Crossing disciplines, creating
unique research opportunities
Researchers at the University of Delaware are crossing
traditional departmental and college boundaries to
explore novel research topics, and finding that
collaborative perspectives can lead to new information
and potential solutions.
Working in UD's cutting-edge Surface Analysis Facility, Ph.D.
students de Ghetaldi (preservation studies) and Voras (chemistry)
have been able to put the complex instruments—such as the
"TOF-SIMS" or Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer—
to some brand-new uses.
De Ghetaldi, a graduate of the world-renowned Winterthur-UD
Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC), had extensive experience
working in the science labs of art institutions, where the equipment
consists mainly of conventional electron microscopes—which are
effective at identifying inorganic components in paint samples
(such as minerals), but not organic (such as natural resins).
Voras explained, "We can use the more specialized instruments to
probe deeper, analyzing the pigment and nonpigment ingredients
artists used. I'm not an art historian, but I can tell you chemically
what's there. That's how our collaboration is transforming this
Henry Ossawa Tanner was known for experimenting with many
organic materials in his paints: varnish, glue, oil, resin, lanolin, flax
seeds and more, composing his paintings in numerous layers.
Over the years, many of his works have deteriorated and are in need
of repair and conservation.
De Ghetaldi said, "We're hoping we
can get information, layer by layer, of all the materials he used, and the Smithsonian will be able to
apply that knowledge to their conservation work on the paintings."
In her own research, de Ghetaldi became fascinated with the idea
of analyzing paint samples from historic artworks to discover who
the first oil painters were. "From an art historical perspective, I'm
interested in identifying the first Italians to begin experimenting
with oil. Currently, there's a hundred-year gap in our knowledge of
Returning to UD after a three-year fellowship at the National
Gallery of Art, she was excited by the opportunity to work in the
surface analysis lab, partnering with Voras through Professor
Thomas P. Beebe Jr., director of the Surface Analysis Facility. Both
de Ghetaldi and Voras noted the enthusiastic support of Professor
Beebe toward their interdisciplinary research project.
Now working together in the surface analysis lab for over a year,
Voras and de Ghetaldi receive consultation requests from around
the country, and have presented their research across the U.S. as
well as internationally.
Ben Gould, doctoral student in mechanical engineering, is researching wind turbine
With a 2-megawatt wind turbine located on the Hugh R. Sharp
Campus in Lewes, the University of Delaware is one of very few U.S.
universities with access to a utility-scale wind turbine on campus.
The result has been multiple research opportunities for both faculty
and graduate students across UD departments and colleges.
Ben Gould is a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering who is
studying the problem of drivetrain failure in wind turbines,
motivated by the fact that wind turbine gearboxes are often failing
at a fraction of their 20-year design life.
"One of our overall research goals is the improvement and
acceleration of wind turbine technology, while at the same time
improving public opinion of wind energy's reliability," explained
Gould. Working with David Burris, assistant professor of mechanical
engineering, Gould's research is focused on understanding and
preventing drivetrain failure, which is the leading cause of turbine
downtime and a huge cost to the industry's renewable energy efforts.
"I have always been interested in renewable energy, and I knew
that any graduate research I wanted to do would be in that field,"
said Gould, who completed his undergraduate degree at UD in
mechanical engineering with a minor in sustainable energy
technology. While an undergraduate, Gould began working with
Burris, and the two recently reported on their initial efforts at an
One of only three students at UD currently licensed to climb the
wind turbine in Lewes, Gould has plans to mount strain gauges on the turbine to measure several types of wind force that may be
affecting components in ways that existing design specifications
don't account for. Gould's lab-based research involves testing
thrust bearings in contaminated oils, comparing how varying
contamination factors may also affect the rate of wear.
Interdisciplinary research group is discovering how robots learn
An interdisciplinary research group at UD is working on how
robots can be more autonomous and responsive to their
environments, as well as cooperate with each other in the field. Led
by UD associate professors Jeffrey Heinz (linguistics and cognitive
science) and Bert Tanner (mechanical engineering), the group
studies how information from human language learning can inform
how robots learn from their experiences to better accomplish
The research group led by Jeffrey Heinz and Bert Tanner includes (from left, seated)
visiting scholar in computer science Prof. James Rogers of Earlham College,
Cesar Koirala, Jane Chandlee, Konstantinos Karydis, Tanner; and (standing)
Heinz and Jie Fu.
Both Tanner and Heinz were already using computational
modeling in their respective fields, with Heinz examining the nature
of human language acquisition, and Tanner looking for improved
ways for robots to coordinate and communicate with each other as
well as learn from their experiences. They initially became aware of
the common threads of their research at a University event where
new faculty from across UD gave one-minute presentations about
The innovative project has led to research opportunities for
graduate students in both mechanical engineering and linguistics.
Jie Fu and Konstantinos Karydis are mechanical engineering doctoral students in Tanner and Heinz's research group. "I am
excited about the idea of incorporating language learning into
control design in systems," said Fu. Added Karydis, "Working on
interdisciplinary projects gives the opportunity for interesting
questions to be asked, producing new ideas which can possibly
have a large impact on everyday applications, society and science."
Group members Jane Chandlee and Cesar Koirala are doctoral
students in linguistics and cognitive science. "Interdepartmental
research is a great opportunity to think about how your own
research area fits into a bigger picture," noted Chandlee. "When you
collaborate with scholars from a field you thought was completely
different from your own, you discover fascinating points of overlap
that you would never have been aware of otherwise."
Both Heinz and Tanner agreed. "Working with this research group
has been one of the highlights for me over the past few years," said
Heinz. "It's been very stimulating intellectually and has broadened
my perspective considerably. In fact, it has even made me think
about my work in a new way."
And there's more to discover, as Tanner explained: "At this stage
of the project we are looking at the next step, with ideas that
involve game theory as a tool for identifying appropriate
cooperative and antagonistic behaviors between robots. This
broadens the area for potential application impact for this theory."