Seminar: Smart Nano-structured Polymers for Biomedical and Energy Applications

Abstract:

Nanocomposite and nanostructure materials related research and applications have grown tremendously in the past couple of decades. The emergence of natural and synthetic nanomaterials possessing a set of desired properties, along with the development of novel processing techniques and a willingness of competitive manufacturers to adopt new materials has resulted in new nanomaterials components replacing the roles of traditional materials. Nanocomposites and nanostructured materials can also offer several benefits as components in multifunctional and smart materials. This seminar presents the design of nanostructured materials to achieve active and smart functionality that are capable of sensing and responding to external stimuli. Examples of smart materials used in this study are conducting polymers, shape-memory materials and piezoresistive composites with main applications in smart textiles, artificial muscles and energy harvesting. Since its establishment, one of the directives of the Smart and Adaptive Polymers Lab (SAPL) at the University of Toronto has been to actively seek the research, development and use of nanocomposites and nanostructured polymers as multifunctional and smart materials. This seminar describes some efforts that SAPL has undertaken in line with this directive.

About the Speaker:

Hani Naguib is a Professor at the University of Toronto, holder of a Canada Research Chair in Smart and Functional Materials, and director of the Toronto Institute for Advanced Manufacturing. His major expertise is in the area of manufacturing of emerging materials including: smart and active materials; macromolecules and composites; and bio-based materials. with applications in artificial muscles, smart textiles and energy harvesters. He has numerous refereed publications, scholarly addresses, and technical seminars to date in the field. Naguib is the recipient of many honours and awards such as the Canada Research Chair, the Premier’s Early Research Award of Ontario, the Canada Foundation of Innovation, and the faculty Early Teaching Award. He is a Professional Engineer in Canada, a Chartered Engineer in U.K., a Fellow of the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining IOM3 in UK,  Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers and Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has been serving on the technical divisions board of directors for the Society of Plastics Engineers SPE, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME, the Materials Information Society ASM, and the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers CSME. Naguib is serving as Associate Editor for the IOP Journal of Smart Materials and Structures, Journal of Cellular Plastics and Cellular Polymers. He has been organizing and chairing various technical sessions, symposia and seminars in international conferences. He is actively involved in collaborative research projects with academic institutions, hospitals and industrial partners in Canada and worldwide.

http://sapl.mie.utoronto.ca/

Hosted by Professor Marcelo Dapino