Kevin A. Wepasnick, Ph.D., joined the Anderson Materials Evaluation staff as a scientific project manager in July. His prior experience at The Johns Hopkins University was extensive and is summarized in his brief biography below:
Dr. Wepasnick recently joined the staff of AME after completing his Ph.D. dissertation work at The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in surface chemistry. There, he focused his research on the surface analysis of functionalized and modified carbonaceous nanomaterials and metal nanoparticles. Primarily tasked with understanding the chemical effects of oxidants on carbon nanotubes, he worked on derivatization methods to label specific functional groups on their surfaces to improve quantitative x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of oxidation effects. Beyond XPS, Dr. Wepasnick applied a wide range of characterization techniques to explore the surface chemical and morphological effects of oxidation, including FTIR, TEM, Raman, Auger, AFM, and STM. He also was responsible for running and maintaining the on-campus surface analysis laboratory. In this capacity, he interfaced with over twenty independent research groups from across the JHU system, from outside universities, and from industry. The JHU system includes The John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and Johns Hopkins Medical, a $5 billion medical organization more heavily funded for medical research than any other university hospital system in the United States. He has experience working with a wide range of materials including biomedical materials, metal and metal oxide particles, self-assembled monolayers, CVD process films, and nanoparticles of various phases and compositions. He enjoys using a multitude of analytical techniques to characterize materials and to solve materials problems.
Dr. Lorrie A. Krebs and I are delighted to have him on board with us. His knowledge, versatility, and enthusiasm have immediately made him invaluable to our materials characterization and failure analysis missions.
