What started as research for the Air Force eventually became state-of-the-art nanotechnology for professor Lawrence Drzal.
Drzal worked as a military and civilian scientist in the Air Force Materials Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio from 1972 until 1985, when he decided to come to MSU.
“When I came to MSU, I was doing work on materials,” Drzal said. “And when the nanorevolution started, some research I had done earlier on carbon fibers looked like it might be directly related to the nano area.”
Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale, according to the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology Web site.
In 1999, Drzal chose East Lansing as the headquarters for XG Sciences Inc., a company that produces mixes of specialty plastics and other materials made out of special graphite nanoparticles.
After researching graphite material since 1999, XG Sciences was recognized as a winner at the third-annual Nanotech Briefs Nano 50 Awards program Nov. 14 for the development of a new nanomaterial — xGnP Exfoliated Graphite NanoPlatelets.
xGnP is a very thin platelet of graphite used to make materials, such as plastic or automotive parts, electrically and thermally conductive.
“We would envision that somebody who makes parts for cars, like parts that go near the engine and the interior parts, would be using a little bit of this material to make parts lighter and stronger,” Drzal said.
He said that he is pleased his research has paid off.
“This research has achieved recognition as a major new advance in the field of nanotechnology,” Drzal said in a news release about the Nano 50 Award.
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