FALL 2024
MEMS NEWS MECHANICAL ENGINEERING & MATERIALS SCIENCE
Annual Publication of the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering
Finding the Connective Tissue of Soft Materials
Assistant Professor Qihan Liu Receives an NSF Career Award to Develop Adhesion Solutions to Improve and Expand the Use of Soft Materials
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he human body uses adhesion to hold itself together. For example, a tendon attaches muscle to bone, while connective tissue attaches muscle to skin. Hydrogel-based soft materials are based on these biomimetic mechanical behaviors, which makes them a revolutionary design of biomedical implants, human-machine interfaces, and bio-inspired soft robots. However, there are limitations to overcome before they are able to fully replace commonly used hard materials. Qihan Liu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science received a $546,127 Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to find a novel solution to adhesion
in soft materials through thermodynamic interaction. “Professor Liu is an outstanding researcher, and this CAREER award will bolster activities in at least two core research competencies in our department, specifically advanced manufacturing and design and soft matter biomechanics,” said Brian Gleeson, department chair. Gellin’ It Together with Thermodynamics Hard materials are typically assembled together with screws and interlocking structures, so a machine can be easily upgraded or repaired by changing parts. Currently, adhesion in soft materials is irreversible, so it is nearly impossible to upgrade or repair a soft machine like conventional machines. “Despite the extensive research on gel adhesion, there is a critical unmet need continued on next page
engineering.pitt.edu/mems
Adding “Mussel” to META-GLUE Pitt Engineers Receive $250k Darpa Award to Develop Mussel-Inspired Underwater Adhesion
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wo researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are utilizing their expertise in hydrogels and liquid crystal elastomers – as well as inspiration from Mother Nature – to design a more effective and powerful adhesive for gluing structures underwater. The proposal for META-GLUE – Molecularly Engineered Toughness to Augment Grip Likelihood in Underwater Environments – recently received a $251,981 first-year seedling award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Principal investigator is M. Ravi Shankar, professor of industrial engineering at Pitt joined by Qihan Liu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science. continued on page 5