Pitt's Swanson School Recognizes 2023 NSF CAREER Awardees
Metamaterials, nanocarbons, and photopolymers are the winning themes for this year's recipients of National Science CAREER Awards at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering.
"Thanks to a dedicated focus on mentorship, grant writing, and research development, 22 of our young faculty have received CAREER awards since 2016," noted David Vorp, the Swanson School's Senior Associate Dean for Research and Facilities. "The CAREER award is validation of a young faculty member’s potential early in their research career and also provides the necessary funding to develop education programs that benefit the community. My thanks to the NSF for their continued support and congratulation to this year's CAREER cohort."
Paving the Way for Truly Intelligent Materials
Amir Alavi, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been working to engineer a new class of intelligent materials that can create the foundation for mechanical computing systems. His $535,120 NSF CAREER Award will further his research in self-powered mechanical "metamaterials" that can think for themselves without the need for delicate processors or batteries—materials that will be useful for everything from medical implants to space computing.
Engineering a "LINC" Between Graphene and Polymers
Mostafa Bedewy, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, will utilize his $596,734 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award to develop LINC – laser-induced nanocarbon – to expedite and revolutionize flexible device manufacturing processes by creating graphene and related nanomaterials directly on polymers.
Thinking on Different Wavelengths to Improve Photopolymer-Based 3D Printing
Xiayun Zhao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, received a $657,610 CAREER award to further her research in photopolymer additive manufacturing (PAM). This technology utilizes two lights to cure photosensitive materials and curb the associated overcuring, respectively, allowing for the fabrication of components with higher resolution and greater precision than existing PAM technologies.