MSE Project #1: Dynamic hydrogel folding for mimicking tissue patterns
Faculty Mentor: Claudia Loebel, [email protected]
Prerequisites:
- Some background in materials science is welcomed, but not mandatory.
Project Description: This project aims to engineer static and dynamic hydrogel patterns based
on mechanical instabilities and the incorporation of magnetoactive particles. Our previous data
have shown that hydrogels can be actuated with various patterns and fully reversed. Cells are
known to respond to these patterns by recognizing various strain patters across their underlying
substrate. This summer project will involve fabrication of hydrogel patterns, computational
modeling and characterization of strain values (compression and tension) and cellular outcomes
if desired. The student will gain experience in polymeric hydrogel fabrication and
characterization methods, magnetoactive hydrogel design, computational modeling and basic
cell culture experience.
Research Mode: In Lab
MSE Project #2: Engineering of on-demand stiffening and softening hydrogels
Faculty Mentor: Claudia Loebel, [email protected]
Prerequisites:
- none
Project Description: This project aims to engineer interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs)
based on thermoreversible and photocrosslinked hydrogels. The goal is to engineer a hydrogel
substrate that can be stiffened (i.e., increase in elastic modulus) or softened (i.e., decrease in
elastic modulus) by applying either different temperatures or the light-induced crosslinking. This
summer project will involve synthesis of IPN components, fabrication of IPN hydrogels and
characterization of their mechanical properties. The student will gain experience in chemical
synthesis of functionalized polymers, hydrogel fabrication techniques and mechanical analysis,
including rheology and compression testing.
Research Mode: In Lab
MSE Project #3: Quantifying electrochemical ion transport at cathode-polymer electrolyte
interfaces in single particles
Faculty Mentor: Li, Yiyang [email protected]
Prerequisites:
- Students should know how to program with MATLAB, Python, or another
programming language. - Students with prior experience in batteries are preferred.
Project Description: This project will investigate the charge transfer rate of an NMC battery
particle with a solid polymer electrolyte using a microelectrode array. Students will have the
opportunity to make electrochemical measurements on battery particles and use the clean room
to make microelectrode array chips. The student is expected to follow safety protocols.
Research Mode: In Lab
MSE Project #4: MACRO: Silsesquioxanes as Components in Hybrid Photovoltaics
Faculty Mentor: Richard M. Laine, [email protected]
Prerequisites:
- None
Project Description: Silsesquioxanes are polyhedral structures that consist of an inner silica
cage to which are appended functional organic groups. Selected structures are shown below. The iodo T8 compound provides access to a wide variety of materials and especially to
polymers (not shown). All of these materials seem to show 3-D conjugation in the excited state
even in polymer chains…suggesting semiconducting behavior rather than the behavior
expected for an insulating cage. The project will involve synthesis and/or characterization of the
properties of these materials.
Research Mode: In Lab
MSE Project #5: All Solid-State Batteries
Faculty Mentor: Richard M. Laine, [email protected]
Prerequisites:
- Some chemistry background welcomed.
- Enthusiasm is a requirement
Project Description: This project uses nanoparticle synthesis to make thin, dense flexible films
for use as solid-state electrolytes, cathode and anode materials. The student will assist in all
phases of the design, synthesis and assembly of battery components and to some extending
testing their properties.
Research Mode: In Lab
MSE Project #6: Tranexemic Acid release under controlled release conditions
Faculty Mentor: Brian Love, [email protected]
Prerequisites:
- None
Project Description: There is a need to consider how to package tranexemic acid (TXA) in
conjunction with lidocaine and other analgesics for both pain management and managing
swelling as an injectable, controlled-release scenario. The goal is to package TXA and
potentially an analgesic within a colloidal crystal based on an amphiphilic copolymer that can
form a gel and degrade in vivo. By producing a 20% w/w% gel, the plan is to gauge how much
the gel formation temperature is altered by adding TXA and the analgesic, and once formed, the
goal is to do dialysis membrane diffusion measurements perhaps using either pH or UV/Visible
spectroscopy to quantitatively assess transport from the gel into the surrounding medium at
~37oC. The results can be packaged into a technical note for publication and organized into
preliminary data for a grant submission with collaborators with faculty at Yale University School
of Medicine.
Research Mode: In lab primarily
MSE Project #7: How do human cells ‘sense’ shear forces?
Faculty Mentor: Geeta Mehta, [email protected]
Prerequisites:
- Enthusiasm for developing research skills in the biomaterials, mechanobiology,
and cancer bioengineering.
Project Description: Interactions with cellular, molecular, and mechanical components of the
microenvironments significantly normal and diseased tissues. Our lab has previously
established that fluid shear stresses directly impact the ovarian cancer and breast cancer cells.
We have observed higher cellular proliferation, chemoresistance, migration, and epithelial-to-
mesenchymal (EMT) phenotypes when cancer cells are stimulated with pulsatile interstitial
shear stress in 3D custom-built bioreactors. We have also analyzed the transcriptome of shear
stress stimulated vs static control cancer cells. However, we have an important unsolved
mystery regarding shear stress sensing in cancer cells. We do not yet have a complete
understanding of how ovarian cancer cells ‘sense’ the shear stresses around them. Therefore, in this SURE project, our new undergraduate team member will investigate this very mystery.
