Robert C. Reno

Title

Associate Professor Emeritus
Dr. Reno retired from the Physics Department in December 2010.

Education

Ph.D. Physics – Brandeis University, 1970
M.S. Physics – Brandeis University, 1967
B.S. Physics – Manhattan College, 1965

Previous Experience

After obtaining his Ph.D., Dr. Reno spent two years at the National Bureau of Standards ( now NIST ) as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow.  He came to UMBC in 1973 and has been on the faculty ever since.  In 2007, he received the UMBC Presidential Teaching Award.

Professional Interests

We are engaged in studies of materials using electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, electron diffraction, and nuclear spectroscopic techniques. Past work includes:

• Tin-based Mössbauer spectroscopy of intermetallic phases ( Cu3Sn,Cu6Sn5 ) and oxides/fluorides ( SnO, SnO2, Sn2OF2, Sn2F6 ) in composite solders and plasma-assisted dry soldering of solder foils.
• Iron-based Mössbauer spectroscopy of intermediate phases produced during mechanical alloying of nano-sized crystalline and amorphous particles
• Measurements of crystallographic texture in deformed steel and aluminum using neutron diffraction
• Detection of stress-induced defects in metals using positron annihilation

Current work is directed toward materials characterization using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy:

• An examination of crystallographic texture in deformed metals using electron backscattered diffraction patterns ( EBSP’s ). The spatial resolution available with this technique is orders of magnitude better than that achieved with neutron diffraction. Comparison of pole figures generated by the two techniques provides information on texture gradients as a function of depth below a sample surface. EBSP’s can also be used to measure residual stress and crystallographic mismatch across an interface.
• Atomic force microscopy on semiconductor films used in photonics applications.

Selected Publications

Plastic Strain and Grain Orientation Effects in the Surface Roughening of Aluminum Alloys, E.J. Moore, M. R. Stoudt and R. C. Reno 2005, TMS Letters 2, 135-136
Mechanochemical Transformations in the Zn-Magnetite System, L. Takacs, R. C. Reno and M. Pardavi-Horvath 1998, Hyperfine Interactions 112, 247

A Conversion-electron Mössbauer Study of Tin-Based Compounds Formed During PADS Treatment (Plasma-Assisted Dry Soldering) of a Solder Foil, Robert C. Reno and Brett Piekarski 1997, in Electronic Packaging Materials Science IX, (Materials Research Society, Warrendale, 1997), pp. 223-227.

A Mössbauer Study of Tin-Based Intermetallics Formed During the Manufacture of Dispersion Strengthened Composite Solders, Robert C. Reno, Michael J. Panunto and Brett Piekarski 1997, Journal of Electronic Materials, 26, 11

Ultrasonic Measurement of Sheet Steel Texture and Formability: Comparison with Neutron Diffraction and Mechanical Measurements, A. V. Clark, Jr., R. B. Thompson, Y. Li, R. C. Reno, G. V. Blessing, D. V. Mitrakovic, R. E. Schramm and D. Matlock 1990, Res Nondestr Eval 2, 239

Texture Monitoring in Aluminum Alloys: a Comparison of Ultrasonic and Neutron Diffraction Measurement, A. V. Clark, Jr., R. C. Reno, R. B. Thompson, J. F. Smith, G. V. Blessing, R. J. Fields, P. P. Del Santo and R. B. Mignogna 1988, Ultrasonics 26, 189