May 11, 2000

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A physics student who spent last summer at UAB (the University of Alabama at Birmingham) recently published a report of her work in the May 2000 issue of the Journal of Materials Research. Neeta Toprani, an undergraduate at the University of Miami, detailed the results of her research with two physicists and a mechanical engineer into “nanostructured” diamond growth.

The work, spearheaded by principal investigator UAB physicist Yogesh Vohra, Ph.D., demonstrated that diamond coatings on metal substances can be tough and durable. The experiment involved the bonding between the diamond coatings and a titanium alloy. The coatings stick well to the metal because researchers added a slight amount of nitrogen in a plasma containing hydrogen and methane, Vohra said.

The research has applications in a variety of load-bearing systems, including orthopedic and dental medical implants. The team of scientists working with Toprani included Vohra, research professor of materials engineering Raymond G. Thompson, Ph.D. and physicist Shane Catledge, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow at UAB.

Toprani worked with UAB scientists under the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program of the National Science Foundation.