Symposium 1: Multifunctional Materials

 

	Enis Tuncer, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Presentation Title: Dielectric Properties of Polymeric Nanocomposite---Nanodielectrics Thursday, September 30, 2010 10:00 AM – 10:40 AM Concerto Room Abstract: Recent developments in polymeric dielectric nanocomposites have shown that these novel materials can improve design of high voltage (hv) components and systems. Improvements in the mechanical and electrical properties lead to reduction in component size (compact hv systems), better apparatus reliability, high energy density, voltage endurance, and multi-functionality. Nanodielectric systems demonstrated specific improvements, which have been published in the literature by different groups working in the electrical insulation field. In this study, we will summarize the research results obtained at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; especially the materials fabricated with in-situ synthesis method will be presented. The composite systems are either thermoplastics or thermosets filled with in-situ synthesized titanium dioxide particles. The in-situ synthesis of the particles creates small nanoparticles on the order of 2-10 nm with narrow size distribution and uniform particle dispersion in the matrix. The dielectric properties of nanocomposites have been studied as a function of temperature and particle loadings. We discuss the potential utilization of these novel materials for high voltage and high temperature superconducting power technologies. Biography: Enis Tuncer, Ph.D., is Staff Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dr. Tuncer received his Ph.D. in High Voltage Technology from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. He worked at Alstom Power Sweden just after his Ph.D. He spent two year at University of Potsdam and short periods at Iowa State University and Uppsala University. He has been working with dielectric materials for high voltage electrical insulation for more than 10 years. He has developed numerical tools for dielectric (impedance) data analysis and extracting geometrical description in binary dielectric mixtures. Currently, Dr. Tuncer is serving as the Principle Investigator (PI) of Nanodielectrics Research and Superhydrophobicity for Power Applications funded by the Advance Cables and Conductors Program, DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. Dr. Tuncer co-organized the IEEE workshop on Outdoor Insulation in October 2009. He is serving on the executive boards of IEEE Conferences on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric Phenomenon and Power Modulator and High Voltage. He is also the Historian for the IEEE Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society.
	Qiming Zhang, Penn State University Presentation Title: Electroactive Polymers and Nanocomposites for Novel Actuators and High Energy Density Dielectrics Thursday, September 30, 2010 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM Concerto Room Abstract: The direct and efficient coupling between the electric signals and the elastic, thermal, optical and magnetic signals in ferroelectric based electroactive polymers makes them attractive for exploiting a broad range of cross-coupling phenomena.  This talk will present the recent advances in my group in designs and applications of these multifunctional electroactive polymers and nanocomposites for compact actuators and for high energy density dielectrics. Biography: Dr. Qiming Zhang is a Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Material Science Engineering at Penn State University and an IEEE fellow. Dr. Zhang obtained Ph. D. in 1986 from Penn State University and his BS in 1981 from Nanjing University in China. He joined the faculty at Penn State in 1991. The research areas in his group include design and characterization of novel soft electroactive and multifunctional materials, especially ferroic and dielectric materials, and related devices, such as actuators and sensors, transducers, dielectrics and charge storage devices, polymer thin film memory devices, and electro-optic and photonic devices. As a leading expert in electroactive polymers, he has over 310 publications and 9 patents in this field. He also has co-edited 4 books and contributed many chapters in electroactive polymers and related technologies. His group discovered and developed electrostrictive polymers with high strain responses, developed microfluidic devices, microactuators, and large tunable range LPG fiber filters based on EAPs, proposed and demonstrated ultrahigh dielectric constant hybrid nanometamaterials based on delocalized electron system, dielectric polymers with high electric energy density for capacitor applications, and more recently, electroactive polymers possessing giant electrocaloric effect, attractive for solid state cooling devices. His research has been funded by NIH, DoD, DoE, NSF, and many companies.
	Dr. Clark Cooper, National Science Foundation Presentation Title: Materials and Surface Engineering program at the National Science Foundation Abstract: The MSE program supports both experimental and theoretical fundamental research leading to a better understanding of the effect of microstructure, surfaces and coatings on the properties and performance of engineering materials, and the ultimate control of these properties through material design. Of particular interest is materials service under conditions such as impact, temperature extremes, corrosion, oxidation, and friction. Biography: Dr. Clark V. Cooper is Director of the Materials and Surface Engineering program at the National Science Foundation, a position that he has held since February 2006. At NSF, he has been active in championing a new focus on Simulation-Based Engineering and Science, including leadership in the planning and execution of a two-continent study and a strategic directions workshop. Prior to his commencement at NSF in early 2006, he was a Principal Scientist at United Technologies Research Center in Connecticut, where he pursued fundamental and applied research in the general area of surface science and engineering, focusing on the use of various physical (PVD) and chemical (CVD) vapor deposition processes to synthesize hard and protective coatings and the application of thermo-chemical processes to improve the properties of the surfaces of engineering materials. In addition, he has contributed to advancements in the understanding and to improvements in the properties of materials and coatings for use at high temperature and in other extreme environments. Dr. Cooper holds a B.S. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University.

