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Events

• Sep

  27

  SPREE Seminar Series- Cemalettin Basaran

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  Recent Advances in the Unified Mechanics Theory

  ABSTRACT: Newton’s three universal laws of motion do not account for, dissipation, or degradation. However, the laws of thermodynamics govern dissipation and degradation evolution. The unified mechanic's theory unifies Newton's universal laws of motion and the laws of thermodynamics at the ab-initio level. Therefore, the degradation, and dissipation are included directly in the governing partial differential equation. Moreover, in the Lagrangian equation derivative of displacements with respect to entropy is no longer zero, as in classical continuum mechanics. However, to be able to unify these two sets of independent laws the Newtonian space-time coordinate system must be modified. Therefore, a new linearly independent fifth axis is introduced. The new axis is called the Thermodynamic State Index (TSI) axis, which can have coordinate values between zero and one. When the entropy generation rate is maximum TSI coordinate is zero. When the entropy generation rate is minimum the TSI coordinate approaches one. The coordinate on the TSI axis is determined by Boltzmann's formulation of the second law of thermodynamics. Therefore, the entropy generation rate must be calculated at each time increment at each material point from the thermodynamic fundamental equation of a material. The thermodynamic fundamental equation must be derived analytically from the fundamental principles of physical chemistry accounting for all entropy-generating micro-mechanisms active for the chosen failure definition. Analytical derivation of the thermodynamic fundamental equation does not require any testing for curve fitting an empirical degradation function and dissipation potential. As a result, when the unified mechanics theory is used, there is no need for an empirical dissipation potential, an empirical degradation evolution function, or curve-fitting parameters to determine failure evolution. Degradation and dissipation evolution are defined along the TSI axis according to the second law of thermodynamics as formulated by Boltzmann. Recent developments will be presented.

  References

  1-Cemal Basaran, Introduction to Unified Mechanics Theory with Applications,

  Springer-Nature Switzerland AG, 2nd edition, 2023.

  Bio: Dr. Cemal Basaran is a Professor in the Dept. of Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

  He specializes in computational and theoretical mechanics. He has authored 160peer-reviewed journal publications, a textbook on the Unified Mechanics Theory, (second edition, 2023, ©Springer-Nature,) and several book chapters. His research focuses on the development of the Unified Mechanics Theory, which is the unification of the laws of Newton and the laws of thermodynamics at the ab-initio level. Some of his awards include the US Navy ONR Young Investigator Award, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) EEPD, Excellence in Mechanics Award. He is a Fellow of the ASME. He has served and continues to serve on the editorial board of many peer-reviewed international journals. He has been the primary dissertation advisor to 25 Ph.D. students. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, US Navy, US Department of Defense, State of New York, and many industrial sponsors including but not limited to Intel, Motorola, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Delphi, DuPont, Texas Instruments, Micron, Tyco Electronics, Analog Devices, and many others. He serves as a research proposal reviewer to many national and international research funding agencies around the globe including but not limited to the UK, EU, France, China, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Netherlands, and many other countries.

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  TIME Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• May

  30

  EES Seminar- Plasmon- Mediated Advanced Reduction Processes for Contaminant Degradation: PFAS and Nitrate- Haklae Lee

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  Abstract

  The use of nanomaterials has become a rapidly growing approach for advanced water treatment technologies, but the continued emergence of highly oxidation-resistant micropollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), calls for transformative strategies that move beyond recent oxidation-based remediation practices. Alternative reduction-based approaches utilizing aqueous electrons (eaq−, Eo = −2.9 V)—one of the most reactive nucleophilic species—are emerging as a promising solution for efficient PFAS breakdown. Herein, we leverage nanoconfinement engineering to enable a new water treatment approach—plasmon-mediated advanced reduction processes (PARPs)—for efficient, chemical-free PFAS destruction at room temperature. We first present novel nanoreactor designs that engineer the ‘nanoconfinement effect’, i.e. unique aggregation-induced interparticle interactions that are inaccessible by typical unconfined, bulk-phase nanomaterials. We demonstrate that the precisely controlled nanoconfinement of plasmonic nanoparticles can generate highly reactive reducing species under UV irradiation, capable of breaking even the strong C–F bonds in PFAS. The nanoreactor we developed achieved 81.5% mineralization of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) after 24 hours of UV irradiation in pure water at room temperature, compared to only 16.6% mineralization by UV photolysis. Further reaction monitoring under various conditions and multimodal NMR-guided investigation were conducted to elucidate PFAS degradation mechanisms and pathways. We further explored the potential of PARPs for the chemical-free remediation of nitrate, a prevalent oxyanion pollutant that is resistant to conventional oxidation-based treatments. Our findings highlight the transformative promise of nanoconfinement engineering to catalyze innovation in environmental nanotechnology and extend the frontier of advanced reduction processes for water treatment.

  Bio- Haklae Lee is a PhD student in the Environmental Engineering & Science program and a member of the Gray Lab in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Pusan National University in South Korea. His work focuses on the design and engineering of nano-sized reactors for efficient and more sustainable remediation of emerging contaminants from wastewater. He uses mesoporous silica to spatially confine various metal nanoparticles within multi-layered nanoreactors, enabling unique features such as multifunctional compartments and nanoconfinement effects for previously unexplored environmental applications.

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  TIME Friday, May 30, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Jun

  4

  MMS/EBE Seminar- Additive Manufacturing of Fiber Reinforced Ultra High Performance Concrete: Experiments and Computations- Gianluca Cusatis

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

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  TIME Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

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  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Jun

  15

  2024-2025 Commencement Ceremony

  University Academic Calendar

  All Day

  EVENT DETAILSmore info

  2024-2025 Commencement Ceremony

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  TIME Sunday, June 15, 2025

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  CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

• Jun

  16

  Northwestern Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Degree Recognition Ceremony

  McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  9:00 AM 2705 Ashland Ave

  EVENT DETAILS

  McCormick School of Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Degree Recognition Ceremony. The most up to date information can be found on our graduation webpage.

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  TIME Monday, June 16, 2025 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

  LOCATION 2705 Ashland Ave   

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  CONTACT Northwestern Engineering Events    northwestern-engineering-events@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

• Jun

  16

  Northwestern Engineering Undergraduate Convocation

  McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

  2:00 PM 2705 Ashland Ave

  EVENT DETAILSmore info

  McCormick School of Engineering Undergraduate Convocation. The most up to date information can be found on our graduation webpage.

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  TIME Monday, June 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

  LOCATION 2705 Ashland Ave   

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  CONTACT Northwestern Engineering Events    northwestern-engineering-events@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

• Jun

  23

  Summer classes begin

  University Academic Calendar

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  Summer classes begin

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  TIME Monday, June 23, 2025

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  CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

• Sep

  16

  Fall 2025 Classes Begin

  University Academic Calendar

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  Fall 2025 Classes Begin

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  TIME Tuesday, September 16, 2025

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  CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR University Academic Calendar