Materials Science Research Lecture

***Refreshments at 3:45pm in Noyes lobby

Abstract:

Evolution has created resource-efficient and sustainable materials and structures to ensure survival. Inspired by nature, micropatterning of polymeric surfaces has become a powerful paradigm, e.g., for controlled wetting, anti-icing, coloration, drag reduction or switchable adhesion. I will review our path from the fundamentals of gecko adhesion to artificial microfibrillar microstructures and their successful implementation in energy-free pick-and-place handling. The selection of optimum structure parameters requires a thorough understanding gained by experiment, theoretical modeling and computer simulation. Recent challenges include: how do we release micro-objects with negligible mass? And how can we ensure reliability of gripping, also in demanding environments such as in space? We have implemented a machine-learning prediction for predicting successful handling in difficult situations. As a serendipitous development, our research has led to a medical adhesive for accelerated healing of the tympanic membrane.

More about the Speaker:

Eduard Arzt is Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of California San Diego and Senior Professor for New Materials at Saarland University. He is a former Scientific Director of the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart and of the INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials. A physics PhD from the University of Vienna, Austria, he has performed research at Cambridge University, Stanford University, M.I.T., and the University of California. He is the recipient, e.g., of the Leibniz Award, is a Fellow of TMS and member of several academies, including the US National Academy of Engineering. Arzt is editor-in-chief of the review journal Progress in Materials Science and co-founder of a deep tech start-up. His current research areas are gripping in space, micropatterned solutions for biomedicine and wearables, and biomechanics of ocean life.