Symposium 2: Active Materials, Mechanics and Behavior

	Alan L. Browne, General Motors Company Presentation Title: A Lightweight Thermal Energy Recovery System Based on Shape Memory Alloys:  A DOE ARPA-E Initiative Wednesday, September 29, 2010 9:20 AM – 10:00 AM Aria A Abstract: This presentation provides an overview of a recently awarded contract under the US DOE ARPA-E initiative to develop an SMA (shape memory alloy) based lightweight thermal energy recovery system.  Despite improvements in vehicle engine and combustion technology, nearly 50% of the fuel energy is expelled as waste heat in the exhaust and coolant streams.  This contract is to provide a mechanism to capture waste heat for power generation for multiple functions including charging batteries or reducing engine load by powering subsystems. Furthermore, this technology can be spun off to other sectors. The proposed heat engine improves on past designs through better understanding of material behavior, use of advanced system and material modeling, and recent and continuing improvements in narrow hysteresis SMA. Biography: Dr. Alan L. Browne is a GM Technical Fellow doing automotive related research at General Motors R&D.  Current research is focused on developing automotive applications of smart materials such as MR fluids, SMA’s, SMP’s, and EAP’s, these activities including being PI on an ARPA-E contract on the development of an SMA Based Lightweight Thermal Energy Recovery System.  He has over 100 technical publications and 97 US patents.  He is a member of ASME (Fellow), ASC (Fellow), SAE, and ASTM.
	John A.  Shaw, University of Michigan Presentation Title: Superelastic Shape Memory Alloy Cables Wednesday, September 29, 2010 2:00 PM – 2:40 PM Aria B Abstract: Common structural cables (or wire ropes) are hierarchical constructions of straight and helical wire filaments and strands that have desirable mechanical properties as tension elements in terms of load carrying redundancy and increased bending compliance for spooling/packaging. Experiments on new cables made from superelastic NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) wires show interesting thermomechanical phenomena as measured by infrared imaging and digital image correlation. Different mechanical responses and load-rate sensitivities are observed, depending on the particular construction and layup. SMA cables leverage the excellent properties of SMA wires in a scalable and tailorable form, and thus hold promise for new adaptive and enhanced structural properties over a broad range of applications. Biography: John A. Shaw is currently an associate professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. He is the director of the Adaptive Materials and Structures Laboratory in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, researching experimental characterization techniques and modeling of adaptive materials and the design of adaptive structures. His research over nearly 20 years has been particularly focused on the behavior of SMAs and the development and characterization of new structural forms.
	Jason Dunn, Parker Hannifin Corporation Presentation Title: Rapid Industrial Commercialization of New Technology Product Through Multi-Level Alliances and Partnerships Thursday, September 30, 2010 2:40 PM – 3:20 PM Aria A Abstract: One of the primary challenges facing many industrial motion and control companies in today’s economy is determining the proper balance between supporting and maintaining its existing product offering and investing in new technologies. In many situations, new technologies allow industry to either renew a product life cycle or create a new product and/or market entirely. While the existing product revenue often funds the corporate internal technology development, the severity of the recent economic downturn has significantly limited the availability of industrial R&D funding. Alliances and partnerships are becoming increasingly popular as a way to add value to the product development process by combining and sharing resources among various areas of expertise. This presentation will discuss the strategic technology development framework of a fortune 300 company to rapidly commercialize new product focused on advanced actuation and sensing technologies during the emergence from the industrial economic recession. Biography:  Jason has been employed with Parker Hannifin since 1997 and served in various engineering and team leader positions. His primary responsibility involves bringing new technologies to commercialization within a 3-5 year timeframe. Jason’s current focus is on commercializing fluid power and electromechanical products utilizing active materials for medical device applications. These include fluid power product and system design, developing high volume manufacturing and automated assembly processes and managing lab, R&D and advanced technology teams.

