I like microstructures of crystalline materials. I have worked on the formation and characterization of microstructures, including phase transformations, defect characterization and modeling defect interaction. The objects of study included structural materials (austenitic steel) and functional materials; metals, ceramics, intermetallics, and semiconductors; materials in bulk form and thin films. I was mainly concerned with mechanical properties, more recently also with magnetic properties. While perambulating through a variety of topics (plasticity of steels, ferroelasticity of ceramics, microstructure and phase transformation of metallic thin films, magnetoplasticity of magnetic shape-memory alloys), I always liked to ponder the formation of crystallographic twins, their formation, and their description in the language of dislocations and disclinations. The magneto-mechanics of magnetic shape-memory alloys is the field of my primary interest nowadays.
Since about 2010, I became also interested in transferring magnetic shape memory technology to the market. In 2015, I started Shaw Mountain Technology LLC, which produces MSM-based devices.
Professional Preparation (Formal Education)
| Degree | Year and Place |
|---|---|
| Diploma (M.S.): | 1991, ETH Zürich, Materials Engineering |
| Dr. sc. techn. (Ph.D.): | 1994, ETH Zürich, Materials Engineering |
Appointments (Professional Employment)
| Year | Appointment |
|---|---|
| 2013 – 2016 | Chair, Department of Materials Science and Engineering |
| 2012 – Present | Distinguished Professor, Materials Science and Engineering |
| 2011 – Present | Foundational Studies Program Faculty, Boise State University, Boise, ID |
| 7/’09 – Present | Professor, Materials Science & Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID |
| 12/’06 – 2011 | Director of the Boise State Center for Materials Characterization, Boise, ID |
| 7/’04 – 6/’09 | Associate Professor, Materials Science & Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID |
| 1998-2004 | Senior Researcher, ETH Zürich, Inst. of Appl. Phys., Zürich, Switzerland, with Dr. G. Kostorz |
| 1996-1998 | Research Associate, Max-Planck-Inst. für Metallforsch., Stuttgart, Germany, with Dr. E. Arzt |
| 1995 | Post-doctoral Researcher, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, with Dr. W. M. Kriven |