EAGER: Exploring Deformation, Instability, and Failure in Soft Living Materials

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

Typical engineering materials and structures do not grow, self-heal, trap carbon, oxygenate, or detect toxins in the environment. Engineered living materials consist of living cells and or organisms dispersed in a synthetic polymer matrix and have the potential to realize highly-desired properties found in biological systems. To enable the full capacity of living materials as viable and robust engineering structures, mechanistic frameworks are needed to provide deep insights into how we can design and control the composition and architecture of these materials and structures for practical uses. This EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) project will establish a foundational understanding of the deformation and failure behavior of engineered living materials that focuses on algae-laden hydrogels. These hydrogels involve the photosynthetic activity of the algae which can be harnessed for oxygenation, carbon trapping, toxin sensing, and energy harvesting. Advances in mechanics knowledge about these new engineered living materials could accelerate their use and adoption as ecofriendly alternatives and replacements of fossil-fuel-based polymers and plastics, which would be of significant environmental, ecological, and societal benefit. The project will create a new multi-field continuum mechanics model amenable to computational implementation to describe the deformation and growth of engineered living materials. Specifically, the project will establish a chemo-mechanical model of growth that will couple into a finite elasticity framework. The project will also establish a novel experimental mechanics platform that for the first time will visualize and link the morphological and structural remodeling of algae within varying hydrogel compositions and the subsequent effects on the overall mechanical behavior under compression, tension, and indention. The PI has two main broader impact activities planned. Firstly, to engage the public more broadly, we will share the motivation and ideas behind our scientific exploration through the development of 6 short (one minute) videos on Climate Change and Materials: What’s the Link and Why Should We Care? The content will be co-produced with students as part of integrating social and environmental responsibility into mechanics of materials and structures. The second broader impact goal is to develop a series of six open access talks on the Climate Crisis and Engineering. To develop this series, the PI will innovate at the interface of social science and engineering. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.