Philadelphia Liberty Bell Chapter Monthly Newsletter for Wednesday, November 20, 2002

ASM Announces

Bob Vecchio of Lucius Pitkin is the speaker for the Philadelphia chapter AWS meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 16. He'll be talking about "Collapse and Recovery Efforts at the World Trade Center." Lucius Pitkin is a failure analysis company located in Manhattan and this talk might be of interest to our members.

Further particulars are:

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2002

Location: Philadelphia Airport Ramada, Route 219, Essington, Pa.

Schedule: 6:30-7:30 p.m.- dinner, 7:30 p.m. meeting

Cost: $20.00 per person

Reservations: 1-800-210-9920

Chairperson's Message, Wednesday, November 20, 2002 (**Note - Wednesday night, not Thursday)

This month's meeting will be Young Members Night, which is dedicated to both high school and college students. We are expecting our usual great turnout of students for this meeting, so please don't forget to make reservations by calling 215-643-3369 or via our web-site at www-asm-philadelphia.com. Also, please be sure to note that this meeting is on Wednesday, November 20th, not our traditional Thursday night.

We have an outstanding speaker and topic this month; Dr. Michele Marcolongo of Drexel University will discuss "Functional Restoration of the Intervertebral Disc of the Spine using Hydrogel Polymers". This is a great opportunity for us to experience the exciting link between bioengineering and materials engineering. This topic is especially well suited to young members still exploring their career paths. Also of interest to young members will be a brief talk by high school student Marissa Berkowitz, who will give us an overview of her experience at this past summer's Materials Camp at ASM International Headquarters in Materials Park, OH. This is the third year in a row that the Philadelphia area has been represented by a local high school student at the week long Materials Camp, and we want to continue the tradition. This is a great opportunity for attending high school students to get first hand knowledge of this great program offered free by ASM International.

Don't forget that we have a $25.00 drawing for any full time student in attendance this night. See you November 20th!

Don Jordan
2002-2003 Chairperson

This Month's Meeting Features...

Dinner Menu - Fresh Fruit Cup, Hearts of Lettuce, Roast Tom Turkey, Baked Stuffed Potato, Winter Mix, Ice Cream Croquette

Social Hour -- 6:00-7:00 p.m., Dinner -- 7:00 p.m.
Price -- $20.00, Retirees -- $12.00, Students -- $10.00

Technical Chairperson: Scott Nyce, Solar Atmospheres, Inc.

Speaker: DR. MICHELLE MARCOLONGO, Drexel University

Topic: Functional Restoration of the Intervertebral Disc of the Spine Using Hydrogel Polymers

Michele Marcolongo is Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials and Engineering at Drexel University, since 1997, and is Scientific Director of Orthopaedics Research Institute at Bryn Mawr Hospital, since 2001. Michele has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware, 1986; MS in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University, 1989; MS and PHD in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, 1992 and 1995. Prior to coming to Drexel, Michele had four years experience with Depuy Dupont Orthopaedics as a Biomedical Research Engineer and had four years experience with General Electric Aerospace in various engineering programs.

Over five million Americans suffer from chronic lower back pain making it the number one cause of lost workdays in the United States. With over 20 billion dollars spent each year for the treatment of lower back pain it is one of the most expensive health care issues today. While the causes of lower back pain remain unclear, it is believed that 75% of the cases are associated with degenerative disc disease, where the intervertebral disc of the spine suffers reduced mechanical functionality due to dehydration of the nucleus pulposus. The reduction in the ability of the disc to transmit loads evenly and efficiently between vertebral bodies leads to damage in the annulus fibrosus region of the disc. Fissures or tears in the annulus can translate into a disc that herniates or ruptures, resulting in impingement of the nerves in the region of the disc which manifests as lower back or leg pain, depending on which nerves have been affected.

Our general premise is that if the initial dehydration of the degenerated nucleus can be arrested and a fully hydrated state returned to the disc, then the degenerative process (including the associated pain) would be postponed or prevented and that mechanical function would be restored to the vertebral segment. To facilitate this approach, we are investigating replacement of the nucleus with a biocompatible, hydrogel polymer made from a copolymer of PVA with poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP). Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that the addition of PVP to the PVA has resulted in a hydrogel system that exhibits reduced in vitro degradation as compared to PVA alone. The increased stability of these gels is due to hydrogen bonding between the PVA and PVP chains. These hydrogen bonds, known as interpolymer complexes, serve as secondary, physical crosslinks and provide the networks with additional resistance to PVA dissolution from the gel. Further, the copolymer gel is a memory material, meaning that it is expected to exhibit predictable, reproducible changes in geometry from the hydrated to dehydrated states. We have exploited this material property in order to insert the implant into the nuclear cavity arthroscopically, enabling this procedure to be performed in a minimally invasive manner, implanting the dehydrated material and rehydrating to a desired shape and size in situ. We have characterized the dehydration/rehydration characteristics of the hydrogel, including a mechanical and surface chemical analysis of the changes that occur to the material as a result of the dehydration/rehydration process and are now exploring the biomechanical response of the spine to the insertion of the hydrogel implants. This technique may lead to a new clinical treatment for degenerative disc disease.

Spouses and guests are invited and welcome. This meeting will be held at Williamson Restaurant, Easton Road, Horsham, PA. Reservations are necessary - Call: (215) 643-3369 (OH-DE-FOX), or you may register using our online form. Please don't call if you have already reserved via this web site LINK.

