MSE 298 Seminar (Zoom): Magnetic Soft Composites with Integrated Multiphysics Responses

Friday, March 5, 2021 - 10:00 a.m. to Saturday, March 6, 2021 - 10:55 a.m.
Zoom meeting ID and passcode provided below
Renee Zhao, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Ohio State University

Zoom: Meeting ID 842 506 6501, Passcode 587901

Abstract: Magnetic soft composites are a type of stimuli-responsive materials that can generate large deformation and locomotion under external magnetic fields. They have recently attracted great interest due to the increasing demand for programmable materials that can be easily controlled to achieve complex functionalities for untethered morphing and reconfigurable structures. In particular, these composites are considered to be competitive candidates for developing soft robots as biomedical devices for drug delivery and minimally invasive surgeries for two major reasons: the magnetic untethered control (1) offers a safe and effective operation method for biomedical applications, which typically require remote actuation in enclosed and confined spaces; and (2) separates the power source and controller from the device, making miniaturized robots possible. However, it is still a great challenge to design and fabricate high performance multifunctional magnetic soft composites for advanced engineering applications, due to the lack of design guidance on materials, fabrication and stimulation control. In this talk, a mechanics-guided methodology is first introduced to achieve structures with precise actuation control for multifunctionality of magnetic soft composites. This methodology is then used to guide the design for a few novel applications, including symmetry-breaking actuation for soft robots, magnetic shape memory polymers for untethered shape morphing and locking, and magnetic origami robots for functional deformation and locomotion. At the end of this talk, future directions in fundamental research and novel applications of magnetic soft composites will be discussed.

Bio: Ruike (Renee) Zhao is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at The Ohio State University. She received her doctorate in solid mechanics from Brown University in 2016. She was a postdoctoral associate at MIT during 2016-2018 prior to joining OSU in August 2018. Her research concerns the fundamental science and the development of stimuli-responsive polymeric soft composites for soft robotic systems with integrated multifunctionality, including shape changing, locomotion and navigation. By combining mechanics, polymer engineering and advanced material manufacturing techniques, the functional soft composite systems will enable biomedical applications with a focus on developing miniaturized biomedical devices for minimally invasive surgeries. Zhao is a recipient of the ASME Haythornthwaite Research Initiation Award (2018) and the NSF Career Award (2020).