Additive Manufacturing of Materials
Additive manufacturing (AM) has become a key digital manufacturing method to develop cellular materials with more complex architectures. However, there are many unanswered questions about how to synthesize and characterize the materials used in AM. In particular, the development of engineering materials that improve the sustainability of AM processes and can be scaled up for everyday use is a significant challenge. Along that line, my research will focus on developing materials ranging from polymers, cement, ceramics, metals, and composites suitable for additive manufacturing techniques, and I will tailor their composition, structures, and properties to create architected structures with specific properties.
Figure: Additive manufacturing of wood
Biomanufacturing of Cellulose and Living Composites
Drawing inspiration from the natural world has led to the development of living materials, where living organisms are incorporated into material systems to generate structurally complex materials in situ, which would be otherwise extremely difficult to achieve by physical and chemical means. My research will aim at developing such materials, investigating their stimuli responsivity, longevity, biocompatibility, and self-healing properties, and finally, evaluating their use in a myriad of applications. I would like to develop living composites that involve the utilization of microorganisms, as the self-strengthening and self-healing agent in enclosed three-dimensional bio-polymeric systems.
Figure: Fabrication of strong cellulose hydrogel and film