 Robert J. Moon | Robert J. MoonForest Biopolymer Science and EngineeringUnit: FPL-4707 Materials Research Engineer Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech 500 10th St. NW Atlanta, GA United States 30332-0620 Phone: 404-894-1026 robertmoon@fs.fed.us |
Current Research
Dr. Moon is an internationally recognized researcher in cellulose nanomaterials (CN). He is an expert in processing-structure-property relationships as they apply in various aspects of CN research, such as, nanocomposites, hybrid composites, recyclable solar cells, multi-scale modeling, characterization, etc.. His research program on nanoscale science and engineering of CNs are highly collaborative with Purdue University and Georgia Institute of Technology (GT), where he holds Adjunct Professor appointments in both the School of Materials Engineering (at Purdue University), and in the School of Materials Science and Engineering (at GT). Dr. Moon a member of and is currently stationed at the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at GT. Dr. Moon works to develop cellulose nanomaterials (CN) pre-structures (e.g. films, continuous fibers, spheres, etc.) combined with targeted CN surface treatments to produce industrially relevant CN composites with improved performance (thermo-mechanical properties, etc) and new functionality/capabilities (e.g., antimicrobial, current conduction, etc.). Resent work has been in the areas of new cement systems, flexible electronics, and functional fillers in various polymer systems.
Research Interest
•Processing-Structure-Property Relationships•Hierarchical Structure Effects on Properties•Fracture and Wear of Materials•Cellulose Nanomaterials: Composite Processing, Characterization, and Modeling•Cellulose Nanomaterials: for cements, flexible electronics, and functional fillers in polymers•Sustainable, Biodegradable, Carbon Neutral Materials
Past Research
Hofferber, Blake M.; Kolodka, Edward; Brandon, Rishawn; Moon, Robert J.; Frihart, Charles R. 2006. Effects of swelling forces on the durability of wood adhesive bonds. Proceedings of the 29th annual meeting of the Adhesion Society, Inc., February 19-22, 2006, Jacksonville, Florida: pages 187-189. Frihart, Charles R.; Yelle, Daniel J.; Ralph, John; Moon, Robert J.; Stone, Donald S.; Jakes, Joseph E. 2008. Enhanced understanding of the relationship between chemical modification and mechanical properties of wood. In: Proceedings for the 9th Pacific Rim bio-based composites symposium. 2008 November 5-8. Roturua, New Zealand. 141-148. Jakes, Joseph E.; Frihart, Charles R.; Beecher, James F.; Moon, Robert J.; Stone, D. S. 2008. Experimental method to account for structural compliance in nanoindentation measurements. Journal of materials research. Vol. 23, no. 4 (Apr. 2008): Pages 1113-1127. Moon, Robert J.; Jakes, Joseph E.; Beecher, Jim F.; Frihart, Charles R.; Stone, Donald S. 2009. Relating nanoindentation to macroindentation of wood. Advanced biomass science and technology for bio-based products. [S.l.] : Chinese Academy of Forestry, c2009: p. 145-157. Moon, Robert J.; Wells, Joseph; Kretschmann, David E.; Evans, James; Wiedenhoeft, Alex C.; Frihart, Charles R. 2010. Influence of chemical treatments on moisture-induced dimensional change and elastic modulus of earlywood and latewood. Holzforschung 64(6): 771-779. Moon, Robert J.; Hoffman, Mark; Rödel, Jörgen; Tochino, Shigemi; Pezzotti, Giuseppe; 2009. Evaluation of crack-tip stress fields on microstructural-scale fracture in Al-Al2O3 interpenetrating network composites. Acta materialia. Vol. 57, no. 2 (Jan. 2009): p. 570-581.
Education
- Purdue University, Ph.D. Materials Engineering , 2000
- Purdue University, M.S. Metallurgical Engineering , 1996
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.S. Metallurgical Engineering , 1994
Professional Experience
- Adjunct Professor-, Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology 2014 - Current
- Adjunct Professor-, Materials Engineering, Purdue University 2007 - Current
- Visiting Scientist, University of New South Wales, Australia 2005 - 2005
- ARC Postdoctoral Fellow, University of New South Wales, Australia 2002 - 2005
- Visiting Scientist, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan 2002 - 2003
- Postdoctoral Researcher, University of New South Wales, Australia 2000 - 2001
Below are the 71 US Forest Service publications sorted by year. You may re-sort the list by: Title, Date Posted, Category, Publication or Year.
| Publication Year: 2013 | |
 Highlight ID: 449 | Ceramic-Like Thermal Expansion Obtained from Cellulose Nanocrystal Films One of the unique properties of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) are their low dimensional change with changes in temperature. Understanding the role and mechanism associated with thermal expansion within CNCs and CNC composites is important to a variety ... |
 Highlight ID: 447 | New Process Fabricates Efficient Reclyclable Solar Cells Using Natural Substrates Solar cells fabricated on optically transparent cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films reach a power conversion efficiency of 2.7 percent, an unprecedented figure for cells on substrates derived from renewable raw materials. Additionally, these solar cell ... |
 Highlight ID: 450 | Removing Organic Compounds from Water with Reusable Nanofiber Films Researchers produced films for water decontamination using cellulose nanofibers as a matrix material for the suspension of photocatalytic nano particles. ... |
| Publication Year: 2011 | |
 Highlight ID: 301 | Cellulose Nanocrystals Cellulose nanocrystals are ultra-small rod-like reinforcement material that can be extracted from trees, plants and some sea animals. This new technology has potential benefit to a variety of cellulose based industries such as paper, packaging, texti ... |
| Publication Year: 2010 | |
 Highlight ID: 191 | Cellulose Nanocrystals: Novel Templates for the Synthesis of Nanostructures Harvesting the properties of widely available natural biopolymers for the design of novel systems in nanobiotechnology has been largely ignored in favor of other biological molecules, such as proteins, viruses, or DNA. A joint research effort between ... |
 Highlight ID: 175 | Scale-up of cellulose nano material production There is considerable research internationally on cellulose nano-materials as reinforcement fibers for high strength composites. A persistent problem has been unavailability of cellulose nano-crystals (CNC) and nano-fibrillated cellulose (NFC), the r ... |
| Title | Date Posted |
|---|---|
 Nanocellulose Used in Medical DevicesThe Journal of Applied Polymer Science features groundbreaking work from FPL Materials Research Engineer Robert Moon and others. "Enhanced thermal stability of biomedical thermoplastic polyurethane with the addition of cellulose nanocrystals" by Jen-Chieh Liu, Darren J. Martin, Robert J. Moon, and J... | 06-29-2015 |
 Natural Nanocrystals Shown to Strengthen ConcreteThe following is a Purdue University news release: | 04-06-2015 |
 Patents?You may be surprised at how many technologies from FPL research get patented. What is the value of that? Patents are an effective mode of technology transfer, as they make technologies more appealing to the marketplace due to the exclusivity they offer. Technology transfer leads to increased product... | 08-25-2014 |