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2017-2018 Hitachi High Technologies Electron Microscopy Fellowship awarded to CU-ICAR PhD student

November 2, 2017

Brandt Ruszkiewicz has been awarded the 2017-2018 Hitachi High Technologies Electron Microscopy Annual Fellowship. As part of this fellowship, Ruszkiewicz, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in automotive engineering, received a $20,000 award from Hitachi High Technologies America. Ruszkiewicz is researching how an extremely strong type of aluminum reacts to electricity. This research could lead to new ways of forming and joining together automotive parts and help make cars lighter and more efficient. As part of his research, Ruszkiewicz uses Hitachi Electron microscopes to analyze the 7000-series aluminum and its reactions to electricity. Ruszkiewicz says this award gives him more financial freedom, and allows him to focus more on his research.

“I’ve got a lot more time to spend with these [Hitachi] microscopes now. I’m really excited to get through this work and see what we find. It’s an interesting opportunity because there aren’t a lot of people who can use a microscope that zooms in 2 million times.”

The Hitachi microscopes at Clemson’s Electron Microscopy Lab allow Ruszkiewicz to compare heated aluminum samples with those augmented with electricity. One of the microscopes he uses in his research, the Hitachi H-9500 Transmission Electron Microscope, is so powerful it can can allow the user to see individual atoms.

Craig Kerkove, president and CEO of Hitachi High Technologies America presented Brandt Ruszkiewicz with his fellowship during a ceremony on October 27th.

“This fellowship is an extension of our ongoing collaboration with the University,” Kerkove said. “It is made possible by a series of contributions from Hitachi High Technologies America and is now helping its fourth student perform cutting-edge research. Clemson’s world-class Electron Microscopy Lab, with its eight Hitachi microscopes, continues to serve as an example for other institutions to follow.”

It was a professor at Penn State Behrend, where Ruszkiewicz graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering, that first got him interested in the research. Ruszkiewicz is now based at CU-ICAR, and expects to graduate from his PhD program in May. Previously, Ruszkiewicz received the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the E. Wayne Kay Graduate Scholarship, and the R.C. Edwards Fellowship.

Phil Bryson, vice president and general manager of the Nanotechnology Systems Division at Hitachi High Technologies America praised the partnership that Hitachi and Clemson have. “We are pleased to see Hitachi microscopes play an integral role in Brandt’s research. The fellowship he is receiving is part of Hitachi’s long, mutually beneficial collaboration with Clemson.”