(4ls) Engineering Interfaces for Sustainability

In today’s world, the field of materials faces two global challenges that can enhance the pace of material development and bring peace and prosperity on earth. For centuries humans have faced battles and wars to fight for earth’s natural resources. As the human population increases, so does the burden on earth’s resources to create materials that we often use. I would like to enable creation of a more sustainable world and reduce the burden on extraction of earth’s natural resources. The formation of the 17 sustainable development goals by the United Nations has thrusted the field of materials into polymer development and advancement to reach these goals. These efforts include 1) creation of polymers that can transcend current material properties or energy trade off, 2) facilitating polymer recycling and upcycling¹. Moreover, such efforts can be accelerated by usage and advancement of great tools such as machine learning^2,3,4,5,6. The usage of this tool which is currently limited by 1) limited amount of experimental data and 2) non-standardized data on material properties that varies with geometry or environmental/ experimental conditions or variable.

Interfacial and mechanical properties play an important role in design and development of materials for wide variety of usage including applications in energy, transportation, drug delivery, tissue engineering, robotics, manufacturing, infrastructure, society. Examples include waste management, pressure sensitive adhesives, contact lenses, tires, 3D printing and artificial skin. Not to mention, with the increased demand and burden on our planet’s resources, it has become pivotal to keep sustainability in mind as we engineer materials for our future generations. My research interests revolve around the strategic application of mechanical and interfacial engineering principles and machine learning techniques to advance the development and support of sustainable materials. Within this domain, my focus centers on the realm of soft materials including adhesives, elastomers, and hydrogels – integral components of our everyday lives, spanning medical, aeronautical, and flexible electronics domains.

While the endeavor to create novel polymeric materials sourced from environmentally friendly origins is widely pursued for sustainability, it's imperative to equally grasp their mechanical and adhesive attributes to ensure optimal and effective utilization. This nuanced comprehension of mechanical behaviors and interfacial dynamics holds the key to propelling our transition towards a more ecologically balanced world. For example, the mechanical design of tires governs their wear, friction and has a significant impact on the fuel efficiency of a car. While there’s a huge impetus to build tires from sustainably sourced materials, it’s also important to understand well the effect of such materials on their properties.

As a researcher with a background in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, I am committed to addressing the critical challenges posed by the increasing demand for polymer materials and their impact on the environment. My research aims to contribute to the sustainable design and development of polymer materials with improved environmental performance, especially focusing on the reduction of waste, energy consumption, and carbon footprint throughout their life cycle. Through this research trajectory, my aim is to contribute significantly to the advancement of sustainable materials, transcending conventional boundaries and facilitating a more harmonious coexistence with our environment.

Anticipating the potential for substantial impact, I envision this research proposal as a strong candidate for funding support from agencies such as the National Science Foundation including the CAREER award, CBET; such as interfacial engineering, fluid dynamics or CAS, CMMI; such as MOMS and EDSE and DMR programs.

References:

1. Korley, L.T., Epps III, T.H., Helms, B.A. and Ryan, A.J., 2021. Toward polymer upcycling—adding value and tackling circularity. Science, 373(6550), pp.66-69.
2. Butler, K. T., Davies, D. W., Cartwright, H., Isayev, O., & Walsh, A. (2018). Machine learning for molecular and materials science. Nature, 559(7715), 547-555.
3. Kim, J., Kang, D., Kim, S. and Jang, H.W., 2021. Catalyze materials science with machine learning. ACS Materials Letters, 3(8), pp.1151-1171.
4. Cai, J., Chu, X., Xu, K., Li, H. and Wei, J., 2020. Machine learning-driven new material discovery. Nanoscale Advances, 2(8), pp.3115-3130.
5. Morgan, D. and Jacobs, R., 2020. Opportunities and challenges for machine learning in materials science. Annual Review of Materials Research, 50, pp.71-103.
6. Wei, J., Chu, X., Sun, X.Y., Xu, K., Deng, H.X., Chen, J., Wei, Z. and Lei, M., 2019. Machine learning in materials science. InfoMat, 1(3), pp.338-358.

Teaching Interests:

A good education makes one self-sufficient, opens up one’s mind to different views and gives one the ability to imagine a new life. My experiences as a student and as an instructor have helped me gain perspective towards teaching. I was a Teaching Assistant at Johns Hopkins University for Transport Phenomena and Advanced Transport Phenomena. I graded homework and midterms and helped students in office hours. I have experienced that teaching others makes my own understanding of subject matter better. Additionally, I got the opportunity to guest lecture Transport Phenomena for undergraduate students using a blackboard and chalk. I would like to teach courses such as Transport Phenomena, Interfacial science and Polymer science.