Systems engineering in materials designThe PSPP framework and the systems concepts behind it. If the chain from processing to performance is causal in both directions, it can be read backward, turning material substitution into a design problem.
2025
Getting started with mixture experimentsAn introduction to mixture experimental design through a polymer yarn formulation example: simplex lattice design, Scheffé polynomials, response surface interpretation, and software recommendations.
2024
The discovery of the rare earth elementsHow chemists identified the 17 rare earth elements over more than a century and a half, from Gadolin's discovery of yttria in 1794 to the isolation of promethium in 1947.
The structure and metastability of glassGlass is amorphous, metastable, and undergoes a gradual rather than sharp transition from liquid to solid. This post covers the structure, the thermodynamics, and the glass transition.