Upon completing the course, students will possess the following skills. They are able to
- explain multiscale structure-property relationships of biological, synthetic and bioinspired materials, from the molecular to the macroscopic scale (k1/k2);
- give examples of how biological principles can be utilized for the design of bioinspired and smart materials (k2);
- describe sensing and actuation mechanisms in biological systems and evaluate the potential of mimicking these mechanisms in synthetic bioinspired materials (k4);
- engage with current research topics in the field, critically discussing recent developments and their implications for future advancements in bioinspired and polymeric materials (k5);
- present and critically assess scientific publications, developing skills in synthesizing information and articulating insights (k5).
|
During the course, students will acquire knowledge in the following areas of polymeric, biological and bioinspired materials:
- structure-property relationships of polymer materials;
- structure-property relationships of biological materials;
- engineering the properties of polymer materials (toughness, stress relaxation, self-healing, shape memory,…);
- stimulus-responsive materials;
- self-reporting materials;
- passive and chemomechanical actuation;
- biophotonics and bioinspired optical materials;
- interactions between biological systems and abiotic surfaces;
- composite materials;
- adhesion, wetting and superhydrophobic biomaterials;
- materials assembly and fabrication in nature and in the lab;
- living materials.
|
