Professor Peter N. Kalu

(3M Distinguished Professor & Fulbright Scholar, FAMU-FSU)

Recent Advances in Nanotechnology

Professor Peter N. Kalu graduated from University of Ife, Nigeria (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1980 and obtained his B.Sc. in Engineering Physics. He later earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science at Imperial College, University of London, United Kingdom. He has been teaching, mentoring and carrying out research in Materials Science and Metallurgy at Florida A&M University (FAMU) - Florida State University (FSU), College of Engineering since 1994, where he is currently a 3M Distinguished Professor. Prior to joining FAMU-FSU, he had worked as an Adjunct Professor for the U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Post Graduate School at Monterey, CA and a Senior Scientist at NASA Langley Research Center, VA.

Professor Kalu has been involved in various NSF programs for mentoring women and minority students in Materials Science and Engineering. In addition to securing grant money to equip his laboratory with state-of-the-art electron microscopes (3 in all), Professor Kalu has utilized the Partnership for Research and Education in Materials Science (PREM), a $3 million grant from NSF to mentor several undergraduates and graduates in Materials. His research interests are in nanotechnology; advanced materials processing (utilization of novel techniques such as magnets, cassava, etc., in processing); advanced characterization of metals and alloys including nanocomposites; and evaluation of the mechanisms of deformation, recrystallization, etc., with the view to develop the processing-microstructure-property relationship in processed materials. He has published over 120 scientific papers.

In August 2009, Professor Kalu was awarded a one-year Fulbright Fellowship to teach and conduct research in Nigeria. Working with Professor O. O. Adewoye's research group in Nigeria, they were able to use cassava leave waste (from cassava, which is an indigenous African raw material) to case-harden mild steel. The actual research project was "THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOW-COST SURFACE HARDENED STEEL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES UTILIZING INDIGENOUS RAW MATERIALS". The ultimate goal is to develop an effective case-hardening method that can be commercialized and adaptable for other material processing.