http://s.uconn.edu/meseminar4/9/21

Abstract: Soft machines are transforming the fields of robotics and biomedical devices in that they are capable of sustaining large deformation and interacting safely with human beings. Soft active materials can change their shapes or volumes in response to external stimuli, such as light, heat and electric fields, and are important building blocks of soft machines. The recent advance of 3D printing techniques allows manufacturing of soft materials into complex structures. Designing and fabricating soft structures with predictable actuation and programmable functionalities are the major efforts in the field. In this seminar, I will first talk about our recent progress in controlling and modeling spatiotemporal reconfiguration of soft active materials. By spatially patterning photo-responsive liquid crystal elastomers, we have shown morphing of flat sheets into designed three-dimensional geometry. To predict the spatiotemporal responses of photo-responsive hydrogels, we have developed a nonlinear field theory based on the nonequilibrium thermodynamics to capture the coupled reaction-diffusion kinetics. Further accounting the inertia effect, we have predicted and demonstrated self-excited photo-responsive hydrogel oscillators that can autonomously vibrate under constant light irradiation. Tuning the properties of soft materials through sophisticated chemical synthesis is often challenging. To overcome this limitation, I will demonstrate how we are able to vary the responses of soft materials by designing and fabricating them into mechanical metamaterials, which are materials with microarchitectures. Our efforts in designing phase-transforming metamaterials and energy-absorbing metamaterials will be discussed.

Biographical Sketch: Dr. Lihua Jin is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Before joining UCLA in 2016, she was a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. In 2014, she obtained her PhD degree in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University. Prior to that, she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Fudan University in 2006 and 2009. Jin’s group conducts research on mechanics of soft materials, stimuli-responsive materials, instability and fracture, and soft robotics. Lihua was the winner of Haythornthwaite Research Initiative Grant from American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2016, Extreme Mechanics Letters Young Investigator Award in 2018, Hellman Fellowship in 2019, and UCLA Faculty Career Development Award in 2020.

http://s.uconn.edu/meseminar4/2/21

Abstract:

We are in the midst of experiencing both the Big Data Revolution and the emergence of the Second Quantum Revolution. The amount of data available is doubling yearly, and artificial intelligence (AI), in particular machine learning (ML) methods are playing an increasingly important role in analyzing this data and using it to deduce new models of processes. Moreover, quantum mechanical phenomena have evolved into many core technologies and are expected to be responsible for many of the key advances of the future. Quantum computing (QC), in particular, has the potential to revolutionize computational modeling and simulation. The importance of these fields to the global economy and security are well recognized, promoting an even more rapid growth of the related technologies in the upcoming decades. This growth is fueled by large investments by governments and leading industries. An arena in which both QC and ML are promoted to play a more significant role is high performance computing. Since the early 1980s, computational simulations have been known as the 3rd pillar of science, and are now being augmented by the 4th paradigm formed by the big data revolution.

This lecture is focused on recent work in which use is made of modern developments in QC and ML to tackle some of the most challenging problems in turbulent combustion. The computational approach is via a stochastic model termed the Filtered Density Function (FDF). This model, originally developed by this lecturer, provides one of the most systematic means of describing the unsteady evolution of reactive turbulence. It is demonstrated that, if devised intelligently, ML can aid in developments of high fidelity FDF closures, and QC provides a significant speed-up over classical FDF simulators.

Bio Sketch:

Dr. Peyman Givi is Distinguished Professor and James T. MacLeod Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Previously he held the position of University at Buffalo Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering at SUNY-Buffalo. He has also had frequent visiting appointments at the NASA Langley & Glenn centers, and received the NASA Public Service Medal. He has also worked at Flow Research Company as a Researcher in Applied Mechanics. Givi is among the first 15 engineering faculty nationwide who received the White House Presidential Faculty Fellowship from President George H.W. Bush. He also received the Young Investigator Award of the Office of Naval Research, and the Presidential Young Investigator Award of the National Science Foundation.

