorods make them desirable for use in biomedical applications ranging from imaging technologies to cancer treatment.

Zhu is one of the foremost researchers in the areas of carbon nanotube composites and nanostructured metals and alloys. He has developed a new nanotechnology to enable the fabrication of ultrastrong carbon nanotube composites that is stronger than any current commercial composite materials. This technology has been licensed to a United States company for commercialization and is conducive to large-scale commercial production at a low cost and holds promise for the aerospace industry.