Symposium 3: Modeling, Simulation and Control

	Amr Baz, University of Maryland Presentation Title: Onset of Self-Excited Oscillations of Traveling Wave Thermo-Acoustic-Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Wednesday, September 29, 2010 9:20 AM – 10:00 AM Maestro A Abstract: The onset of self-excited oscillations is developed theoretically for a traveling wave thermo-acoustic-piezoelectric (TAP) energy harvester. The harvester is intended for converting thermal energy, such as solar or waste heat energy, directly into electrical energy without the need for any moving components.  The thermal energy is utilized to generate a steep temperature gradient along a porous stack. At a specific threshold of the temperature gradient, self-sustained acoustic waves are generated inside an acoustic resonator. The resulting pressure fluctuations excite a piezoelectric diaphragm, placed at the end of the resonator, which converts the acoustic energy directly into electrical energy. The pressure pulsations are amplified by using an acoustic feedback loop which introduces appropriate phasing that make the pulsations take the form of traveling waves.  Biography: Amr Baz earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1973.  Currently, he is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. He is also serving as the Director of the Smart Materials & Structures Research Center. Between 2001-2006, he served as the Director of the Small Smart Systems Center. His research interests include active and passive control of vibration and noise and virtual reality design of smart structures. He has published more than 140 papers in referred journals and holds 6 US patents. He is Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, listed in Who’s Who of American Inventors, and recipient of Engineering Alumni Association Outstanding Faculty Research Achievement Award.  Dr. Baz received the 2009 ASME Adaptive Structures and Material Systems award and the Pi-Tau-Sigma Purple Cam-Shaft Teaching Award in 2009. Dr. Baz serves on the editorial boards of journals of Vibration and Control, Smart Structures & Systems, and Mechanics of Advanced Materials and StructuresAmr Baz earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1973.  Currently, he is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. He is also serving as the Director of the Smart Materials & Structures Research Center. Between 2001-2006, he served as the Director of the Small Smart Systems Center. His research interests include active and passive control of vibration and noise and virtual reality design of smart structures. He has published more than 140 papers in referred journals and holds 6 US patents. He is Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, listed in Who’s Who of American Inventors, and recipient of Engineering Alumni Association Outstanding Faculty Research Achievement Award.  Dr. Baz received the 2009 ASME Adaptive Structures and Material Systems award and the Pi-Tau-Sigma Purple Cam-Shaft Teaching Award in 2009. Dr. Baz serves on the editorial boards of journals of Vibration and Control, Smart Structures & Systems, and Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures.
	Jeffery Baur, Ph.D., Air Force Research Laboratory Presentation Title: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 11:40 AM – 12:20 PM Maestro A Biography: Dr. Baur serves as the Branch Technical Advisor of the Composite and Hybrids Branch within the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, OH. His past work has focused on the processing and characterization of polymer assemblies for advanced applications such as organic-based LED's, photovoltaics, optical elements, and nano-enhanced polymer composites. His current interest is in the materials systems for adaptive aero vehicles and includes carbon nanotube-based sensors, microvascular composites and aircraft skins for morphing vehicles. Dr. Baur received his Ph.D. degree from M.I.T. in 1997.
	Eduardo Misawa, NSF Presentation Title: Research Funding Opportunities at National Science Foundation (NSF) Friday, October 1, 2010 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM Orchestra Abstract: Engineers excel bridging the gap between what the mind can imagine and what the laws of nature allow. While scientists seek to discover what is not yet known, engineers apply fundamental science to design and develop new devices and engineered systems to solve societal problems. The National Science Foundation promotes the progress of engineering in the United States in order to enable the Nation's capacity to perform. Its investments in engineering research and education aim to build and strengthen a national capacity for innovation that can lead over time to the creation of new shared wealth and a better quality of life. This talk will discuss recent trends in funding by the National Science Foundation and will provide an overview of funding opportunities in the different directorates as well as in cross-disciplinary activities supported by the NSF. Biography: Eduardo Misawa has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from University of Sao Paulo (1979 and 1983) and Ph.D. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, 1988), all in Mechanical Engineering with concentration in Dynamics and Control. He is currently a Program Director in the Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation. His research experience includes Nonlinear Dynamics, Nonlinear Control, Robust Control, Vibrations, Mechatronics, Nanotechnology, Precision Engineering, Vehicle Dynamics, Fluid Power Control, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering.
	Mohammed F. Daqaq, Clemson University Presentation Title: Powering Remote Sensors Using A Scalable Self-Excited Micro-Power Generator Friday, October 1, 2010 4:00 PM – 4:40 PM Orchestra Abstract: Inspired by music-playing harmonicas that create tones via oscillations of reeds when subjected to air blow, this presentation introduces a novel concept for wind power generation using flow-induced self-excited oscillations of a piezoelectric beam. Specifically, when the volumetric flow rate of air past the beam exceeds a certain threshold, the energy pumped into the structure via nonlinear pressure forces offsets the system’s intrinsic damping setting the beam into self-sustained limit-cycle oscillations. The vibratory energy is then converted into electricity through principles of piezoelectricity. The talk goes into i) introducing the basic concept of the power generator, ii) developing and experimentally validating a comprehensive aero-electro-mechanical model to study its dynamic response, and iii) using the resulting model to analyze and optimize its performance. Biography: Mohammed F. Daqaq received his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology in 2001; his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech in 2003, and 2006, respectively. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University. Dr. Daqaq’s research interest lies in the general area of nonlinear dynamics. Currently, he works in the fields of energy harvesting, nonlinear stochastic vibrations, and time-delayed systems.

