UA Physicist Wins International Calendar Contest With Scientific Image

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For Dr. Gary Mankey, professor of physics at The University of Alabama, the material permalloy represents not only the future of magnetic data storage, but also the grand-prize-winning entry in an international calendar contest.

The winning image, titled “Patchwork Permalloy,” is a collage of 16 tiny images magnified 2,500 times and colorized to emphasize their detail. It adorns the cover of a 2009 calendar featuring microscopic images and produced by Veeco Instruments Inc. Mankey, a researcher in UA’s Center for Materials for Information Technology, or MINT, dedicated the entry to Dr. William Doyle, the founding director of the UA center who died in September 2008.

“I dedicated this to Bill,” Mankey said. “The material used to make the images was the focus of much of his research during his highly successful scientific career. This is part of my tribute to him.”

As the grand prize winner, Mankey received an iPod Nano, free registration for Veeco’s “Seeing at the Nanoscale” conference in July and other gifts.

More than 14,000 copies of the calendar were distributed, and it is also available for download at http://www.veeco.com/library/calendar_contest/2009.aspx. Mankey’s images were taken using an atomic force microscope at UA. According to Veeco, Mankey’s entry was chosen from more than 200 images submitted for the contest with entries coming from across North America, Europe, Japan and other parts of Asia.

Calendar selections, according to company representatives, were based on scientific merit, creativity and presentation.

“Professor Mankey’s submission struck the scientific committee both aesthetically and technically,” said Steve Minne, Veeco’s senior director of applications and product management, AFM. “Understanding magnetism and its quantum mechanical nature has always held a special allure for physicists, and the scientists within Veeco. With this collage, Dr. Mankey visually captured this search, but at the same time emphasized the importance of how Veeco AFM’s proprietary capabilities enable applications for advanced nano-imaging and nano-systems.”

Materials physicists, like Mankey, are interested in permalloy, a mixture of 80 percent nickel and 20 percent iron, for its potential in magnetic data storage for electronic devices, including computers. Mankey’s research into the material was supported by a National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center award.

The department of physics and astronomy is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest public liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships, and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.

UA’s MINT Center is an interdisciplinary research center focusing on developing new materials to advance data storage.

Veeco Instruments Inc. manufactures enabling solutions for customers in the HB-LED, solar, data storage, semiconductor, scientific research and industrial markets. We have leading technology positions in our three businesses: LED & Solar Process Equipment, Data Storage Process Equipment, and Metrology Instruments. Veeco’s manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota and Massachusetts. Global sales and service offices are located throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan and APAC. http://www.veeco.com/.