Givi is currently the Deputy Editor of AIAA Journal. He is also on the Editorial Boards of Combustion Theory and Modelling, Computers & Fluids, and Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics. He is Fellow of AAAS, AIAA, APS and ASME, and was named ASME Engineer of the Year in Pittsburgh in 2007. He received Ph.D. from the Carnegie Mellon University (PA), and BE from the Youngstown State University (OH) where he is named a Distinguished Alumnus.

 

http://s.uconn.edu/meseminar3/26/21

Abstract: Microneedles enable minimally invasive access to the body interior. This access can be used to administer drug formulations to precise locations in the skin or the eye, and can be used to access interstitial fluid in the skin. Three applications of microneedle technology will be discussed.

Our first project is motivated by the need for improved drug delivery to the skin, especially for dermatological indications. Building off work with microneedle patches that employ micron-scale, solid needles to administer drugs and vaccines to the skin, we developed particles with microscopic needles that painlessly create micropores upon rubbing onto the skin. These STAR particles dramatically increased skin permeability, enabling, for example, improved treatment of melanoma with topical drug (5-fluorouracil) in the mouse.

Our second project is motivated by an interest in sampling tissue interstitial fluid (ISF) as a novel source of biomarkers. Because ISF is hard to collect, we developed a method to sample ISF from human skin through micropores created by microneedles. We identified valuable and sometimes unique biomarkers in ISF collected from human participants when compared to companion plasma samples based on mass spectrometry analysis, which can facilitate research and enable new diagnostic tests. Because ISF does not clot, biomarkers in ISF could be continuously monitored.

Our third project is motivated by the need for improved glaucoma treatments. We developed a method to inject a crosslinked hyaluronic acid hydrogel into the suprachoroidal space of the eye using a hollow microneedle. As a drug-free, non-surgical technique, we were able to reduce intraocular pressure in rabbits for four months after a single injection by a mechanism believed to involve increased flow of aqueous humor from the eye due to expansion of the suprachoroidal space.

These are examples of how microneedle technology can be used for a diversity of applications with the common theme of accessing a specific location in the body with sub-millimeter precision using a low-cost, simple-to-use technology.

 

Biographical Sketch: Mark Prausnitz is Regents’ Professor and J. Erskine Love, Jr. Chair of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He earned a BS degree from Stanford University and PhD degree from MIT, both in chemical engineering. Dr. Prausnitz and colleagues carry out research on biophysical methods of drug delivery using microneedles, lasers, ionic liquids and other microdevices. Their research focuses on transdermal, ocular and intracellular delivery of drugs and vaccines. Dr. Prausnitz teaches an introductory course on engineering calculations, as well as two advanced courses on pharmaceuticals. He has published almost 300 journal articles and has co-founded five start-up companies including Micron Biomedical and Clearside Biomedical.

http://s.uconn.edu/meseminar3/19/21

Abstract: The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports work in all fields of science and engineering, including biomedical engineering. That said, biomedical engineering researchers can face challenges in finding the right ‘home’ and scope for their work at NSF. This presentation will provide a broad overview of the mission of NSF and how it relates to the biomedical engineering community, including emerging initiatives and responses to the current disruption of the research enterprise. Descriptions of select programs at the National Science Foundation that fund work relevant to the biomedical engineering community will be covered. Best practices in proposal preparation and practical tips to optimize interaction with your program director will also be discussed. Bring your questions along!

 

Biographical Sketch: Laurel Kuxhaus, PhD, is the program director of Biomechanics & Mechanobiology within the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation at the National Science Foundation. Concurrently, she is an Associate Professor of Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering at Clarkson University, where she directs the Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory. Her laboratory work spans the field of orthopaedic biomechanics including injury biomechanics of both hard and soft tissues and design of both orthopaedic implants and assistive technology devices. She holds B.S. (Engineering Mechanics) and B.A. (Music) degrees from Michigan State University, an M.S. (Mechanical Engineering) from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. (Bioengineering) from the University of Pittsburgh. In 2018, she was elected to Fellow status of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and has previously served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Bioengineering Division of ASME. More recently (2018-19), she spent a year on Capitol Hill working in science and technology policy as an ASME Congressional Fellow.