Brief
Dr. Peter Hsieh is an NRC postdoctoral fellow working in the Thermophysical Properties Division at NIST, Boulder. He received his B.S. in Materials Science and Biology from the US Air Force Academy (1997), his M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT (1999), and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University (2008). He has researched thin film deposition, boundary lubrication, and electrochemistry. At NIST, Dr. Hsieh is characterizing renewable boundary lubricant additives by combining the advanced distillation curve (ADC) approach with surface probe microscopy. Away from the laboratory, Peter enjoys hiking and brewing.
Research Interests:
Boundary Lubricant Characterization
Lubricants today are complex blends of performance enhancing additives and base oils. The fluid composition changes over the service life of the lubricant due to physical evaporation and chemical breakdown of its constituent molecules. The distillation curve of a lubricant containing volatile additives can be used to gauge the effect of additive evaporation on lubricant lubricity through surface probe microscopy. The systematic evaluation of different surface-active functional groups in this manner enables the design of advanced additives which prolong lubricant service life at elevated operating temperatures. The availability of high-performance high-temperature lubricants improves energy efficiency and reduces wear.
Selected Publications
Hsieh, P. Y.; Abel, K. R.; Bruno, T. J., Analysis of marine diesel fuel with the advanced distillation curve method. Energy & Fuels 2013, 27 (2), 804-810.
Awards and Honors
ACS Entrepreneurial Training Program Scholarship, 2012
NSF-Navy Civilian Service Fellowship, 2006
IEEE/ACM High Performance Computing Games Grand Prize, 2000
Draper Fellowship, 1997
Outstanding Cadet in Basic Science Division, 1997
Member of Beta Beta Beta
Education
Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, 2008. Dissertation: "Liquid metal boundary lubrication of sliding electrical contacts." Advisors: Prof. Yip-Wah Chung and Prof. Jane Wang
M.S., Materials Science and Engineering, MIT, 1999. Thesis: "DC magnetron reactive sputtering of low stress A1N piezoelectric thin films for MEMS application." Advisor: Prof. Rafael Reif
B.S., Materials Science and Biology, US Air Force Academy, 1997
Contact
NIST
Applied Chemicals and Materials Division
Boulder, CO 80305-3337
Office 404-497-5522
Fax 303-497-6682