Micro and Nanotechnology
There’s a big future in small things. Nanotechnology is the new frontier of engineering, imagining new possibilities in manufacturing, fluid mechanics, robotics, combustion, biomedicine, measurements, heat transfer, and more. Purdue hosts the largest academic cleanroom in the world, the Birck Nanotechnology Center, where interdisciplinary teams have access to the absolute cutting-edge of nano-scale characterization (microscopy and measurements) and fabrication (deposition, etching, lithography, etc.) With these tools, mechanical engineers conduct world-class research in:
- Nanoscale manufacturing
- Micro- and nano-fluidics
- Biomolecular detection
- Nanoscale thermal transport
- Computational modeling
- Nanomechanical materials
Faculty in Micro & Nanotechnology
- Fluid dynamics
- Biomaterial
- Multiphase flows
- Non-Newtonian fluid dynamics
- Microfluidics
- Complex fluids
- Soft matter
- Modeling of nonlinear systems
- Structural dynamics and localization
- Flow-induced vibrations
- Impacting systems
- Bifurcations and chaos
- Renewable Energy Materials (physics-based energy yield predictions, sustainable PV and energy storage materials, recycling)
- Electro-Optical-Thermo-Mechanical Reliability (in-situ and in-operando accelerated stress tests)
- Heterogeneous Integration & Advanced Packaging (sub-10 μm pitch interconnects, low-loss interposers)
- Harsh Environment Electronics Integration (high temperature Pb-free solders and nano-thermal interfaces)
- Thermal Physics ... Heat Moving Energy
- Spectroscopy ... "Seeing" energy with light
- Nanophotonics ... Pushing light to see more
- 2D Materials ... Creating functionality by losing dimension
- Acoustics
- Active and passive noise control
- Sound field visualization
- Structural acoustics and wave propagation in structures
- Noise control material modeling
- Applied signal processing
- Modeling and experimental studies on processing
- Structure property relationships in polymer films and moldings and polymer/metal/ceramic hybrid systems
- Multi-scale robotic manipulation and assembly
- Mobile micro/nano robotics
- Micro/nano aerial vehicles
- Micro-Bio robotics
- Mechatronics
- MEMS/NEMS
- Automation for the life sciences
- Dynamic systems and control
- Mechatronics
- Digital and functional printing and fabrication
- Motion and vibration control and perception
- Embedded systems and real-time control
- DNA nanotechnology
- Advanced materials
- Bio-inspired and mechanically adaptive electronics
- Multimaterial additive fabrication
- Soft actuators (artificial muscles)
- Wearable actuators (haptics)
- Polymer design and polymer physics
- Deformation sensors and transistors
- Fluid Mechanics
- Soft Matter
- Granular Flow
- Microfluidics
- Nonlinear Waves
- Computational Science
- Laser-absorption spectroscopy, laser-induced fluorescence, & IR imaging sensors for gas temperature, pressure, velocity, and chemical species
- Molecular spectroscopy, photophysics, & energy transfer in gases
- Energetic materials (e.g., explosives & propellants) detection & combustion
- Combustion and propulsion systems (small and large scale)
- Biomedical sensing
- Predictive, multi-scale modeling and simulation of microstructure evolution in confined granular systems, with an emphasis in manufacturing processes and the relationship between product fabrication and performance.
- Application areas of interest include:
- (i) particulate products and processes (e.g., flow, mixing, segregation, consolidation, and compaction of powders),
- (ii) continuous manufacturing (e.g., Quality by Design, model predictive control, and reduced order models), and
- (iii) performance of pharmaceutical solid products (e.g., tensile strength, stiffness, swelling and disintegration), biomaterials (e.g., transport and feeding of corn stover) and energetic materials (e.g., deformation and heat generation under quasi-static, near-resonant and impact conditions, and formation and growth of hot spots) materials.
