Aerogels: The Materials Science of Empty Space
Aerogels are a class of materials with fascinating properties but they are hardly materials at all as they can be composed of up to 99.8% empty space. Aerogels are extreme materials in structure as well as properties. They exhibit the lowest density, thermal conductivity, refractive index, and sound velocity of any bulk solid. Aerogels are among the most versatile materials available for technical applications due to their wide variety of exceptional properties. This material has chemists, physicists, astronomers, and materials scientists utilizing its properties in a myriad of applications. In this lecture Dr. Gash and Mr. Dean Reese will describe and demonstrate the structure, properties, and advanced applications of aerogels, and even synthesize one.
Speaker Bios
 Dr. Alex Gash |
Research Chemist, Chemical Sciences Division Alex earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of California at Davis and his PhD. at Colorado State University.; In between, he worked for several years as a scientist in the agricultural and mining industries, where he traveled extensively to collect soil and mineral samples. More recently he has been studying the synthesis and characterization of a wide range of materials from heavy metal adsorbents to nano-composites to ceramics. Since 1999 he has worked in the Advanced Materials Synthesis group at LLNL where he investigates low-density porous materials such as aerogels. Alex studies the properties of these materials and in applications involving energy storage and use. |
 Dean Reese |
Physics and Biology Teacher Dean Reese is a Physics and Biology teacher at Tracy High School in Tracy, CA. He received his BA in Physics with a double major in Astronomy from the University of Massachusetts in 2002. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree Dean decided to move across the country to California to try his hand at teaching and has been doing so ever since. He is very enthusiastic about his profession and enjoys making connections with local scientists to better improve his understanding of the science being conducted in the Central Valley. He is currently working on a Masters degree of Science Education from Western Governors University. Prior to becoming a teacher Dean was a soldier in the United States Army National Guard. |
