LiMDay

Morning Sessions

8:00 – 8:30 am | Registration & Breakfast

• Informal networking and poster setup.

8:45 – 9:00 am | Welcome Comments

• Opening remarks, overview of LIMDay goals, and introduction to LiMC² research themes.

9:00 – 9:45 am | Opening Keynote

“Bio-Inspired, Adaptive Polymers and Systems”

Dr. Chris Weder, Professor of Polymer Chemistry and Materials, the University of Fribourg, Switzerland

9:45 – 10:00 am | Coffee Break

Research Spotlights

10:00 – 10:20 am | “HYBRID PLANT: Plant-inspired Hybrid Robots for Reforestation”

Dr. Charles T. Anderson, Professor of Biology and Associate Head of Research and Faculty Success, the Pennsylvania State University, USA

10:20 – 10:25 am | Topic Discussion I

• Audience Q&A.

10:30 – 10:40 am | “Neuromorphic Tissues: Intrinsic Recurrent Computing in Soft Biomolecular Networks”

Dr. Joseph S. Najem, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, the Pennsylvania State University, USA

10:40 – 10:50 am | “Architectures from Agriculture: Engineering Lignin for Sustainable Additive Manufacturing”

Dr. Stephen C. Chmely, Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, the Pennsylvania State University, USA

10:50 – 10:55 am | Topic Discussion II

• Audience Q&A.

10:55 – 11:05 am | “Responsive Facades as Thermoelectric Battery Systems”

Dr. Rahman Azari, Associate Professor of Architecture, the Pennsylvania State University, USA

Zia Mohajerzadeh, PhD Candidate in Architecture, the Pennsylvania State University, USA

11:05 – 11:15 am | “Thermoelectric Harvesting from Low Temperature Differences”

Dr. Frank Goldschmidtboeing, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Freiburg, Germany

11:15 – 11:20 am | Topic Discussion III

• Audience Q&A.

11:20 – 11:40 am | “3D-DIC Quantified Shape-Change for 4D Printing of Mycelium-Based Architectural Panels”

Dr. Benay Toykoç, Associate Professor of Architecture, the Pennsylvania State University, USA

Dr. Max Mylo, Postdoctoral Researcher, Cluster of Excellence livMatS, University of Freiburg, Germany

11:40 – 11:45 am | Topic Discussion IV

• Synthesis discussion and audience Q&A.

11:45 – 12:00 pm | “Adaptive Metamaterials for the Next Generation of Resilient Infrastructure”

Dr. Mariantonieta Gutierrez Soto, Assistant Professor of School of Engineering Design & Innovation, the Pennsylvania State University, USA

Afternoon Sessions

11:45 – 1:15 pm | Lunch & Exhibit

• Lunch, demonstrations, and informal networking.

1:15 – 2:00 pm | Afternoon Keynote

“Harnessing Chemo-mechanical Transduction for Materials Design”

Dr. Anna C. Balazs, Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, USA

Panel Discussion

2:00 – 3:00 pm | “Advancing Research in Living Multifunctional Materials”

Moderator: Dr. Stephen C. Chmely, Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, the Pennsylvania State University, USA

• 2:00 – 2:05 pm | Welcome & Framing
• 2:05 – 2:15 pm | [Topic 1] Bridging the Gap: From Computational Morphogenesis to Physical Synthesis
• 2:15 – 2:25 pm | [Topic 2] The Blueprint of Nature: Hierarchical Design vs. Bottom-Up Assembly
• 2:25 – 2:35 pm | [Topic 3] Defining “Alive”: Autonomy and Adaptation in Synthetic Systems
• 2:35 – 2:45 pm | [Topic 4] Scaling Biomimicry for Real-World Challenges
• 2:45 – 2:55 pm | Audience Q&A
• 2:55 – 3:00 pm | Rapid-Fire Closing & Wrap-Up

Invited Speaker Series

3:00 – 3:30pm | “Bioinspired Synthetic Brochosomes as Novel Optical Materials”

Dr. Tak-Sing Wong, Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, the Pennsylvania State University, USA

3:30 – 4:00pm | “Memory-Controlled Responses in Soft Matter”

Dr. Nathan C. Keim, Associate Professor of Physics, the Pennsylvania State University, USA

Poster Sessions & Reception

4:15 – 4:30 pm | Transition to poster and reception

4:30 – 6:00 pm | Reception & Poster Session

• Evening reception with posters, exhibits, food, and networking.