MEI Course - "Metallurgy for the Non-Metallurgist"

When: Starts Tuesday, November 12, 2002

COURSE OVERVIEW:
The Greater Philadelphia Section of The American Society for Nondestructive Testing and The Philadelphia "Liberty Bell" Chapter of ASM International is presenting the MEI course Metallurgy for the Non-Metallurgist.

When: Tuesday evenings November 12, 2002 through March 4, 2003 6:30 to 9:00 PM

Where: SPS Technologies -- Highland Ave. Jenkintown, PA

Cost: $270.00 includes the 15 lesson course with 2.8 CEUs, Qualified ASMI instructors and a video presentation each week.

Who should attend:
This is an ideal first course for anyone who needs a working understanding of metals and their applications. It has been designed for those with no previous training in metallurgy, such as technical, laboratory, and sales personnel; engineers from other disciplines; management and administrative staff; and non-technical support staff such as purchasing and receiving agents who order and inspect incoming material. A basic understanding of chemistry and physics is strongly suggested.

Course overview:
• Presents a brief history of metals, providing insight into the discovery and use of pure metals and alloys thousands of years before the modern era.

• Provides an explanation of the unique physical characteristics of metals, including the reasons that metals behave differently than such non-metals as plastics, glass, wood etc.

• Explains the basis for the selection of different metals for specific engineering application,

• Describes how metals are alloyed to achieve desired properties.

• Provides details on one of the most important of all alloys - steel - and discusses how steel is heat treated to achieve various combinations of strength and ductility.

• Explains how metals are formed into the components that are used in our most important engineered machines and structures.

• Describes how metals are tested to determine critical properties, such as strength, ductility and toughness.

• Discusses why metals corrode, why different metals behave differently in corrosive environments, and how the corrosion of metals can be controlled.

For more information call Fred Klock or Bob Rich at 215-572-3485 or send e-mail to fklock@spstech.com.

Phantoms Hockey

A Phantoms Hockey game is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 2003 at 3:00 p.m. The cost is $14 for adults and $8 for kids under 14. Due to the non-refundable cost of reserving a block of tickets for groups, we would first like to get an idea of membership interest. If you are interested in attending, please contact Melissa Morris at mmm@solaratm.com by November 8, 2002.

Welding: Technology, Processes, Materials, Design, Quality

A course offered by Drexel University - January 6-10, 2003

Drexel University is offering a professional course aimed at engineers who have to deal with welding problems and all of their aspects: technology, process, design, and quality. The course covers standard approaches to welding as an engineering discipline and relies on applicable standards like AWS, ANSI, and ASTM. The course will prepare engineers to meet the requirements for the qualification of welding engineers, as prescribed by AWS Specification B5:16:2000X. Although a one-week course is not sufficient for complete preparation, it can serve as an excellent basis for further individual effort toward this aim. Having this in mind, the course designers have chosen the AWS Handbook, Volume 1 covering all basic aspects of welding, as the course notes. This is also the reason for the very intensive schedule for the course, including 30 hours of lecture over 5 working days. The program is presented by the Department of Materials Engineering, Drexel University (S. Kalidini, R. Doherty, R. Knight, A Sedmak).

Outline of the Program

Welding Heat Sources and Arc Physics - Power sources, shielding gases, and arc stability.

Welding Processes - Flux core, MIG, TIG, laser, electron beam, subarc, friction, and others.

Welding and Joining Metallurgy - Structure, solidification, phase transformations, and weldability of typical engineering materials.

Weld Design - Structural fabrication requirements and mechanical properties.

Quality Assurance - NDE Processes - characteristics, advantages and limitations of each.

Practical Welding and Related Applications - Summary of design, safety, and quality assurance considerations.

Contact the Materials Engineering Department at Drexel University for additional information.

Welcome New Members

Manny Butera	Matec Micro Electronics
Thomas B. Cameron	Dentsply Ceranco Inc.
Anthony A. Caiazzo	Material Science Corp.
Howard W. Cheetham	Consultant
Thomas W. Edwards	AG Fluoropolymers
F. J. Fahrendorf	P.M.F. Alloys Inc.
Alireza Hosseini	Student
Vikram J. Kaku	Temple University
Srinivasan Kesavan	FMC Corporation
Rob W. Kowalik	NAVAIR
Wade Krejdovsky	SPS Technologies
Samuel E. Lofland	Rowan University
Dennis McDonough	McDonough
Donald E. McGarrigan	Foster Wheeler USA Corp.
Matt McMichael	Bae Systems
Richard L. Orner, Jr.	Engineered Arresting Sys. Corp.
Michael J. Poland	Exelon PowerLabs
David R. Poulin	Specialty Resources Inc.
Dave Rohrbaugh	Vacuum Furnace Systems Corp.
Richard Snelson	Measurements Inc.
John T. Stasik, Jr.	RV Industries Inc.
Tim Steber	Solar Atmospheres, Inc.
Jim Turnure	R & B Inc.
Vern Wedeven	Wedeven Association Inc.

Meeting Cancellation Notification

In the event of cancellation of a meeting due to inclement weather, we will broadcast the news as part of KYW News radio's (1060AM) Storm Center Service. ASM cancellations will be specifically announced when KYW airs community cancellations at :20 and :50 past each hour during the afternoon of the day of the meeting; ASM's name will be specifically mentioned, so listen for the name rather than an organization number as is used for schools.

Do you have news...

that should be shared with the other members of the "Liberty Bell" Chapter? If so, please email your info to Jim Watters at dvua2@cs.com. Be sure to add the phrase "Liberty Bell Chapter Newsletter Item" in the subject line. We'll be sure to include it in the next monthly Chapter newsletter.

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