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Technologies 6

• Dynamic Daylight Control System
  In the U.S. alone, commercial and residential buildings account for more than 40 percent of the total energy consumption – mostly for lighting. What’s more, the deep building layouts that are typical in the U.S. have led to a complete reliance on artificial lighting systems that are less desirable than natural daylight. Many of the...
• Shrilk Biodegradable Plastic
  Wyss Institute researchers have developed a fully degradable bioplastic by isolating a material called chitosan found in shrimp shells and forming a laminate with silk fibroin protein that mimics the microarchitecture of natural insect cuticle. The new material, called “Shrilk”, can be used to manufacture objects without the environmental threat posed by conventional synthetic plastics,...
• Phase-Separating Liquid Gated Membranes
  Just like pores in living organisms that control the absorption and excretion of fluids, gases and solids in response to their environments, flow-gating membranes have proved very useful for many mechanical systems, such as gas and liquid separators, dialysis machines, or open heart bypass pumps. But conventional approaches to create synthetic “gated pores” within those...
• SLIPS (Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces)
  The need for an inexpensive, super-repellent surface cuts across a vast swath of societal sectors—from refrigeration and architecture, to medical devices and consumer products. Most state-of-the-art liquid repellent surfaces designed in the last decade are modeled after lotus leaves, which are extremely hydrophobic due to their rough, waxy surface and the physics of their natural...
• 4D Printing of Shapeshifting Devices
  Organisms, such as flowers and plants, have tissue compositions and microstructures creating dynamic morphologies that can shapeshift in response to changes in their environments. Researchers at the Wyss Institute have mimicked a variety of such dynamic shape changes like those performed by tendrils, leaves, and flowers in response to changes in humidity or temperature with...
• Metal Printing ‘On-the-Fly’
  An increasing demand for flexible, wearable electronics, sensors, antennas and medical devices has led researchers at the Wyss Institute to develop a laser-assisted direct ink writing method that allows microscopic metallic, free-standing 3D structures to be printed without auxiliary support material. The method can produce not only sweeping curves and spirals but also sharp angular...

News 69

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• Research Spotlights Cell-free biofilm materials as catalysts for biomanufacturing
  August 19, 2017
• Press Release Slippery liquid surfaces confuse mussels to stop them from sticking to underwater structures
  August 17, 2017
• Research Spotlights Harvard researchers develop tough, self-healing rubber
  August 14, 2017

Multimedia 12

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  Video/Animation
  Fouling Marine Fouling
  Marine fouling occurs when organisms attach themselves to underwater objects like boats, rope, pipes and building structures. Mussels are one of the biggest culprits. Once attached, they are difficult to remove, leading to operational downtime, increased energy use and damage. Paints and coatings are currently used to prevent marine fouling, but are frequently toxin-based and not...

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  Video/Animation
  How plant stems grow into different shapes
  It is well known that as plants grow, their stems and shoots respond to outside signals like light and gravity. But if plants all have similar stimuli, why are there so many different plant shapes? Using simple mathematical ideas, Harvard University researchers constructed a framework that explains and quantifies the different shapes of plant stems....

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  Video/Animation
  3D Printing Ceramic Foam
  This video shows the 3D printing process that adds layer upon layer of the foam link to create a 3D porous ceramic honeycomb pattern. This new capability is an important step toward generating porous materials for lightweight structures, thermal insulation, tissue scaffolds and other applications. Credit: Lori Sanders

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  Video/Animation
  Reconfigurable Materials
  This video shows how a reconfigurable model structure generated with the teams predictive method can be drawn into different shapes that might perform very different functions. Credit: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

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  Video/Animation
  Liquid Gated Membranes
  The first part of this animation compares the transmembrane pressure (TMP) between a standard filter and a liquid gated membrane filter (depicted by pressure gauge in bottom right corner). The second part of the animation shows the tendency of each system to clog up due to fouling. The liquid gated membrane filter results in a...

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  Video/Animation
  Efficient Recovery of Stem Cell Sheets
  See in this video how an intact sheet of mesenchymal stem cells, stained with a violet dye, can be lifted off the infused polymer substrate in the culture dish using a filter paper and transferred to a new surface. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University