MicroscopyPioneers
Grace Burke, Giacomo Bertali (PhD student,) and Graham Cliff (of Cliff-Lorimer) with the University of Manchester FEI Titan.
installed but no users, so she became a primary user of those analytical electron microscopes (AEMs) to study recrystalli- zation of steels, carbide precipitation, dual-phase steels, and some cool Fe-Be alloys. Serendipitously, just down the hall from Burke one of the same steel samples was being character- ized by Sid Brenner and Mike Miller using atom probe field ion microscopy (APFIM). When the two groups compared data, they found that the bimodal distribution of the two tech- niques overlapped at the finest point of the TEM data and the coarsest point of the atom probe analysis. Tey linked the data sets and eventually published the findings in Metal Science. Equally important to Burke, she learned the fascinating and very challenging technique of APFIM, expanding not only her technique repertoire but also her scientific network. Te connections made at US Steel would eventually serve to con- nect her to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Mike Miller, Jim Bentley, Ed Kenik) for collaborations on later studies. While at US Steel, Grace started research with Brenner on irradiation embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel steels, thanks to a met- allurgist from Carolina Power and Light Company, Sam Grant, who discovered the problem 15 years earlier. Grace continued to focus on irradiation damage in neutron irradiated reactor pressure vessel steels to detect the “invisible” irradiation fea- tures that were responsible for the embrittlement during her time on the Research Faculty at the University of Pittsburgh aſter the demise of US Steel’s Research Laboratory. However, the real challenge was collecting sufficient data in a volume and manner to give credence to the APFIM, as data collection was extremely time-consuming and required many specimens. In the mid-1980s, the scientific community was quite hesitant to accept data concerning nanoscale solute clustering collected using APFIM. Tis led to many further metallurgical studies applying both AEM and APFIM to provide comprehensive complementary data for detailed microstructural character- ization. Tough, perhaps, the most difficult person to convince was Burke herself. She is careful to distinguish findings into indicative data and conclusive data. Grace joined the Westinghouse Science and Technology Center in 1987, where she continued her research involving
2020 November •
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Grace Burke, Karin Swann, and Sibylle Schilling (M&M Awardee) at PR Swann Memorial Symposium on In Situ Microscopy at M&M 2015.
materials for nuclear power systems, as well as working with colleagues on semiconductors and novel materials. Interest- ingly, Burke’s father also worked at Westinghouse as a mechan- ical engineer for nearly 48 years, as did her grandmother around 1920. Although, her grandmother was required to give up her work as a secretary once she became engaged, a require- ment that fortunately became illegal with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Burke transferred to the Bettis Laboratory, a Westing- house division, aſter the birth of her daughter, Eileen. Grace continued in her microstructurally oriented research focusing on the relationship between microstructure and material per- formance, though her title changed from Fellow Scientist to Advisory Scientist to Consultant Scientist. She became the first woman Consultant at the Laboratory. In 2011, she accepted a position at the University of Man-
chester as Professor and Director of the Materials Performance Centre, and within six months was also asked to be Director of the Electron Microscopy Centre, which she led through 2016. Despite the responsibility that comes with the positions, she still finds time to spend on the instruments. She wholeheart- edly enjoys the opportunities to work with grad students to share her knowledge and expertise, and stresses attention to detail in research. Her courses are lauded by students in part due to her experience in industry, but mostly because they, like me, are affected by her infectious enthusiasm. Her early work using APFIM was not the only time in
her career Burke was an earlier adopter. When asked about her contribution of in situ TEM, she was quick to remind me that it was not a new technique. Te technique was used by Peter Swann and others in the 1970s with the 1 MeV high- voltage electron microscopes. Perhaps, it was more accurate to say that Burke helped usher the technique into the cur- rent age of applied in situ microscopy. Speaking with her colleagues, they agree she is an early adopter, but always a skeptical adopter. Willing to try a technique, but not willing to casually give credence. She needs to see the data along with complementary supporting data. A natural consequence of this meticulous approach is the high respect gained by col- leagues. Every person I spoke to about Burke’s work used the
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