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Polymers and water are the major components that constitute most living species on the earth, ranging from animals, plants, and fungi to bacteria. Polymers are also pervasive and indispensable in almost every aspect of our daily life, ranging from food, clothing, housing, and healthcare to transportation, communication and entertainment. Furthermore, over 6% of global electricity generated from coal is used to make plastics, and microplastics are already ubiquitous in global biosphere. Intrigued by their ubiquity and impacts, MIT Zhao Lab is focused on the study and development of soft materials and systems, mainly constituted of polymers and water.
In this talk, I will first discuss a general strategy to design new soft materials that possess extreme physical, chemical, and biological properties–via bioinspired and rational design of unconventional polymer networks. Then I will illustrate the impacts of soft materials innovation on health and sustainability with examples including bio-adhesive, bioelectronics, and soft robots. I will propose two challenges in fundamental science and technology: • Can we image the full human body over days to months continuously? • Can we edit the full human body with micro-robots minimally invasively? I will conclude the talk with a vision for the future development and impacts of soft materials and systems–aided by and synergized with technologies such as artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and precision medicine.
Xuanhe Zhao is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. The mission of Zhao Lab is to advance science and technology on human-machine interfaces for addressing grand societal challenges in health and sustainability with integrated expertise in materials, mechanics, and biotechnology. A major focus of Zhao Lab's current research is the study and development of soft materials and systems. Dr. Zhao is the recipient of early career awards from ASME (Hughes), SES, NSF and ONR. He is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher(2018, 2021). He is co-founder of Sanaheal Inc, a startup company translating bioadhesive technology for clinical applications. Six patents from Zhao Lab have been licensed by established and startup companies and contributed to widely-used medical devices such as hydrogel-elastomer tissue phantoms.
More information: https://is.mpg.de/news/professor-xuanhe-zhao-has-been-awarded-the-presticious-humboldt-research-award
Link to Prof. Zhao’s lab: http://zhao.mit.edu/teams/xuanhe-zhao/
Prof. Xuanhe Zhao ()