- Sustainable energy and environment
- Combustion and turbulent reacting flows
- Combustion and heat transfer in materials
- Biomedical flows and heat transfer
- Global policy research
- Biotransport phenomena
- Cell-fluid-matrix interaction
- Microfluidics
- 3D printing of soft materials
- Advanced multi-scale manufacturing
- Ultrafast laser machining and processing
- Fiber optic sensors and environmental monitoring
- Spray-based nanoparticle coating and additive manufacturing
- Machining of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites
- Computational solid mechanics
- Multiscale modeling of materials
- Finite Elements
- Dislocation dynamics
- Reliability of electronic interconnects
- Shock compression in solids
- Phase transformations
- Energetic materials
- Wearable biomedical devices
- 'Crack’-driven transfer printing technology
- Scalable manufacturing technology
- Mechanics and materials for flexible/stretchable electronics
- Naturally nanostructured materials
- Energy, water, and wearable technology
- Manufacturing
- Bio-inspired designs
- Surface engineering and multifunctional materials
- Convergent Manufacturing for Industry 5.0: hybrid manufacturing processes, heterogeneous materials, and bio-inspired designs
- Systems integration, productization, and production
- Heavy-duty machines: machining, lubrication, and corrosion
- Heterogeneous and hierarchical integration (mechanical-electrical-optical and nano-micro-meso-macro)
- Precision agricultural and food: cellular agriculture, vertical farming, micro-production, and resilience
- Frugal engineering, social innovations, and social equity
- Manufacturing in space
- Transport Phenomena in Multi-Scale, Heterogeneous Materials & Systems
- Fundamentals of Nanoscale Thermal Transport
- Heat Transfer in Natural and Synthetic Fiber Systems
- Thermofluids Interactions
- Multi-Physics Metrology Design
- Electronics Cooling and Thermal Management
- Energy storage and conversion (batteries, fuel cells)
- Mesoscale physics and stochastics
- Reactive transport, materials, processing, and microstructure interactions
- Scalable nanomanufacturing: lithography and imaging
- Optical and magnetic data storage
- Nanoscale energy conversion, transfer and storage for alternative energy
- Simulations of nanoscale thermal transport
- Machine learning, optimization, and high throughput design
- Thermal management in electronics, space, and battery applications
- Transport phenomena in additive manufacturing
- Nanomaterials and devices for sustainable energy
- Contact mechanics
- Stresses, fatigue and friction of rolling/sliding
- Micro-mechanics of boundary and mixed lubrication regimes
- Spall initiation and propagation
- Surface science and damage
- Dynamics of ball and rolling element bearings and rotating systems
- Friction induced vibration and squeal in dry contacts
- Friction and wear of dry and lubricated contacts
- Virtual tribology
- Dry and lubricated fretting wear
- MEMS for in-situ monitoring of tribological contacts
- Discrete element modeling
- Design
- MEMS, nanotechnology
- BioMEMS
- Biosensors
- Protein detection
- Aptamers (Nucleic-acid-based receptor molecules)
- Laser additive manufacturing
- Ultrafast laser matter interaction
- Laser welding
- Laser assisted machining
- Laser shock peening
- Multi-physics, multi-scale modeling
- Micro-nano manufacturing
- Multiphase combustion, particularly related to propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics
- Nanoscale composite energetic materials
- Advanced energetic materials
- Microscale combustion
- Computational and experimental solid mechanics focused on fatigue, fracture, and multi-physics phase evolution problems
- Computational techniques including Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Isogeometric Analysis (IGA), geometric modeling, CAD and optimal design
- Heterogeneous Integration and Advanced Electronics Packaging with a focus on thermomechanical behavior, reliability, and electrical-thermal-mechanical co-design
- Measurement science and instrumentation
- Particle image velocimetry
- Quantification of uncertainty
- Multi-phase flows
- Flow induced vibrations and hydro-kinetic energy
- Biological flows
- Biofluid mechanics
- Biomedical cardiovascular devices
- Heart failure and diastolic dysfunction
- Scanning Probe Microscopy
- Metrology
- Optomechanics
- Mass spectrometry
- Contact mechanics
- Desalination & Water Treatment
- Water-Food-Energy Nexus
- Thermofluids
- Nanotechnology
- Membrane Science
- Discrete element method (DEM) modeling for particulate systems
- -- model development, e.g., fibrous particles, particle breakage, particle shapes
- -- application to manufacturing, e.g., storage and flow, blending, segregation, drying, coating, wet granulation
- Finite element method (FEM) modeling of powder compaction
- -- e.g., roll compaction, tableting, picking and sticking
- Multi-scale modeling (FEM combined with DEM) of powder dynamics
- -- model development and application to hopper flow, blending, and segregation
- Heat Transfer in Advanced Semiconductor Interconnects & Packaging
- Electronic Cooling & Efficient Thermal Packaging Materials
- Thermal/Mechanical Simulation & Characterization
- Materials, Processing & Architecture Development for Semiconductor Packaging
- MEMS Fabrication for Extreme Heat Flux Microfluidic Cooling
- Advanced Semiconductor Nanoscale 3D Interconnections
- Novel Photonics & Quantum Packaging Technologies
- Reliability Modeling & Characterization
- Electronics cooling and packaging
- Phase-change transport phenomena
- Microscale and nanoscale surface engineering for enhanced thermal transport
- Energy efficiency in thermal systems
- Transport in porous materials
- Microscale diagnostics and sensing
- Microfluidic MEMS devices
- Development of new microfluidic diagnostic techniques
- Biological flows at the cellular level
- Micro-scale laminar mixing
- Flow transitions and instabilities
- Laser-matter interactions
- Laser-induced plasma and laser-plasma interaction
- Laser applications in manufacturing, materials processing, and other areas
- Heat transfer, particularly nano-scale and ultrafast heat transfer
- Ultrafast laser materials processing and diagnostics
- Nano-optics and laser-based nano-lithography
- Multiscale superfast 3D optical sensing
- Biophotonic imaging
- Optical metrology
- Machine/computer vision
- 3D video telepresence
- 3D video processing
- Virtual reality
- Human computer interaction
- Deformation, stress, plasticity, fracture
- Multiscale modeling, first-principles, molecular dynamics simulations, and finite element modeling
- In-situ experiments
- Mechanics of redox active materials - Li-ion batteries, Na-ion batteries, all-solid-state batteries
- Mechanics of polymeric materials - organic electrochromics, superelastic organic semiconductors