The Weihs Group actively conducts research to design, tune and characterize materials comprised of metals, alloys, oxides, and metal composites for reactions that span a wide range of applications. These include neutralizing harmful toxins or chemical agents (such as sarin) and biological agents (such as anthrax), chemical time delays, non-traditional thermites, and structural reactive materials. The materials are typically nanocomposites with tuned microstructures prepared by high energy mechanical ball milling, magnetron sputtering, swaging or rolling. To aid in understanding the complex reaction mechanisms involved in optimized material performance, we develop novel experimental diagnostics and utilize machine learning algorithms for data mining and tuning material selection.
Responsible Group Members: Laszlo Kesckes, Amee Polk, Jesse Grant, Preetom (Ruku) Borah, John Fite, Megan Bokhoor, Omar Khan, Kyle Fisher