The project will include analysis of cell membrane bound integrins, ion channels, and G-coupled
protein receptors, in order to identify the specific ‘sensors’ that relay the shear stress stimulation
to the cellular biochemical machinery. We will use a variety of modern molecular biology
techniques to probe the sensors. We expect our SURE undergraduate team member to take
initiative in the project, work diligently to produce robust data, and become part of any upcoming
manuscripts from our lab.
Research Mode: In lab
MSE Project #8: Differential responses of ‘normal’ and cancer cells to shear stress stimulation
Faculty Mentor: Geeta Mehta, [email protected]
Prerequisites:
- Enthusiasm for developing research skills in the biomaterials, mechanobiology,
and cancer bioengineering.
Project Description: Within our bodies, cells in different tissues respond to a variety of
mechanical forces, which include stiffness of the extracellular matrix, tension, compression, and
shear stress. Our lab has an active interest in the investigation of how these mechanical stimuli
influence the behavior of cancer cells. We have previously established that fluid shear stresses
and solid compressive stresses directly impact the ovarian cancer and breast cancer cells. We
have observed higher cellular proliferation, chemoresistance, migration, and epithelial-to-
mesenchymal (EMT) phenotypes when cancer cells are stimulated with pulsatile interstitial
shear stress in 3D custom-built bioreactors. When tumors develop in a solid organ, the
surrounding ‘normal’ cells remain intact, and do not become cancerous. We do not yet
understand how normal cells that exist in the proximity of the tumors, and are also stimulated
with the same mechanical stresses, are influenced by them. Therefore, in this SURE project,
our new undergraduate team member will investigate this very mystery. The project will include
analysis of ‘normal healthy’ and cancer cells stimulated with various levels and durations of
shear stresses. We will use a variety of modern molecular biology techniques to quantify the
differences between normal and cancer cells and identify the activated molecular pathways that
lead to divergent behaviors of these cells. We expect our SURE undergraduate team member to
take initiative in the project, work diligently to produce robust data, and become part of any
upcoming manuscripts from our lab.
Research Mode: In lab
MSE Project #9: Gallium Nanoparticle Plasmonics
Faculty Mentor: Rachel Goldman, [email protected]
Prerequisites: A strong interest in experimental science and/or engineering is required.
Completion of Introductory Chemistry and Physics Labs is preferred but not required.
Project Description: Metal nanoparticle arrays often exhibit collective electron oscillations
(plasmon resonances) which are promising for enhanced light emission, efficient solar energy
harvesting, ultra-sensitive biosensing, and optical cloaking. To date, materials research and
device fabrication have focused nearly exclusively on silver and gold nanoparticle dispersions in
two dimensions; these arrays exhibit plasmon resonances limited to visible wavelengths.
Recently, we demonstrated a novel method to assemble high-quality gallium nanoparticle arrays
with surface plasmon resonances tunable from the infrared to visible wavelength range. In this
summer project, we explore the influence of gallium nanoparticle arrays on the properties of compound semiconductor solar cells, using a combination of electromagnetic simulations,
molecular-beam epitaxy, atomic-force microscopy, and optical spectroscopy.
Research Mode: In Lab
MSE Project #12: Enhancing p-type Doping of GaN for Power Electronics: A Combined Computational-Experimental Approach
Faculty Mentor: Rachel Goldman, [email protected]
Prerequisites:
- A strong interest in experimental science and/or engineering is required.
- Completion of Introductory Chemistry and Physics Labs is preferred but not required.
Project Description: Although silicon-based electronics are used to power light-emitting diodes
and electric vehicles, their utility in high power applications is limited by a low breakdown
voltage. Wide bandgap semiconductors, such as gallium nitride and related alloys, have been
proposed as alternatives, but the effective p-type doping at high concentrations remains elusive.
For example, Mg dopant activation following ion implantation, selective diffusion, and
metalorganic vapor deposition requires high-temperature annealing which may disrupt the
active device structure. In the case of molecular beam epitaxy, surfactants and co-dopants such
as O and Si have been explored, but the concentration of substitutional Mg is often limited,
leading to limited p-type doping efficiency. Here, we are developing a novel approach to
enhance the p-type doping of GaN and related alloys.
Methodology: The project involves a combined computational-experimental approach consisting
of focused-ion- beam (FIB) nano-implantation of Mg in GaN during molecular-beam epitaxy
(MBE), followed by computational and experimental ion channeling studies of the Mg
incorporation mechanisms. Possible projects include the following:
- Development of a modified Mg-Ga alloy source for focused-ion-beam nano-implantation
- Ion channeling measurements of doping and point defects in GaN and related alloys
- Monte Carlo-Molecular Dynamics simulations of doping and point defects in GaN and related
alloys
Research Mode: In Lab
MSE Project #13: Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulations of Chemical Short-Range Ordering
Formation in Complex Concentrated Alloys
Faculty Mentor: Liang Qi, [email protected]
Prerequisites:
- Some programming experience (in C++ and Python)
Project Description: Chemical Short-Range Ordering (SRO) may strongly affect the mechanical
and other properties of Complex Concentrated Alloys (CCAs), including high entropy alloys
(HEAs). However, the formation kinetics of SRO in CCAs is still not fully understood. The
student is expected to revise and apply our in-house Kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) Simulation code
to investigate the SRO formation kinetics under different temperature conditions and compare
the results with those from our experimental collaborators.
Research Mode: Hybrid.