Institute of Materials Science

MSE PhD Candidate Encourages Other Female Researchers to Not Doubt Their Own Voices

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As of 2021, female PhD researchers like Suman Kumari are welcoming the challenge of pursuing a passion in a still male-majority field. Though representation has improved compared to decades ago, the imbalance in a classroom or lab can still be intimidating. According to Kumari, though it hasn’t been easy being a female in her discipline, this shouldn’t dissuade others from pursuing materials science and engineering.

“Though the world is changing, it’s challenging as a female in the materials science and engineering field, but nothing is impossible if you have the will to do it. I would say, ‘listen to yourself, you know what you want to do,” she says.

In much of her career so far, Kumari has not let any hesitation stop her.

Read the full story from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Xueju “Sophie” Wang Receives NSF CAREER Award

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Xueju "Sophie" WangMSE Assistant Professor Xueju “Sophie” Wang has been awarded the NSF Faculty Early Development Program CAREER Award for her proposal entitled “Mechanics of Active Polymers and Morphing structures: Determine the Role of Molecular Interactions and Stiffness Heterogeneity in Reversible Shape Morphing.” It is one of NSF’s most prestigious awards.

Wang’s NSF CAREER award will support her research on fundamental studies of the mechanics of innovative active polymers and morphing structures. Soft active polymers that can change their shapes and therefore functionalities upon exposure to external stimuli are promising for many applications, including soft robotics, artificial muscles and tissue repair. This research project aims to establish the missing correlations across the molecular, material and structural levels of novel active polymers for their rational design, manufacturing and applications, by using liquid crystal elastomers as a model material system.

“I am very grateful and honored to receive this prestigious award, and I look forward to working with my students to address challenges in innovative active polymers and to apply them in emerging fields like soft robotics,” Wang said.

Read the full Department of Materials Science and Engineering Story

Rajeswari Kasi to Serve on Editorial Board of Micromolecules

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Rajeswari Kasi
Dr. Rajeswari Kasi

Professor of Chemistry Rajeswari (Raji) Kasi has accepted an appointment to the editorial board of Macromolecules, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Chemical Society. The publication was first published in 1968 on a bi-monthly basis but has, over the years, moved from monthly to bi-weekly publication.

Kasi’s research encompasses all aspects of materials design including synthesis of hierarchically structured polymers and polymer-hybrid materials with tailored architecture, functionality, and composition; investigation of self-assembly and structure at various length scales; and evaluation of unique macroscopic material properties. She will serve a three-year term on the editorial board.

Radenka Maric Named UConn Interim President

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Radenka MaricRadenka Maric, a distinguished UConn faculty member who has led UConn’s surging research enterprise to new heights as an administrator, has been named UConn’s new interim president.

Members of the Board of Trustees voted unanimously and enthusiastically Wednesday to appoint Maric, who began serving as interim president on February 1. She will serve as successor to Interim President Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, who will assist with the transition until he leaves later in February for a new position in private industry.

Maric is a highly respected researcher and mentor who joined UConn’s faculty in 2010, and has served for the last five years as its vice president for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. She will serve as interim president of the University throughout the planned search for the permanent appointee.

“I am honored and humbled to serve as interim President of the University of Connecticut and UConn Health,” Maric says. “UConn strives to be the place where all students, regardless of the zip code and country they were born and raised in, will have equal opportunities and be fully prepared for their life journey upon graduation.”

Read the full story at UConn Today

MSE Assistant Professor Publishes Origami-inspired Research in Materials Horizons

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Student Yi Li
Ph.D. student Yi Li in Assistant Professor Wang’s group is actuating multistable, origami-inspired structures using a portable magnet.

MSE Assistant Professor Xueju “Sophie” Wang recently published her article entitled “Tailoring the multi-stability of origami-inspired, buckled magnetic structures via compression and creasing” in Materials Horizons. The study was in collaboration with Professor Teng Zhang at Syracuse University and Professor Halim Kusumaatmaja at Durham University, who led the study’s theoretical work.

According to Wang, the research originates from origami, the ancient art of paper folding. “It has inspired the design of many engineering structures for a wide range of applications, including deployable systems, self-folding machines, reconfigurable metamaterials, and DNA origami,” she says.

