SEMINAR – Inks to Devices: Directed Assembly of Multiscale Functional Architectures

Abstract:

The growing demand for customized three-dimensional (3D) functional materials is driven by myriad applications, including electronics, optics, sensors, and soft robotics. New advances in materials design, manufacturing, and multiscale architectures are needed to meet these demands. My talk will highlight a new paradigm, known as “inks to devices”, which involves transforming functional inks into tailored devices via additive manufacturing. First, I will describe printing of liquid metals for novel stretchable electronics and optical devices. Next, I will discuss the integrated (directed and self) assembly of mesoscale photonic architectures composed of eutectic materials that are patterned via high operating temperature direct ink writing (HOT-DIW) coupled with controlled directional solidification. Finally, I will highlight recent work on 3D printing of elastomeric inks with programmable thermal expansion for soft, reversible, shape-morphing architectures.

Biography:

J. William (Will) Boley is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. His research focuses on multi-functional additive manufacturing for electronics, optics, sensors, and soft robotics. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University with a focus on functional inkjet printing. Prior to joining Harvard, he also carried out postdoctoral research on soft electronics and robotics at Purdue.