PU heads up search for materials that mimic life
|
| By: Lindsay
Dell , Special Writer |
09/27/2002 |
|
Seeking substances that can alter
their shape or repair themselves.
Princeton University is the directing
member in a new coalition of research institutions sponsored
by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to
produce materials for space-age applications that mimic
biological processes.
In November, the
Institute for Biologically Inspired Materials will begin work
to engineer synthetic substances that are capable of such
biological phenomena as self-repair and adaptation to changing
environments. Application of these materials will range from
spacecraft to civil aviation.
As part of
its first planning meeting Wednesday, the university hosted
representatives of the three research institutions that will
be partners in the project: the University of California at
Santa Barbara, Northwestern University and the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While Princeton is responsible
for coordinating the group of approximately 35 scientists,
engineers and scholars that will comprise the institute,
ICASE, a research institute run by the NASA Langley Research
Center in Virginia, handles most of the
oversight.
Tom Sutter, a NASA systems
technology project manager, said the new institute represents
an effort on NASA's part to establish long-term relationships
with research institutions.
"We would
like to make a lasting commitment to developing the materials
that are essential to technological advancement," he
said.
The institute's research and
development will take place in the laboratories of the
individual universities, with each one focusing on its
relative specialty. At Princeton, more than half of the work
will take place in the chemical engineering department, with
the remainder divided between the chemistry and civil
engineering departments.
According to Mr.
Sutter, another of NASA's objectives in this collaboration is
to develop and culture a future workforce that will be
comfortable with these innovative materials. This strategy is
embodied in the forthcoming education program to be initiated
at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State
University.
Dr. Darrell R. Tenney, the
director of Aerospace Vehicle Systems Technology at NASA's
Langley Research Center, spoke of the institute's intention to
combine physics, biology, chemistry and engineering to solve
everyday civil aviation problems, such as reducing offensive
noise and making flight more
fuel-efficient.
"In the past, aircraft
have always been designed with a solid structure," he said.
"With this technology, we can alter the shape of the craft
in-flight to reduce noise and maximize
lift."
For example, just as some shells
and plants are able to repair themselves naturally through
biological processes, the scientists will use
electromechanical fields to engineer a synthetic material that
will be capable of self-repair.
"We plan
to make smart materials — ones that can respond to changes in
their environments, and that can sense when they've been
damaged, and respond," said Ed Samulski, a chemistry professor
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who earned
his doctorate at Princeton.
NASA's
initial commitment of funding is $3 million a year over the
next 10 years. The institute is expected to attract additional
income as private individuals and research institutions become
interested in the group's
developments.
According to Ilhan A.
Aksay, a professor of chemical engineering at Princeton, the
largest challenge facing the team is the actual creation of
the biologically inspired materials.
"No
one yet has made things that function like biological
materials," he said.
For example,
modifying an aircraft in-flight currently requires the
addition of hydraulics, which adds a significant amount of
weight, said Professor Aksay. In time, however, with the work
of the institute, hydraulic material will be replaced by
ultra-efficient biologically inspired
material.
"Soon we will be able to
visualize — and design — a plane that will fly like an eagle,"
he said.
|
| ©Packet Online 2002
|
|
Business 
.gif){kind=spacer}