Symposium 4: Enabling Technologies and Integrated System Design

 

	F.  Straub, The Boeing Company Presentation Title: SMART Rotor Development and Wind Tunnel Test Thursday, September 30, 2010 4:00 PM – 4:40 PM Maestro Abstract: Boeing and a team from NASA, Army, DARPA, Air Force, MIT, UCLA, and U. of Maryland have successfully completed a wind tunnel test of the smart material actuated rotor technology (SMART) active flap rotor in the 40- by 80-foot wind-tunnel of the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex at NASA Ames Research Center.  The Boeing SMART active flap rotor is a full-scale, five-bladed bearingless MD 900 helicopter rotor modified with a piezoelectric-actuated trailing edge flap on each blade.  The development effort included design, fabrication, and component testing of the rotor blades, the trailing-edge flaps, the piezoelectric actuators, the switching power amplifiers, the actuator control system, and the data/power system. Development of the smart rotor culminated in a whirl-tower hover test which demonstrated the functionality, robustness, and required authority of the active flap system. The eleven-week wind tunnel test program evaluated the forward flight characteristics of the active-flap rotor at speeds up to 155 knots, gathered data to validate state-of-the-art codes for rotor aero-acoustic analysis, and quantified the effects of open and closed-loop active flap control on rotor loads, noise, and performance.  The test demonstrated on-blade smart material control of flaps on a full-scale rotor for the first time in a wind tunnel.  The effectiveness of the active flap control on noise and vibration was conclusively demonstrated.  Results showed reductions up to 6dB in blade-vortex-interaction and in-plane noise, as well as reductions in vibratory hub loads of about 80%.  Trailing-edge flap deflections were controlled with less than 0.2 deg rms error for commanded harmonic profiles of up to 3 deg amplitude.  The impact of the active flap on control power, rotor smoothing, and performance was also demonstrated.  Finally, the reliability of the flap actuation system was successfully proven in more than 60 hours of wind tunnel testing. Biography: Dr. Straub holds degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Hannover and from UCLA.  He has worked in the helicopter industry at Hughes Helicopters, McDonnell Douglas, and Boeing.  He is a Boeing Technical Fellow in Rotor Dynamics and served as principal investigator on numerous R&D projects, focusing on development of advanced rotor concepts, including active control, individual blade control, and smart material applications.  He recently led the program for wind tunnel testing of the DARPA/NASA/Army/Boeing MD900 SMART Rotor active flap system and is now the chief engineer for the DARPA/Boeing Mission Adaptive Rotor program.
	W. Hochella, Johnson Matthey Presentation Title: Everything You Want to Know About How to Specify NiTiNOL and Some of the Things You Don’t Friday, October 1, 2010 9:20 AM – 10:00 AM Maestro Abstract: NiTiNOL as compared to other Engineering Materials is an intermetallic compound that has good tensile ductility but limited malleability.   The shape memory properties and pseudo-superelasticity characteristics along with the fact that it is a compound make for interesting processing into wire, tube, sheet and components.  The background of primary NitiNOL manufacturing methods, the effect of Ni content and the effect on transformation characteristics, the effects of thermo-mechanical history and the effect on Active Af will be discussed with respect to how a specification for NiTiNOL products should be written. Biography: Mr. Hochella is Senior Development Engineer, NitiNOL Products, for Johnson Matthey in West Chester, PA and Manager of Technical Support Services at the JM plant in San Jose, CA.  