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SUMMARY:IGM Colloquium: Using drops to structure materials
DTSTART:20180501T121500
DTEND:20180501T131500
DTSTAMP:20260407T125302Z
UID:e1d3448da74bc307e46c53d5690016f31e13f941fb00fe2bc20078e8
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Esther Amstad\, IMX\, EPFL\nMy group aims at fabricating
  soft materials whose mechanical properties closely resemble those of natu
 ral counterparts. To achieve this goal\, we are developing microfluidic pr
 ocesses to control the micrometer-length scale structure and local composi
 tion of soft materials.\n\nAbstract\nNature produces materials that exhibi
 t exceptional mechanical properties. For example\, the mussel byssus is a 
 hydrogel-based tissue with a combination of strength and toughness that re
 mains unmatched by manmade hydrogel-based counterparts. A clear difference
  between natural and manmade hydrogels is their structure: Natural hydroge
 ls possess a well-defined\, often hierarchical structure whereas manmade h
 ydrogels are typically composed of randomly aligned polymers. This differe
 nces in structure might in parts be related to the different processing ro
 utes: While nature often uses drops to store reagents and release them at 
 well-defined locations\, we most frequently produce bio-mimetic materials 
 by mixing reagents in bulk. Inspired by nature\, my group is developing dr
 op-based processes that offer superior control over the micrometer-scale s
 tructure of materials\, thereby offering new possibilities to tune their m
 echanical properties. In my talk\, I will present examples of the use of e
 mulsion drops to produce capsules with thin shells and tuneable mechanical
  properties and their assembly into more macroscopic granular hydrogels wi
 th well-defined structures and adjustable mechanical properties.\n\nBio\nE
 sther Amstad studied material science at ETH in Zurich where she also carr
 ied out her PhD thesis under the supervision of Marcus Textor (2010). As a
  Postdoctoral fellow\, she joined the experimental soft condensed matter g
 roup of David A. Weitz at Harvard University (2011-2014) where she develop
 ed new microfluidic drop makers and used these drops to produce capsules w
 ith tunable permeability. Since June 2014\, she heads the Soft Materials L
 aboratory (SMAL) at the institute of materials at EPFL as a tenure track a
 ssistant professor.\n 
LOCATION:MED 0 1418 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MED%200%201418
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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