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SUMMARY:MechE Colloquium: The Material Evolution Revolution
DTSTART:20250325T120000
DTEND:20250325T130000
DTSTAMP:20260525T063653Z
UID:93c9c7095d06903b8a0a27fe7d33b079f0718b3e2216f2456bb31f0d
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Erik Garnett\, Nanoscale Solar Cells\, AMOLF  \nAbstr
 act: Traditionally we design materials with exactly the properties we wan
 t and try to make them stable for decades – we intentionally avoid mutat
 ions. This means that we avoid degradation processes like rusting\, cracki
 ng and warping\, but we also exclude the possibility that materials improv
 e over time or adapt to their environment. The idea of a bridge becoming m
 ore stable or a computer becoming faster with use may sound absurd\, but s
 uch performance enhancements over time are a hallmark of biological evolut
 ion. We are not surprised now that AI models become better over time and e
 ven design them to evolve and improve\, so why don’t we take such an app
 roach with materials and devices? This lecture outlines the requirements f
 or such evolvable materials and proposes spatiotemporal patterning of ligh
 t as a tool to direct the evolution. It begins by highlighting the ways th
 at light can both control and measure the properties of materials in space
  and time. I will then show several examples of adaptable\, self-optimizin
 g and (re)programmable materials and our first results on materials that d
 isplay memory and elements of learning. I will end with my vision for the 
 material evolution revolution and the exciting possibilities it presents.\
 n\n\nBiography: Erik Garnett studied chemistry at the University of Illin
 ois at Urbana-Champaign\, USA\, and obtained his PhD at the University of 
 California at Berkeley. After his PhD he became a postdoctoral fellow at S
 tanford University\, where he became acquainted with photonics\, photovolt
 aics and plasmonics. He made the integration of nanophotonics with nanomat
 erials the prime goal of his research when he started his own independent 
 academic career at AMOLF in 2012. There\, he is one of the pioneers in und
 erstanding light-matter interactions in nanoscale solar cells\, using well
 -controlled model systems and advanced nano-characterization techniques in
  order to answer the most pressing materials chemistry questions. His work
  leads to applications in solar cells\, LEDs and light-driven chemical rea
 ctions. Since 2017 he is also professor of Nanoscale Photovoltaics at the 
 University of Amsterdam. In 2022 he received the KNCV gold medal\, given a
 nnually to the top chemist under 40 working in the Netherlands.
LOCATION:MED 0 1418 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MED%200%201418 https://epf
 l.zoom.us/j/64267570786
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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