His interests include clad wire and strip, flow through a conical converging die, the manufacture of wire from the Platinum Group Metals, the oxidation of Ammonia for the production of Nitric Oxide and Hydrocyanic Acid and the production of NiTinol wire, tube, sheet and components.  Mr. Hochella holds patents in composite wire, electrical contact manufacturing methods, oxidation catalysts for the production of Nitric Oxide and Hydrocyanic Acid and NiTiNOL tube manufacturing methods. Mr. Hochella holds a degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He also spends a considerable amount of time in 1836 as he is Master Blacksmith at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site.

Symposium 5: Structural Health Monitoring/NDE

 

	Derek Doyle, AFRL Presentation Title: Structural Health Monitoring as an enabler for responsive satellites: an Update Thursday, September 30, 2010 11:40 AM – 12:20 PM Ormandy East Abstract: The Air Force Research Laboratory/Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/RVSV) is developing Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) technologies in support of the Responsive Space (RS) initiative with plans for future capabilities on orbit to assist in overall system awareness. Such technologies will significantly reduce the amount of time and effort required to assess a satellite's structural surety without increasing system level risk associated with changed testing schemes. Furthermore, successful implementation of multifunctional sensor capabilities may lead to savings in size, weight, and power allowing for more options for technical performance. This presentation describes SHM work conducted at AFRL and reasons for it. Biography: Mr. Derek Doyle is the Symbiotic Structures Lead in the Integrated Structural System team at AFRL, Space Vehicle Directorate at Kirtland AFB, NM. Mr. Doyle’s team works on developing technologies in the fields of SHM, highly integrated structures and electro-magnetically tailored materials (Metamaterials) for integration into future satellite systems.  He received his bachelors (’07) and masters (’08) from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Mechatronic Systems.
	Jerome Lynch, University of Michigan Presentation Title: A Probablistic Model Updating Algorithm for Fatigue Damage Detection in Aluminum Hull Structures Thursday, September 30, 2010 2:40 PM – 3:20 PM Ormandy East Abstract: The great technological advances in the field of sensors are leading to new approaches to monitoring naval ships.  Foremost amongst the new sensors available for hull monitoring are wireless sensors.  Wireless sensors eradicate the need for the extensive cabling currently associated with tradition hull monitoring systems.  In addition, with a capability to locally process raw data, wireless sensor networks can be viewed as a computing platform in which sophisticated data interrogation algorithms can be embedded.  In this presentation, a wireless sensor platform developed for naval applications is presented.  The data acquisition capabilities of the wireless sensor are validated upon the FSF-1 SeaFighter where a dense network is installed for use during sea trials.  The second half of the presentation focuses on distributed computing architectures that derive ship mode shapes and track the accumulation of fatigue damage.   Biography: Jerome Lynch is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan.  Dr. Lynch completed his graduate studies at Stanford University where he received his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2002. His current research interests are in the areas of structural monitoring, feedback control systems, and damage detection algorithms.

