TITLE		Associate Professor
AREAS		Tribology, nanomanufacturing,              multi-scale particle flows.
DEGREES		B.S. 1995, Tennessee State University; M.S. 1997, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Ph.D. 2001, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Post-Doctorate, Georgia Institute of Technology.
WEBPAGE		Particle Flow & Tribology Laboratory
PHONE		412-268-2486
FAX		412-268-3348
EMAIL		higgs@andrew.cmu.edu
ADDRESS		Carnegie Mellon University Department of Mechanical Engineering 309 Scaife Hall 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Professor Higgs conducts particulate flow modeling and experimental research that utilizes the basic principles of tribology, fluid and rheological mechanics. His Particulate Flow & Tribology Laboratory studies three different flows found in sliding contact interfaces:

• Slurry flows
• Powder flows
• Granular flows

These three dynamic flows involve nanometer, micrometer, and millimeter size particles flowing in a fluid medium. In the field known as Tribology- the study of friction, lubrication, and wear- these flows have each been studied for their ability to act as lubricants between mating surfaces, or as “reverse-lubricants”, as is the case with slurries in integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing.

One of the projects Professor Higgs is working on uses slurry flows with nanometer size particles to manufacture magnetic hard disk surfaces to near atomically-smooth levels for the purpose of developing extremely high capacity information storage systems. To achieve this, his team employs chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), a semiconductor manufacturing process used to engineer the surface to nanoscale roughness. Pursuant to the international semiconductor roadmap, his group is also working to achieve uniform material removal of copper, barrier, and dielectric layers on semiconductor wafers during CMP. In studying powder flows, the group is researching and developing high-speed, oil-free, rotating mechanical systems that will use powder as lubricants. In granular flows, nearly-elastic particles are set in colliding motion to accommodate the relative velocity between two sliding surfaces. Developing and modeling granular lubrication flow experiments would significantly advance particle flow research being conducted in the biomedical, agricultural, and geological science communities. Overall, the Particulate Flow & Tribology Laboratory will research and develop innovative mechanical and electrical technologies that are processed or protected by particulate flows.

Recently, he became a professor in the Sloan Ph.D. Program, which seeks to increase the number of minorities that earn doctorates in engineering and science. He also joined the Institute for Complex Engineering Systems at Carnegie Mellon.

Selected Publications

• Wornyoh, E. , Jasti. V., and Higgs, C.F. III, “A Review of Dry Particulate Lubrication: Powder and Granular Materials”, ASME Journal of Tribology,  Vol. 129, 2007.
• Terrell, E. and Higgs III, C.F., “A Simulation of Contaminates Around the Solid Immersion Lens in a Near Field Optical Recording System”, IEEE Trans. Magnetics, Vol. 43, 6, 2007.
• Terrell, E. and Higgs III, C.F., “A Model for Studying the Hydrodynamic Slurry Behavior in CMP: Discrete and Continuous Phases”, ASME Journal of Tribology, 2007, In-Press.
• Helmick, D, Messner, W., Higgs III, C.F., Experimental Bias Measurement and Physical Correlations", Microsystem Technologies, 2007, In-Press.
• Lovell, M. Higgs III, C.F., Deshmukha, P. , Mobley, A.,  “Increasing formability in sheet metal stamping operations using environmentally friendly lubricants”, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol. 177, 1-3 , 3, 2006.
• Jasti, V. and Higgs III, C.F., “A Lattice-based Cellular Automata Modeling Approach for Granular Flow Lubrication”, ASME Journal of Tribology, Vol. 128, pp.1-7, 2006.
• Higgs, C.F. III, Graham, S., and Mattei, N.J., “Development of New Faculty: A Summary of the NSF-CMS WEE Workshop”, Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, Vol. 132, No. 2, 2006.

Select Awards/Honors

• Awarded the Struminger Teaching Fellowship, (2007-2008)
• NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program Award (2007-2012)
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation “Sloan PhD Program”, Faculty Member (2004 – now)
• Featured in Minority Engineer Magazine, (Spring 2004)
• General Electric (GE) Junior Faculty Coupon Award (2003)
• NASA Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP) Ph.D. Fellowship (1998 – 2001)
• GE Faculty of the Future Fellowship (1997 – 2001)
• GEM Ph.D. Fellowship (1997 – 2001)
• GEM MS Fellowship (1995 – 1997)

Scientific & Professional Societies

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Society of Tribology and Lubrication Engineers (STLE), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and the Materials Research Society (MRS).