Ellison and Group Win 2015 Photopolymer Science and Tech Best Paper Award
Drs. Chris Ellison, C. Grant Willson and a small group of Texas ChE graduate and undergraduate students were recently honored with the 2015 Photopolymer Science and Technology Best Paper Award at the International Conference of Photopolymer Science and Technology in Chiba, Japan, June 24.
Ellison’s research group, including postdoctoral graduate Dustin Janes and undergraduates Bradley McCoy and Ishita Madan, coauthored the paper titled, “Photochemical Reactions for Replicating and Aligning Block Copolymer Thin Film Patterns”. Takejiro Inoue, senior research engineer for Toray Industries, Inc., and Dr. Paul Nealy, professor at the Institute of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, were also coauthors in the project.
The award is presented to the paper that is most original and creative, contributes to the progress and improvement of photopolymer science and technology and contains enlightening and educative contents that are essential to photopolymer scientists and engineers.
Selected from nearly 200 entries, their winning paper describes a new replication process that allows device patterns to be quickly copied with simple and inexpensive materials.
“Microelectronics and data storage devices require smaller device features to continue to meet consumer demands, for example, making devices smaller and faster,” Ellison said. “As device features become smaller with each generation, patterning these features becomes more time consuming and expensive.”
The group’s paper details the process that could innovate pattern replication, similar to the way a photocopier works, but on a much smaller scale – a length scale of tenths of nanometers or 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Undergraduate coauthors Madan and McCoy have since graduated from the department. Madan, reflecting on her research experience, said working as an undergraduate researcher was a great opportunity to further her education.
“I really enjoyed being in the midst of discovery,” she said. “The experience helped me find what I enjoyed learning about, and as a result, I was able to adjust my elective schedule to take classes to pursue those interests.”
Ellison, Janes and Inoue attended the conference to accept the award and participate in various panel symposiums. For more information about the International Conference of Photopolymer Science and Technology, visit their website. For information on how to get involved with undergraduate research opportunities, contact the undergraduate office.
Tags: 2015 Photopolymer Science and Technology Best Paper Award, Austin, Bradley McCoy, chemical engineering, Chiba, copolymer, Dr. C. Grant Willson, Dr. Chris Ellison, Dr. Paul Nealy, Dustin Janes, film patterns, International Conference of Photopolymer Science and Technology, Ishita Madan, Japan, Materials, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Photochemical, photopolymer, Takejiro Inoue, Texas, Texas ChE, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Chicago, UT