Richard L. Axelbaum, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering, peers inside a tubular flow reactor at the fiery formation of nanoparticles produced with the aid of a 3-inch flame. While flames are used each year to produce millions of tons of materials from silica to carbon black, Axelbaum is the first person to patent a flame technique that makes stable non-oxide materials in the nanoparticle range.

Nanoparticles; Small science, but big breakthrough

By Tony Fitzpatrick

A University mechanical engineer has developed a patented technology that makes nanoparticles smaller, faster, cleaner and cheaper than existing commercial processes.

Richard L. Axelbaum, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering, calls his technology the sodium/halide flame and encapsulation technology (SFE). With a 3-inch long flame inside a 4-foot-long tubular flow reactor, Axelbaum uses sodium reduction of metal halides, such as boron trichloride and titanium tetrachloride, to produce metal and ceramic nanoparticles. The particles are 10 nanometers to 100 nanometers in diameter. One nanometer is one one-thousandth of a micron, which is 50,000 times smaller than a human hair.

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Maritz, Board of Trustees member, dies at 72

By Donna Kettenbach

William E. Maritz, a member of Washington University Board of Trustees since 1984, passed away Monday after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 72.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in Graham Chapel.

He served on various committees of the University's Board, including Educational Policy, Student Affairs, Honorary Degree, Medical Finance, Hilltop Finance, Nominating and Development committees.

"Bill Maritz was an outstanding person who will be missed by our community," Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton said. "He was one of the first trustees with whom I interacted when I joined the University, and at that time he was president of Civic Progress. I knew right away that Bill was a great person from the accomplishments and abilities that were very evident. During the ensuing years, I came to know Bill as a person of uncommon sensitivity, dedication and leadership ability. I will miss his wise counsel and am grateful that I had the opportunity to learn from him. His loss is deeply felt by me and others in the University community."

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Mertz honored via naming of Mallinckrodt dance studio

By Liam Otten

Annelise Mertz, professor emerita in the University's Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences, has long been a force on the St. Louis dance scene --as a teacher, as a performer and choreographer, and as a tireless champion for the arts.

The University will honor Mertz's distinguished career with the dedication of the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio. The Mallinckrodt Center studio is the University's primary dance rehearsal/performance space.

"Professor Mertz is one of the most dynamic and inspiring teachers ever to grace the Hilltop Campus," said Henry I. Schvey, Ph.D., chair of the PAD. "Her vitality and passion are unquenchable. The fire has never gone out and never will. She believes in the fundamental importance of dance --and, by extension, of the arts as a whole. For Annelise, dance education is not about teaching technique or creating pretty images; it is about the drama and passion of life itself."

Said Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor and dean of Arts & Sciences: "Annelise has been a great advocate for the performing arts, both on campus and in the St. Louis community. Her energy and dedication have brought many fine dance concerts to Washington University over the years, and I look forward to seeing that tradition continue in the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio."

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Infant lung disease gene identified by researchers

By Anne Enright Shepherd

A multi-center team of researchers has discovered a possible genetic cause of infant lung disease.

They found that two patients who developed a potentially fatal form of lung disease within the first months of life both had a mutation of one of the genes responsible for producing pulmonary surfactant, a material in the lungs that keeps them inflated. The study is reported in the Feb. 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"These fundamental investigations will allow us to develop more sophisticated therapies for respiratory problems," said Aaron Hamvas, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine. "We now are one step closer to identifying another type of genetic lung disease, but we still have a long way to go."

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