Abstract
There is an emerging demand of high-performance functional fibers in modern electronic, transportation, and biomedical applications. To attain advanced properties of fibers, the rational design of fiber microstructures along with the precise control of fiber alignment in complex three-dimensional (3D) structures have been imperative research areas. In this presentation, I will share our latest approaches to develop advanced structural and functional fibers. The first part of this presentation will address how to design and manufacture nano-tailored polymeric precursor fiber and the resulting carbon fiber to further improve their structural properties. I will also discuss the mechanism(s) of the enhanced structural properties by investigating the microstructure and nanofiller-matrix interaction. The second part of the presentation will tackle the challenge of how to precisely control the fiber alignment in complex 3D geometries, especially for micro/nanosized fibers. In this part, I will demonstrate a novel fiber manufacturing system for programmable micro/nanofiber alignments in complex 3D geometries. Using this novel system, we manufactured helically aligned biomimetic 3D scaffolds for heart ventricles. Seeding these scaffolds with heart muscle cells (i.e. cardiomyocytes) enables the first tissue-engineered biohybrid model for helically aligned heart ventricles. Finally, the presentation will briefly discuss the prospects for future directions in high-performance structural/functional fibers to overcome challenges in tissue-engineered personalized disease models, drug-screening, and controlled drug delivery under the emerging development of advanced fiber manufacturing systems.
About the Speaker
Dr. Huibin (H.B.) Chang, named as a 2022 Visionary for MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35 Asia Pacific, is a postdoctoral fellow in the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. He is currently working with Prof. Kevin Kit Parker to develop novel high-performance materials for tissue engineering. His latest work focuses on the development of additive manufacturing platform to construct fibrous scaffolds for in vitro cardiovascular disease models and smart food packaging. Meanwhile, he has expertise in the design and engineering of nano-tailored high-performance polymer and carbon fibers. HB received his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology under the advising of Prof. Satish Kumar, and his M.S. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia under the advising of Prof. Hao Li, and his Bachelor’s degree from the North China Electrical Power University in Beijing, China.
Host: Professor Mariana Kersh
