Student Aaron Stump Publishes in Nature

by George Zamora

SOCORRO, NM, May 5, 2000 -- Aaron David Stump, a senior majoring in materials engineering at New Mexico Tech, was the co-author of a scientific paper which was recently published in the current issue of Nature, the weekly British science journal.

The paper which he co-authored was titled "Rapid prototyping of patterned functional nanostructures."

The paper was a result of research work which Stump was directly involved with at the University of New Mexico's Center for Microengineered Materials. The research project was a collaborative effort which also involved scientists at Sandia National Laboratories, as well.

In the article in current issue of the prestigious science journal, Stump and his fellow scientists describe how their research work has resulted in an innovative technique which uses ordinary ink to create pre-programmed microscopic structures that self-assemble as the ink begins to dry up.

The scientists are hopeful that this latest development in nanotechnology can be further refined to make self-assembling microdevices, microcomputers, or molecular-scale analytical labs.

Up until now, most approaches to constructing functional microscopic devices involved using several different techniques commonly employed in the computer-chip industry.

The new technique, in comparison, uses commonly available materials and equipment, such as colored inks, pens, and ink jet printers, to get the job done in an economical fashion.

Stump, a member of the New Mexico Tech chapter of Materials and Metallurgy Society, has been attending the state-funded research university under a Counselor's Choice Scholarship.

He is scheduled to receive his bachelor of science degree in materials engineering at New Mexico Tech's Commencement 2000 exercises on Saturday, May 13.

"I believe the New Mexico Tech materials engineering department is probably one of the best available in the nation for an undergraduate education," Stump says.