Physico-chemical interactions at interfaces are ubiquitous in multiple industries including energy, water, agriculture, medicine, transportation, and consumer products. In this talk, Kripa will summarize how surface/interface chemistry, morphology, thermal, and electrical properties can be engineered across multiple length scales for significant efficiency enhancements in a wide range of processes.
Vikas will present his team's theoretical framework and a microstructural physics-motivated constitutive model that describes the nonlinear large strain elastic-viscoplastic material response, rate-dependent stiffening and material state transformation of reversible dynamically crosslinked soft polymers over seven decades of strain rates.
The diversity and complexity of natural substrates—from flowable materials like sand and mud to steeply sloped tree branches and trunks with vast differences in flexibility and roughness—present significant challenges for animal movement.
Dr. Neil Lin is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). This talk explores how basic physics governs cell-to-cell variability in epithelial monolayers and its impact on biological processes.
Organisms have evolved various locomotion (self-propulsion) and shape adaptation (morphing) strategies to survive and thrive in diverse and uncertain environments. Unlike engineered systems, which rely heavily on active control, natural systems also rely on reflexive and passive control.
In this study, micromechanical experiments are performed in situ during deformation loading on unirradiated and irradiated samples of a model BCC alloy, Fe-9wt.%Cr, via high-energy X-ray diffraction microscopy.
Long polymers inevitably entangle, and do not detangle in a crosslinked network. It is known that the network is stiffened by both crosslinks and entanglements. We have recently discovered that crosslinks and entanglements act differently when the network fractures.
Details TBA
The field of electronic and photonic biointerfaces continues to evolve, with flexible and living composites playing a key role in advancing the development of multifunctional devices such as sensors and modulators. Our research focuses on creating non-genetic approaches for biological modulation and sensing across different length scales. This presentation will provide insights into some of our recent projects.
Despite considerable progress in the scientific understanding of deformation processes, the mechanical properties of engineered materials remain limited to fractions of their theoretical values. One of the persistent barriers impeding new breakthroughs in mechanical property offerings is the problem of scaling. That is, while materials often exhibit near-theoretical properties at the nanoscale, the preservation of these exceptional characteristics in the bulk is a pervasive challenge. In response to this issue, my group focuses on examining deformation processes at the mesoscale.
We all want the future to be better than the present, and many of us would like to be a part of making that happen. Engineering students, researchers, and practitioners are no exception, and are increasingly turning their energies towards "doing good." However, engineering approaches to problem solving generally treat historical, social, and political systems as unrelated to good engineering work.
Professor Xiaochun Li is the Raytheon Endowed Chair in Manufacturing Engineering in the Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is the pioneer and global leader in fundamental study, scalable manufacturing, successful commercialization and practical applications of nanotechnology enabled solidification processing.