Symposium 6: Bio-Inspired Smart Materials and Structures

	S. C.  Liu, National Science Foundation Presentation Title: A Research and Innovation Frontier for Bio-inspired Technologies Wednesday, September 29, 2010 10:00 AM – 10:40 AM Orchestra Room Abstract: An rapidly growing cross-disciplinary field of research in biosensing and bioactuation (BSBA) has been emerged to enable engineering investigators to work with bio scientists and other specialists to discover new knowledge in living systems and their interface with engineering systems.  These discoveries could lead to innovations in bio-inspired technologies and can lead to advanced technologies in infrastructure protection and sustainability, detection of environmental pollution and security agents, and natural disaster forecasting and mitigation. This presentation will report on the twelve BSBA interdisciplinary team research awards under a FY 09 EFRI initiative and opportunities and planned actions for international research collaboration with Europe, Japan, China, and Korea, etc. Biography: Shih-Chi Liu joined NSF in 1975 and is Director of Sensors & Sensing Systems (SSS) Program at NSF since year 2000.  His recent research interests are in structural control, civil infrastructures, smart structures, structural health monitoring, and most recently in multidisciplinary challenges of bio-inspired sensing and bio-inspired actuation technologies. Dr. Liu has been active in international engineering via cooperative works with Japan, China, Europe, India, Korea, Taiwan, etc. in various earthquake and sensors related research projects or programs. Dr. Liu is the recipient of many major professional awards for his research in earthquake engineering and contribution to structural health monitoring. He is the Honorary Editor-in-Chief of Internationaal Journal of Smart Structures & Systems (JSSS) and has published over 100 refereed and proceedings articles and 8 books and chapters.
	W. S. Meng, Duquesne University Presentation Title: Polycation Coated Polymeric Particles as Vehicles of RNA Delivery into Immune Cells Wednesday, September 29, 2010 3:00 PM – 3:40 AM Orchestra Room Abstract: The purpose of this work is to develop a carrier system for delivering RNA molecules aimed to downregulate specific functions in T cells.  In many forms of cancer, T cells that express the protein Forkhead Box P3 (Foxp3) are associated with cancer progression. Studies have shown that downregulation of Foxp3 can increase the ability of other immune cells to destroy tumors.  A class of small RNA molecules, commonly referred to as “siRNA”, bind to and degrade specific messenger RNA (mRNA) such that expression of the encoded protein is terminated.  For this mechanism to take place, the siRNA must enter into the cell’s cytoplasm.  To this end, nanosized polymeric particles coated with a polycation were used to deliver the siRNA.  Results show that the particles facilitate the uptake of siRNA molecules into T cells. Biography: Wilson Meng received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Southern California and continued his training in molecular immunology as a postdoctoral research fellow at the UCLA School of Medicine.  He is currently Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Duquesne and Visiting Scholar at the Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center at Carnegie-Mellon University.
	G. V. Lauder, Harvard University Presentation Title: Bio Inspiration From Fish for Material Design and Function Thursday, September 30, 2010 9:20 AM – 10:00 AM Orchestra Room Abstract: There are over 28,000 species of fishes, and a key feature of this remarkable evolutionary diversity is a great variety of novel materials and combinations of materials that power propulsive systems used by fishes for maneuvering in the aquatic environment. In this presentation I will discuss some of the remarkable material properties of fish tissues, with a focus on the functional design of fish fins and fin muscles and how these are used in propulsion.  Experimental work on fin mechanics shows that fishes possess a mechanism for actively adjusting fin surface curvature to modulate locomotor force.  Data from robotic fish models will also be presented and discussed in terms of the utility of using robotic models for understanding fish locomotor dynamics and for designing materials for propulsion. Biography: George V. Lauder received the A.B. and Ph.D. degrees in biology from Harvard University in 1976 and 1979 respectively.  Since 1999 he has been Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University.  His research interests focus on fish biomechanics, evolution, and robotics of fishes.