May 6 Meeting

UCLA Presentations

We invite you to join us for an upcoming UCLA SAMPE meeting featuring two exciting research talks at the intersection of modern materials innovation and ancient technology—along with a potential tour of the Getty Villa conservation laboratories.

Following the talks, attendees may have the opportunity to participate in a guided tour of the Getty Villa labs, where cutting-edge materials science meets cultural heritage preservation.

We hope you’ll join us for this engaging session bridging past and future innovations in materials science.

Presenter:

Alex Killips

Abstract:

Anodized aluminum is a cornerstone of modern industries, from aerospace to consumer electronics, due to its enhancement of wear and corrosion resistance, while also providing a durable aesthetic finish. However, anodization faces a long-standing challenge: aluminum casting alloys, which are cheaper and easier to produce complex geometries with than wrought alloys, suffer from poor anodization quality. This talk explores how nano-treating, the addition of a small fraction of nanoparticles, can be used to overcome this challenge by enabling high-quality coatings on cast aluminum, eliminating a traditional manufacturing bottleneck and paving the way for the scalable manufacturing of high- performance anodized aluminum parts.

Presenter:

Nina Amezcua

Abstract:

Ancient Roman marine concrete technology has gathered scientific interest in the past few decades due to its long-term durability in harsh marine environments and its reduced carbon footprint when compared to modern reinforced concrete structures made from Portland cement. From modern studies into Roman concrete microstructures and chemical phases, it has been found that choice of materials used in Roman marine concrete allowed for long-term “self-healing” processes giving the material the ability to seal cracks at the microscale and resist fracture underwater. My research is concerned with the development of modern Roman concrete analogues for sustainable archaeological conservation and marine applications. In this talk, I will discuss the history of Roman marine concrete development and the potential for modern recreations of ancient Roman marine concrete as sustainable hydraulic cementitious materials.