"Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in." - Isaac Asimov
Alex Lin

Alex (Yu-Wei) Lin

Contact

2220 Campus Dr.
Cook Hall 2036
Evanston, IL 60208-3108
ywlin at northwestern dot edu

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

My research interests lie in understanding corrosion and tribology mechanisms on the nanoscale with high-resolution TEM characterization, and correlating these observations with existing theoretical knowledge. This includes optimizing existing in situ TEM sliding techniques to allow for the observation of structural changes of nanomaterials such as crumpled graphene. My main objectives are to elucidate the mechanical characteristics of nanomaterials for lubrication applications and the properties of oxide layers in alloys used for orthopedic implants, jet turbine blades, and naval vessels. Additionally, I am also interested in developing microscopy methods to better understand the structure of oxide layers in alloys during aqueous corrosion with cryo-TEM.

Education

Northwestern University - Evanston, IL
Ph.D. Candidate, Materials Science and Engineering
September 2017 - present

Northwestern University - Evanston, IL
B.S./M.S. Materials Science and Engineering
September 2012 - December 2016

Teaching Experience

MAT SCI 332: Mechanical Behavior of Solids, Winter 2019
Course Description: In-depth study of plastic deformation and fracture of materials with emphasis on structure/properties relations.

MAT SCI 360: Electron Microscopy, Fall 2016
Course Description: Covers elementary theories, methods, and operations of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to help prepare students in applying microscopy to research.

Publications

  1. M. Taylor, A.Y.W. Lin, X.X. Yu, L.D. Marks, and J.H. Perepezko. "Oxidation of Mo3Si: Microstructural Effects of Doping on Oxidized Molybdenum Silicides." in preparation.

  2. C.A. Mizzi*, A.Y.W. Lin*, and L.D. Marks. "Does Flexoelectricity Drive Triboelectricity?" Physical Review Letters 123, 116103 (2019). (* equal contribution)

  3. A.Y.W. Lin, A. Müller, X.X. Yu, A. Minor, and L.D. Marks. "Early Stage Oxidation of NiCrMo Alloys Revealed by Cryo-Electron Microscopy." Ultramicroscopy 200, 6-11 (2019).

  4. A.Y.W. Lin, X.X. Yu, A. Dato, G. Krauss, and L.D. Marks. "In situ Observations of Graphitic Staples in Crumpled Graphene." Carbon 132, 760-765 (2018).

  5. O.L.G. Alderman, C.J. Benmore, A. Lin, A. Tamalonis, and J.K.R. Weber. "Borate Melt Structure: Temperature Dependent B-O Bond Lengths and Coordination Numbers from High-Energy X-ray Diffraction." Journal of the American Ceramic Society 101, 3357-3371 (2018).

  6. J. Tedesco, B.E.J. Lee, A.Y.W. Lin, D.M. Binkley, K.H. Delaney, J.M. Kwiecien, and K. Grandfield. "Osseointegration of a 3D Printed Stemmed Titanium Dental Implant: A Pilot Study" International Journal of Dentistry, 5920714 (2017).

  7. A. Lin, E.E. Hoffman, and L.D. Marks. "Effects of Grain Boundary Misorientation and Chromium Segregation on Corrosion of CoCrMo Alloys" Corrosion 73, 256-267 (2017).

  8. E.E. Hoffman, A. Lin, Y. Liao, and L.D. Marks. "Graindf Boundary Assisted Crevice Corrosion in CoCrMo Alloys." Corrosion 72, 1445-1461 (2016).

  9. O.L.G. Alderman, M. Liska, J. Machacek, C.J. Benmore, A. Lin, A. Tamalonis, and J.K.R. Weber. "Temperature-Driven Structural Transitions in Molten Sodium Borates Na2O-B2O3: X-ray Diffraction, Thermodynamic Modelling and Implications for Topological Constraint Theory." Journal of Physical Chemistry C 120, 553-560 (2015).

  10. O.L.G. Alderman, G. Ferlat, A. Boroni, M. Salanne, M. Micoulaut, C.J. Benmore, A. Lin, A. Tamalonis, and J.K.R. Weber. "Liquid B2O3 by X-ray Diffraction up to 1700K: Boroxol Ring Dissolution." Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 27, 455104 (2015).

Selected Talks

  • Is Triboelectricity Driven by the Flexoelectric Effect?, MRS Spring Meeting, Phoenix, AZ (2019).

  • Enhanced Mechanical Stability in Crumpled Graphene: Direct Observations of Graphitic Staples, Gordon Research Conference on Tribology, Bates College, ME, USA (2018).

  • Corrosion at the Multiscale: Grain Boundary Sensitization in CoCrMo Hip Implants, Rush University, Orthopedics Surgery Department Seminar, Chicago, IL, USA (2017).

  • Multiscale Analysis of Localized Corrosion in CoCrMo Grain Boundaries, NACE Corrosion Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada (2016).

  • Classifying the Severity of Grain Boundary Corrosion in CoCrMo Biomedical Implants, Microscopy & Microanalysis, Portland, OR, USA (2015).