Associate Professor Luz Martínez-Miranda
Ph.D.,
M.I.T., 1985
Undergraduate Advisor, Sloan Scholars Advisor
APS Fellow
Room 1110D Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
E-mail: ljmm@umd.edu
Phone: (301) 405-0253
Research Interests
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Liquid Crystals for biological studies and general engineering applications (e.g., displays)
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X-ray scattering techniques of liquid crystal and other materials
TopCurrent Research Projects
Dr. Martínez-Miranda is currently studying the interaction of liquid crystal with nanoscale materials. Since nanometer-sized liquid crystal phases are found in the cell walls of all living creatures, her studies have implications in the healthcare field and the study of biological interactions, particularly where nanoparticles are used as carriers for the delivery of treatment.
Advising and Mentoring
Dr. Martínez-Miranda is one of the Department's undergraduate advisors. She is also active in mentoring-oriented programs such as the University's Materials Science and Research Engineering Center's Research Experience for Undergraduates (MRSEC REU), and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s efforts to increase and support underrepresented American minority Ph.D. students in math, science and engineering.
Outside of the university she has been active with SACNAS (the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science), where she has been a member of the board and a judge of engineering posters at their annual meeting; and as a member of the NSHP (National Society for Hispanic Physicists), where she has served on the board since 1998 and was the president from 2003-2005.
Teaching
Dr. Martínez-Miranda contributed to the creation of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering's undergraduate program, including the design of two of its junior year materials labs. She also took part in a NSF-funded project to develop new laboratory experiments that effectively engage undergraduate engineering students in the scientific processes and exploration of concepts in nanotechnology.
Links to syllabi in PDF format provided where available.
She designed the following courses:
- ENMA 310: Materials Lab I: Structural Characterization
Introduction to experimental methods in materials characterization; diffraction (X-ray, TEM, optical); scanning techniques (SEM, AFM); optical microscopy; vibrational spectroscopy. - ENMA 311: Materials Lab II: Electromagnetic Properties
Introduction to experimental methods in materials transport properties measurements: electrical, thermal, magnetic. Emphasis on structure—processing—properties relationship. -
ENMA 489L: Selected Topics in Engineering Materials: Liquid Crystals and Other Monomeric Soft Matter Materials
Liquid crystals and their applications, role in biology, and nanometer structure.
Dr. Martínez-Miranda typically teaches the following courses:
- ENES 100: Introduction to Engineering Design
This course is a product design course for first year engineering students. Students work in teams and build a complex project that encompasses many different fields of engineering. - ENMA 310 (see above)
- ENMA 311 (see above)
- ENMA 460: Physics of Solid Materials
Classes of materials; introduction to the behavior ideal and real material, including mechanical, electrical, thermal, magnetic and optical responses of materials; importance of microstructure in behavior. One application of each property will be discussed in detail.
She has also taught:
- ENMA 300: Introduction to Materials and Their Applications
Structure of materials, chemical composition, phase transformations, corrosion and mechanical properties of metals, ceramics, polymers and related materials. Electrical, thermal, magnetic and optical properties of materials. Materials selection in engineering applications. - ENMA 489M/681: Selected Topics in Engineering Materials: Diffraction Techniques in Materials Science
Introduction to diffraction from materials due to their structure or lack thereof.
- Fellow, American Physical Society (APS), 2007
- Visiting Faculty Appointment to the Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, 2006
- Fellow, American Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2004
- Boricua College Professional Achievement Award in Science, 2004
- NSF Career Advancement Award, 1997
- W.M. Keck Foundation, Engineering Excellence Teaching Award, 1995
- Fellow, American Ceramic Society, 1994
- NSF Visiting Professorship for Women, 1994-1996.
Selected Publications
"A Phenomenological Model of the Effect of Magnetic Nanoparticles and Their Surface Coating on Smectic—A Liquid Crystal Order", L. J. Martínez-Miranda, Lynn K. Kurihara, Kevin McCarthy, Robert Bruce, Jason Harry, Alexis Noel, submitted to Molec. Cryst Liq. Cryst., 2007.
"Effect of Magnetic Nanoparticles and Their Surface Coating on Smectic—A Liquid Crystal Order" L. J. Martínez-Miranda, L. K. Kurihara, Kevin McCarthy, Jason J. Harry, Alexis Noel , Appl. Phys. Lett, 89, 161917 (2006).
"Temperature and Depth Dependence of Order in Liquid Crystal Interfaces", L. J. Martínez-Miranda and Y. Hu, J. of Appl. Phys, 99, 113522 (2006).
"Effect of Magnetic Nanoparticles and Their Functionalization on Liquid Crystal Order", L. J. Martínez-Miranda, Kevin Mccarthy, L. K. Kurihara, A. Noel, Molec. Cyrst. Liq. Cryst., 435, 87 (2005).
"An X-ray Scattering study of the interactions between magnetic nanoparticles and living cell membranes", Isaac Koh, Bani H. Cipriano, Sheryl H. Ehrman, Darryl N. Williams, and Tracey R. Pulliam Holoman and L. J. Martínez-Miranda, J. Appl. Phys. 97 084310 (2005).
"An X-ray Scattering Study of the smectic-C* Liquid Crystal Structure in the Vicinity of the Interface with a Glass Grating", L. J. Martínez-Miranda, J. Appl. Phys. 96, 3272-3276 (2004).
"Preferred orientation of DNA oligonucleotide probes on the (2X4) reconstructed surface of (001) GaAs", Ladan Mohaddes Ardabili, L. J. Martínez-Miranda, Aristos Christou, Lourdes G. Salamanca-Riba, Joseph Silverman, William E. Bentely, Mohamad Al-Sheikhly, J. Appl. Phys., 95, 6021 (2004).
"Attachment of DNA probes on gallium arsenide surface". Ladan Mohaddes-Ardabili, L. J. Martínez-Miranda, J. Silverman, A. Christou, Lourdes G. Salamanca-Riba, and Mohamad Al-Sheikhly, Appl. Phys. Lett., 83, 192 (2003).
"Smectic Ordering in confined liquid crystal films: A depth study", L. J. Martínez-Miranda, J. Appl. Phys., 91, 6452-6456 (2002).
"Nanostructural Study of the Thermal Transformation of Diamond-like Amorphous Carbon into an Ultrahard Carbon Nanocomposite", L. J. Martínez-Miranda, M. P. Siegal and P. P. Provencio, Appl. Phys. Lett., 79, 42-544 (2001).
Professional Affiliations
- American Ceramic Society
- American Physical Society (APS)
- American Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- NSHP (National Society for Hispanic Physicists)
- SACNAS (the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science)
