Soft Matter Laboratory Research

Complex Fluids Inside Microfluidic Devices

Nanoporous Synthesis

BioMimetics

Bioenergy

Energy Storage

Granular Materials

BioMimetics:

Biomimetics is the field of materials science in which inspiration is sought from biological systems for the design of novel materials. The materials and structures involved in natural systems have the capacity to sense environmental conditions, process this data, and respond. For example, the Venus fly trap can execute repeatable reversible mechanical actions very swiftly. The scientific underpinnings sufficient to permit the direct engineering of complicated biomimetic actuators produced by a living plant do not yet exist, since they require the integrated functioning of exceedingly complex biochemical systems.

Project 1: Forisome based biomimetic materials

With the discovery of the plant protein forisome (Knoblauch et al. 2003), a novel nastic non-living, ATP-independent biological material became available to the designer of smart materials for advanced actuating and sensing. The in vitro studies of Knoblauch et al. show that forisomes (1-3 micron wide and 10-30 micron long) can be repeatedly stimulated to contract and expand anisotropically by the application of a pH and calcium concentration shift. Due to their unique features, forisomes have the potential to outperform current smart materials such as ATP-dependent actuators and synthetic hydrogels/polymers as advanced multi-functional smart sensors, valves, and actuators as biomimetic devices.

We aim to synthesize forisome composites to serve as building blocks from small scale devices to morphing hardware that utilize substantial shape change capabilities to provide new design options and degrees of freedom. Forisome based composites can also be used as adaptive aerodynamic fillets, seals, and skins to provide seamless transitions between major moving parts of a morphing aircraft and vehicles. At the end of the proposed project, forisome composites will be validated and ready for initial manufacturing trails for future applications.

Project 2: Smart worm: C. elegans

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans ( C. elegans) is one of the most studied model animals in biology due to its genetic tractability, completely sequenced genome, simple anatomy and body transparency. It is also a superb system to study motility and sensing because it offers a minimalist realization of an organism capable of versatile sensing, graceful movement, and rudimentary learning: all done with only 302 nerve cells. We are collaborating with researchers from NYU to probe their locomotion and sensing behavior.