A key feature in the design of all these structures is their ability to have multiple stable states. The article lays out the foundation for the rational design of these structures. The work introduces two effective parameters of creasing and compression for tailoring the multistability of origami-inspired structures. Using ribbon structures as an example, a design phase diagram is constructed as a function of the crease number and compressive strain. The results show that the number of distinct stable states can be actively tuned by varying the crease number from 0 to 7 and the strain from 0% to 40%. These two parameters can be easily incorporated in the structure’s design to maximize functionality. Diverse examples were designed and demonstrated, from programmable structure arrays to a biomimetic insect and a soft robot, which can be actuated remotely by magnetic forces. Read the full MSE story.

IMS Faculty Members Receive Department of Education GAANN Award

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Drs. Bryan Huey and Lesley Frame
Drs. Bryan Huey (l) and Lesley Frame

Drs. Bryan Huey (IMS/MSE) and Lesley Frame (IMS/MSE) are recent recipients of the Department of Education (ED) Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) grant.

Drs. Huey and Frame collaboratively applied for the award which provides fellowships, through academic departments and programs, to assist graduate students with excellent records who demonstrate financial need and plan to pursue the highest degree available in their course study at the institution in a field designated as an area of national need.

Their Careers in Advanced Materials Engineering Research and Academia (CAMERA) GAANN program will provide world-class educational, research, advising, and professional training experiences and opportunities, beyond MSE courses and laboratory research taught by established experts in a range of materials engineering specialties. They will utilize the funding to support five Ph.D. fellowships focusing on increasing the number of highly trained Ph.D. scholars from populations traditionally underrepresented in STEM.

Drs. Huey and Frame plan to provide primary and secondary faculty advisors for candidates selected for the fellowship. Each Fellow will earn credits through a novel ‘Academia Lab’ created by MSE in conjunction with the school of engineering and the UConn Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in order to incorporate instruction and workshops in educational pedagogy and practice, scientific writing and presenting, and mentorship skills.

The grant of ~$760K will be supplemented by funding from the School of Engineering, the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Office of the Provost, and The Graduate School.

Research Project Aims to Eradicate Use of Harmful Gas

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Yang CaoThe gas sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) has been keeping our electrical grid safe from dangerous arcing and explosions since its introduction to the public in the 1930s. Developed in a General Electric lab, sulfur hexafluoride is one of the most widely used insulation gases by electrical utility companies because of its reliability and safety, but remains relatively unknown by the general public.

Starting in the 1960s, as greenhouse gases and their effect on the environment became more widely known, sulfur hexafluoride has been identified as one of the largest causes of global warming. While most educational and legislative efforts have been focused on CO2, or carbon dioxide, emissions as a big offender, sulfur hexafluoride has flown under the radar despite its staggering global warming potential: 25,200 times that of carbon dioxide.

Because of that, University of Connecticut Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Yang Cao has been selected to receive $2.7 million in funding over three years from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop a lifecycle management framework, with innovations in physics based aging modeling, aging byproducts fixation, and a low-cost, high-fidelity multi-gas leak sensor with GE Research, to help utilities make a smooth transition to a new, SF6– free electrical grid.  Read the full UConn Today story.

Dr. Kelly Burke Appointed Director of IMS Polymer Program

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Kelly BurkeDr. Kelly Burke has been appointed Director of the IMS Polymer Program. She joined the UConn faculty in 2014 as Assistant Professor Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with an appointment in the Institute of Materials Science. Since joining the faculty, she has received numerous grants and awards and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2021.

“Kelly brings a lot of new ideas, energy, and support for this program,” Dr. Steven Suib, Director of IMS, noted in announcing the appointment. She succeeds Dr. Luyi Sun in the position.

Alumnus Christopher Simone Reflects on Career at DuPont

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Christopher SimonePolymer Program Alumnus, Dr. Christopher Simone (’02), is featured in an article by the American Chemical Society (ACS).  Simone’s reflection on his 19-year career with DuPont addresses topics such as how to find success in research and development in the public sector.

Chris joined DuPont in 2002 as a research chemist developing new products and processes to support the Kapton® polyimide films and Pyralux® laminates portfolio within the DuPont Interconnect Solutions business. In his 19 year career, he has progressed within the research and development organization developing novel Kapton® films and associated process research for the flexible printed circuit industry.  Read the full ACS article.

Dr. Ying Li Receives NSF CAREER Award

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Dr. Ying Li is one of eight UConn faculty members, and three IMS faculty members, to receive a National Science Foundation Career CAREER Award in 2021.  Li  will develop a machine learning model to better understand the properties of a promising sustainable material.To learn more about the award  Visit UConn Today.