Research

Our primary research interest lies in the development of rapid, flexible, and scalable additive micro/nano
manufacturing technologies to overcome critical technological barriers of the current manufacturing and to explore
new engineering applications by studying fundamental physics and mechanics of soft active materials.

Programmable Matter

본문

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Buckling instability has been studied extensively for the past few decades as one of the most critical structural failure modes. This classical theme has recently gained new attention as a useful method for the creation of rich patterns and rapid actuation, because buckling is often accompanied by large deformation and radical shape change of the structure, as exemplified in many natural organisms such as wavy edges of plant leaves and insect-trapping motion of sensitive plants. Inspired by these lessons from nature, mechanical instabilities of soft active materials is exploited to reversibly achieve dramatic geometrical change towards advanced functionality. As PµSL offers unmatched capabilities to rapidly build 3D structures of soft materials, various modes of mechanical instabilities such as wrinkles and creases can be readily realized and studied in broad range of 3D geometries and constraints. Chemo-mechanical properties of soft active materials will also be investigated for possible route to use of diverse environmental conditions to trigger mechanical instability. Rapid release of elastic energy at the onset of mechanical instability can be utilized to obtain maximum possible power density from soft materials. Also, rigorous study on the mass transport of liquid coupled with large deformation of gels is carried out for predictive understanding of transient material behavior. Various new experimental techniques including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are employed to quantitatively characterize complex dynamic phenomena of soft active materials. This research thrust will provide new insight to morphogenesis of many biological tissues and organisms, as well as novel handles for transformable devices for tunable functionalities and energy conversion. 

Related publications

  • Daehoon Han†, Yueping Wang† († equal contribution), Chen Yang, Howon Lee*, Multimaterial Printig for Cephalopod-Inspired Light-Responsive Artificial Chromatophores, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 13, 12735, 2021

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  • Chen Yang, Jeffrey Luo, Marianne Polunas, Nikola Bosnjak, Sy‐Tsong Dean Chuen, Michelle Chadwick, Hatem E. Sabaawy, Shawn A. Chester, Ki‐Bum Lee*, Howon Lee*, 4D‐Printed Transformable Tube Array for High‐Throughput 3D Cell Culture and Histology, Advanced Materials 7, 2004285, 2020

    [link]
  • Daehoon Han, Cindy Farino, Chen Yang, Tracy Scott, Daniel Browe, Wonjoon Choi, Joseph W. Freeman, Howon Lee*Soft Robotic Manipulation and Locomotion with a 3D Printed Electroactive HydrogelACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 10, 17512, 2018

    [link]

  • Daehoon Han, Zhaocheng Lu, Shawn A. Chester, Howon Lee*Micro 3D Printing of a Temperature-Responsive Hydrogel Using Projection Micro-StereolithographyScientific Reports 8, 1963, 2018

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  • Q. Ge*, A. H. Sakhaei, Howon Lee, C. K. Dunn, Nicholas. X. Fang*, M. L. Dunn*, Multimaterial 4D Printing with Tailorable Shape Memory Polymers, Scientific Reports 6, 31110, 2016
    [link]