Orlando Auciello (Argonne National Laboratory)
Orlando Auciello - Argonne National Laboratory
Orlando Auciello is an Argonne Distinguished Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), where he shares his time between the Materials Science Division and the Center for Nanoscale Materials. He is also Adjunct Professor in two universities.
Auciello earned his MS (1973) and PhD (1976) degrees from the Physics Institute "Dr. Balseiro" (National University of Cuyo, Argentina) with a thesis on basic physics of ion interaction with solids. He was a postdoctoral (1977-1979) at McMaster University-Materials Science (Canada), a scientist in the Institute for Aerospace Studies-University of Toronto (1979-1984), on faculty at North Carolina State University (1985 –1988), and a Senior Scientist at the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (1988-1996). His work until 1996 expanded the science and technology of ion, plasma, and laser interaction with solids, and high temperature superconducting, high-K dielectrics, electro-optic and ferroelectric thin films, the latter contributing to the commercialization of ferroelectric memories and MEMS devices.
Auciello moved to ANL in 1996, continuing his work on multicomponent oxide films. At ANL, he started collaborations that led to the scientific discovery and technological applications of a novel ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) thin film, which exhibit multifunctionalities, and is currently being marketed in devices and systems from the macro to the nanoworld through two companies co-founded by Auciello and collaborators. Advanced Diamond Technologies, founded in 2004, is commercializing UNCD-coated industrial components (e.g., UNCD electrodes for water purification systems). Original Biomedical Implants (OBI), founded in 2011, will commercialize a new generation of implantable biomedical devices based on the UNCD film technology (e.g., UNCD-coated Si microchip implanted on the retina to restore sight to people blinded by photoreceptors degeneration, and artificial joints, heart valves and stents.)
Auciello is co-author in approximately 400 publications and 14 patents. He is co-editor of 19 books and two book series on the science and technology of ion, plasma, and laser interaction with solids and thin films. He has been a guest scientist in several institutions worldwide. He has organized, chaired, and presented invited and plenary talks in numerous national and international conferences. He is Associate Editor of APL and Integrated Ferroelectrics, and was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Materials Research and Vacuum.
Auciello has received several awards, including, Argonne Distinguished Fellow in 2010, Fellow of the AAAS and the MRS societies in 2009, R&D Award and Editors Choice Top R&D Award for 2009, for development of an artificial retina to restore sight to people blinded by photoreceptors degeneration; 2008 Distinguished Performance Award from the University of Chicago; 2007 Prof. “Honoris Causa” from National University of Cordoba-Argentina; 2006 Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer from the Federal Laboratory Consortium for spinning-off ADT from a national laboratory; 2003 Hispanic Engineering National Achievement Award; 2003 and 2008 R&D 100 Award for development of the UNCD technology.
Auciello is a member of MRS, AAAS, AVS, ARVO, and IEEE societies. He has held several offices and contributed to many activities within MRS, namely: 1) member of the governing council (2000-2003); 2) member of the first annual MRS Bulletin organizing board (1998); 3) Associate Editor of JMR (2002-
2010); 4) Chair and Co-Chair of the International Relations Committee (2003-2010); 5) contributions to the reorganization of the MRS governance structure in 2002; 6) participation in three Congressional Day Visits (2009, 2010, 2011) to bring the message to Congress of the importance of funding for science and technology; 7) organized several MRS symposia, and given many invited and contributed talks, as well a presenting numerous posters; and 8) will serve as one of the four co-chairs for the IMRC 2012 meeting in Cancun, Mexico.
Candidate’s Statement
“At the dawn of second decade of the 21st Century, the Materials Research Society is a leading scientific society, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas among well-established and young professionals, postdoctorals and students, using many technologies for the dissemination of information and communication among its members. However, the human factor is still the main asset of our vibrant society, including members and the highly competent and dedicated staff and volunteers who contribute long hours for the advancement of the society.
Innovative ideas and interdisciplinary research were major factors, and will continue to be so, for expanding the horizons of our society, particularly in relation to promoting the idea that materials research is not just the expression of another special interest, but the necessary pathway for the advancement of humankind in the new century.
Two sustaining pillars of our society are the people and the ideas. Elected officers must stand on these pillars and look far and ahead for new ways of promoting the science and technology that will benefit not only the established members, but also the new generation of scientists and engineers, and very importantly the society as a whole globally. Our Society is doing a great job at expanding the horizons of science and technology among its members, through meetings, publications and professional activities at the state, national, and international levels. However, work is needed to bring the message of the relevance of materials science to the development of new technologies to the public and to federal and state government officials, who will affect the future course of science and technology in this country, particularly in the current economical difficult times.
As President, I will work to promote a comprehensive discussion on specific courses of action that we should consider for implementation to bring our society to the forefront of a national and international discourse on the direction of materials research in the second decade of the 21st Century.
A Vision for a Global Materials Community
Bringing the excitement of materials research globally to experts and to the public. In this respect, I support and I have contributed to the Strange Matter project initiated by MRS, bringing this great interactive exhibit to museums across the country and now going abroad to entice the next generation of young people about science and technology. I am currently working with the people heading this effort to try to bring the exhibit to South America, and we should work also to bring it to Europe and Asia. We should consider using more extensively the modern means of mass communication such as TV and the Internet to spread the message of the importance of materials science in our rapidly evolving technological society.
A Vision for Advocacy
We should strengthen our relationships with federal agencies and members of the government both at the local and national level to bring to their attention the need for substantial increase in funding for materials science and technology, if we are to compete successfully in the global economy. In this respect, as MRS President I will propose discussions with other scientific and technological societies to modify the communities’ advocacy efforts. During my participation in MRS’s annual Congressional Visits, I learned, from talking to people in Congress, that going only once a year to bring our message dilutes our effort. We learned that we should be visiting Congress more frequently throughout the year to make our message more visible and sustainable. Therefore, I will propose a discussion to organize a monthly schedule whereby a number of societies visit Congress every month, so we are visible to Congress all year around. This activity is even more critical now, considering the difficult economic times that may affect negatively the funding for science and technology.
A Vision Towards International Networking
We should continue strengthening our relationships with the well-established materials research societies of Europe and Asia. However, we should turn our eyes also to our own continent and work to establish relationships with our counterpart societies in South American countries, and to help those that do not have a materials society yet to establish one. MRS has been very successful in strengthening the interaction with the Sociedad Mexicana de Materiales, as shown by the success of the IMRC meeting. We should look into doing something similar with South American countries. As part of this vision, we should work hard to try to get back a more substantial participation of industry in MRS meetings, which has been reduced in recent years.
A Vision for the MRS as Builder of Scientific and Technological Leaders Given that the world is changing rapidly and that the conventional career paths for young scientist, into academia and large or small industries, are getting difficult, we should explore ways on how MRS can help young scientists become entrepreneurs and form start-ups to exploit new materials for a new generation of high-tech products, through organizing symposia to discuss entrepreneurship. Last but not least, we need to keep working hard to maintain the level of excellence achieved in the organization and running of our meetings, and also international meetings like the IMRC.
In conclusion, I think that our society is positioned to make major advancements in many fronts, and I am honored and humbled to be nominated to run for the position of President. I have enjoyed immensely the many scientific and social benefits of our society, and working for MRS in the many capacities indicated above. I am looking forward, if elected, to working on behalf of the entire membership for the advancement of the scientific and social goals of our vibrant Society.”
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