Conference Description
The Gordon Research Conference on Multifunctional Materials and Structures seeks to bring together researchers from diverse scientific disciplines to share and exploit a new understanding of how to impart intelligent system level response through self-learning materials and structures. This interdisciplinary pursuit relies upon researchers at the forefront of material science, physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, computational science, mechanics, engineering science, and device engineering to share current technical breakthroughs, generate new interdisciplinary concepts, and build this innovative community. In the past, this research community has successfully developed several visionary concepts to create a new breed of multifunctional and bio-inspired materials and structures. These include "autonomic", "adaptive", "self-sustaining", and “neuromorphic” systems and structures. The overall goal of these approaches has been to deliver an intelligent system level response. As with human development, intelligent response in diverse situations is achieved through progressive learning from the observe-orient-decide-act (OODA) process loop. This conference will discuss breakthroughs in “self-learning” materials and structures with embedded sensing, decision making, and response from integrated chemical, biological, mechanical, and electromagnetic processes for intelligent discovery, manufacturing, bio-inspired structures, engineered living systems, aerospace structures, smart textiles, soft robotics, and upcycling.
The topics, speakers, and discussion leaders for the conference sessions are displayed below. The conference chair is currently developing their detailed program, which will include the complete meeting schedule, as well as the talk titles for all speakers. The detailed program will be available by September 23, 2021. Please check back for updates.
Self-Learning Soft Robotics
Discussion Leaders
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Cecilia Laschi (National University of Singapore, Singapore)
Speakers
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Jamie Paik (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland)
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Pablo Valdivia y Alvarado (Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore)
Intelligent Biological and Bio-Inspired Concepts
Discussion Leaders
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Nancy Sottos (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA)
Speakers
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Mason Dean (Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Germany)
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Ken Gall (Duke University, USA)
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Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan (Harvard University, USA)
Intelligent Chemistry Through Self-Discovery
Discussion Leaders
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Vishnu Sundaresan (Defense Sciences Office (DSO), USA)
Speakers
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Lee Cronin (University of Glasgow, United Kingdom)
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Jurgen Ruhe (University of Freiburg, Germany)
Self-Learning in Intelligent Manufacturing
Discussion Leaders
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William Carter (Defense Sciences Office (DSO), USA)
Speakers
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Qi Ge (Southern University of Science and Technology, China)
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Jennifer Lewis (Harvard University, USA)
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Christopher Spadaccini (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA)
Engineered Living Systems
Discussion Leaders
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Justin Gallivan (Air Force Research Laboratory, USA)
Speakers
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Ryan Harne (Pennsylvania State University, USA)
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Neel Joshi (Northeastern University, USA)
Intelligent Materials for Upcycling
Discussion Leaders
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Ioannis Chasiotis (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA)
Speakers
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Sankaran Thayumanavan (University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA)
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Magda Titirici (Imperial College London, United Kingdom)
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Christopher Bowman (University of Colorado Boulder, USA)
Embedded Sensing for Intelligent Response
Discussion Leaders
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Fu-Kuo Chang (Stanford University, USA)
Speakers
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Pulickel Ajayan (Rice University, USA)
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Erik Thostenson (University of Delaware, USA)
Intelligent Aerospace Structures
Discussion Leaders
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Benjamin Dickinson (Air Force Reserach Laboratory, USA)
Speakers
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Paolo Ermanni (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
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Darren Hartl (Texas A&M University, USA)
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Sung Kang (Johns Hopkins University, USA)
Smart Textiles
Discussion Leaders
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Chiara Daraio (California Institute of Technology, USA)
Speakers
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Yoel Fink (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
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Thomas Gries (RWTH Aachen University, Germany)
The GRC Power Hour™
Organizers:
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Nancy Sottos (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA)
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Chiara Daraio (California Institute of Technology, USA)
