
Student Hunter Stombaugh loads a material sample into the Saphir 550.3, a laboratory instrument used to grind and polish samples before placing them in an electron microscope for analysis. (Submitted photos)
Fifteen high school students and one college freshman recently got up close and personal with lab equipment worth nearly a half-million dollars at the ASM International Materials Camp. During the weeklong camp, students performed failure analyses on prosthetic implants including a hip prosthesis, pelvic clamps, a tibial nail, and tibial component. An area surgeon provided the sterilized implants, along with X-rays showing the implants before they were removed from patients.
The ASM Materials Camp is organized and sponsored by Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tech 20/20, and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Steve Dekanich, an engineer in B&W Y-12’s Quality Assurance, is the camp co-chairman. [Read more…]