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UWM LSS Group Home Page
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University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee LABORATORY FOR SURFACE STUDIES Director: Prof. Marija Gajdardziska-Josifovska
What is the Laboratory for Surface Studies? The Laboratory for Surface Studies (LSS) is a University of Wisconsin Center of Excellence sited on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It was inaugurated in the 1960’s by the first large group grant received by the then-fledgeling University from the National Science Foundation. The Laboratory is a model interdisciplinary organization. Its current membership consists of 11 faculty members from the Departments of Chemistry, Materials Engineering, and Physics. Experimental and theoretical research is conducted by faculty and students on the structure and properties of solid surfaces and on the interaction of surfaces with atoms and molecules. The research efforts are aimed at a better understanding of heterogeneous catalysis, corrosion protection, air pollution, lubrication, and solid state integrated electronics (thin films), to name a few. Why surfaces?The surface of a material plays a disproportionately important role in the interactions of the material with its environment. It is the interface through which anything outside a material communicates with its inside. Many of the commonest and most important processes in the world around us take place at surfaces, for example phenomena like corrosion, friction, and catalysis. Effects at surfaces are also becoming increasingly significant for the operation of the ever-smaller electronic devices that drive the ongoing revolution in information technology. What equipment is available in the Laboratory?The Laboratory is equipped with modern instrumentation and extensive service facilities. The following is a partial listing of the experimental equipment: scanning and transmission electron microscopes, Auger electron spectroscopy system with LEED-Auger system, x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, infra-red reflection-absorption system with LEED-Auger capability, mass spectrometers, infrared spectrophotometers, laser Raman spectrophotometer, liquid-helium EPR system, NMR spectrometer, surface analyzer, recording microbalance, x-ray diffractometer, thin-film deposition facility, and semiconductor measuring facility. What courses, seminars, and meetings are organized by the Laboratory?Courses in the area of surface science are offered by the Departments of Chemistry, Physics, and Materials. Faculty members, visiting scientists, post- doctoral fellows, and graduate students come together during weekly Surface Studies Seminars. International conferences, organized by the Laboratory, bring world-renowned surface scientists to UWM.
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