Dr. Michael Lund, assistant professor of technology, art and design at Bemidji State University, has spent the last three years on a fantastic voyage exploring how the mechanical and magnetic properties of a material are affected when studying them at the atomic level. Lund will share his experiences studying these properties on Nov. 16 as part of BSU’s Honors Council Lecture Series.

Lund’s lecture, “Stress Oddities: A Look at Nanoscale Mechanics”, begins at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer Hall 112. BSU’s Honors Council lectures are open to everyone free of charge.

During the lecture, Lund will define nano, nanomechanics and nanoindentation and explain why these concepts are technologically important. Gold nano-scale particles have light reflective properties that make them particularly valuable in high-technology systems including microscopes, electronics and diagnostic systems. Lund will share his research into the properties and applications of hollow gold nanospheres, along with his current investigations in magnetomechanics being done at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

“A lot of the nanotechnology is going toward nano-electrical mechanical systems, and those are used in accelerometers and other devices in next-generation products,” Lund said.

About Dr. Michael Lund
Dr. Lund is an assistant professor in Bemidji State University’s Department of Technology, Art and Design. Before joining the BSU faculty, he was an assistant professor in Winona State University’s Composite Materials Engineering Department and he worked as an engineer designing custom cryogenic systems. He received his doctorate in materials science from the University of Minnesota and has a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

Lund’s graduate research was on magnetic heterostructures and ordered nanostructure arrays, with postdoctoral research on the mechanical properties of hollow gold nanospheres. He is currently investigating the linkage between a material’s magnetic and mechanical properties, particularly at the nanoscale.

About the Honors Council Lecture Series
The Honors Council Lecture Series is hosted by the Bemidji State University Honors Council. The council is the advisory group to the honors program composed of 12 faculty members representing each of the university’s colleges. Student representatives are also elected to the council by their cohorts for one-year terms.

Contacts
• Kari Caughey, BSU honors program; (218) 755-3984, kcaughey@bemidjistate.edu
• Michael Lund, assistant professor of technology, art and design; mlund@bemidjistate.edu

Bemidji State University, located in northern Minnesota’s lake district, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling nearly 5,000 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and 11 graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. University signature themes include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and global and multi-cultural understanding.