Mechanics of Advanced Materials
Current Theme: Mechanics of Active Matter
Mechanics & Physics of Active Matter
Many of us may have witnessed a murmuration, where starlings fly together in a dynamical, ever-changing formation. From the engineering viewpoint, this flock of starlings can be considered an autonomous active substance that exhibits diverse constitutive behaviors by interacting with the surroundings. Understanding the physics and mechanics of formations exhibited by these flocks and various motile organisms offers new prospectives of bringing living systems into the scope of condensed matter physics and materials science, thereby enabling biomimetic, autonomous material systems that can revolutionize many engineering applications.
In this research, the activity of living and synthetic active materials will be explored, an interdisciplinary framework of physics and mechanics of autonomous active matter will be developed, and various biomimetic active materials will be designed.
Introduction
The primary goal of my research is to innovate interdisciplinary approaches of making advanced material systems that can optimize performance in diverse engineering applications. In particular, this research aims to extend well-established notions from mechanics and physics to explore new possibilities of harnessing nontraditional phenomena of complex material systems for aerospace, medical, automotive, and defense applications. The knowledge brought by this research is located at the intersection of basic science and applied science, integrating the fields of condensed matter physics, materials science, and engineering. The outcomes of this research endeavor will improve our current understanding of advanced materials, potentially yielding standardized methods for designing and tailoring new materials and engineering systems.
Research Mission
The mission of the proposed research is to mechanics-based design advanced material, energy, and manufacturing systems for commercial and public benefits. This research is located at the intersections of materials science and applied materials, mechanics and applied mechanics, and physics and applied physics. This research depends on the fundamental laws of discrete and continuum mechanics, materials science, condensed matter physics, solid-state physics, and molecular mechanics.
Current Research Themes
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Energy Storage Systems (e.g., SOFCs & ASSBs) - Towards Freestanding Energy Stacks
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Mechanics & Physics of Active Matter - Towards Autonomous Materials
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Mechanics of Filament Extrusion in FDM - Towards Frictionless 3D Printing
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Mechanics of Nano-confined Fluids
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Mechanics-based Design of Chiral Metamaterials
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