College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Weird science

A switch in research projects has brought honors and awards to Patricia Thiel.
Patricia Thiel knows the question is coming before it's even asked. It's a topic that she and her colleagues across the country have long debated. Just what is the American Vacuum Society?

"There has been discussion of changing the name of the organization for a long time," she said. "I know. It sounds like we're a bunch of Hoover salesmen. "We have been seeking a more appropriate name."

While the American Vacuum Society (AVS) may conjure up thoughts of housekeeping to many, it's actually the main professional organization for scientists in the field of surface science. Thiel, professor and chair of chemistry and program director of materials chemistry at the Ames Laboratory, is one of 6,000 members of the AVS.

And this summer she was recognized along with 14 other individuals as an AVS Fellow. She was elected for her "pioneering work on the surface structures, stabilities and other properties of metal films and quasicrystals" and for her explanation of "surface structure and chemistry of water on metals."

Thiel's work focuses on materials at the atomic scale. Her research has led to greater understanding of exactly how chemical and physical processes occur at solid surfaces, on an atom-by-atom basis.

If someone would have told Thiel seven years ago that she would be honored by the AVS in part for her work on quasicrystals, she would have found that hard to believe.

Seven years ago Thiel was at a crossroads with her research. A project that her group had worked on for a number of years had "gone as far as it could."

A conversation with Alan Goldman, professor and chair of physics, took her in a direction she didn't think was possible.

"Alan said that nobody was doing any research of any kind on surfaces of quasicrystals," she remembers. "But it was too weird to really consider." Her research group's web site continues to point that out.

"Essentially, the materials (quasicrystals) were regarded as useless curiosities following their discovery in 1982."

Eventually Thiel's research group switched their focus to quasicrystals motivated in part by the fact that coatings of quasicrystals can have attractive properties including low coefficients of friction, good wear-resistance and good oxidation-resistance.

Applications of these materials currently exist in the marketplace, with nonstick cookware containing a quasicrystal coating, rather than a Teflon coating.
Metal utensils can not scratch such cookware.

After seven years of research Thiel and her research group have begun to reap the benefits of their "weird study." The group's publications are well received. Members are constantly being invited to present their findings.

"There's also a lot more interest in this field than there was seven years ago when we entered," Thiel said. Thiel is equally proud of the work her research group has done on thin films. In this study Thiel's group is exploring the many aspects of thin metal film growth on metallic substances.

It's also a project that allows her to work closely with her husband, Jim Evans, professor of mathematics, who focuses on the theory aspects of thin films.
The two have published numerous papers and presented talks on the subject.

"Thin films have a lot of unexplored areas," Thiel said. "We've been able to look at a lot of these areas which we couldn't do if we didn't have the theory and experimental sides working together in real time."

Success in the laboratory has led to honors like the election as a Fellow of the American Vacuum Society. While she serves as the group's leader, Thiel feels that others in her research group deserve the real credit.

"While I play a role in the research process, the actual research is done by the students, postdocs and scientists in my group," she said. "Science is a collaborative area and I feel this type of recognition should go to the whole group."

Members of Thiel's current research group include Cynthia Jenks, associate scientist; Maggie Haaland, program assistant; Barbara Wehner, postdoctoral associate; and graduate students Jack Barrow, Tanhong Cai and Tony Layson.