Huachao Mao, assistant professor of engineering technology in Purdue University’s Polytechnic college, and his team have created a method to fabricate economical multilevel microfluidic devices as small as one-tenth of the diameter of a human hair. The new method could be beneficial to cancer cell analysis, drug screenings, environmental testing, geology, manufacturing and other fields.

Soft actuators, components in mechanical devices that enable movement, are inspired by biological systems but can’t yet replicate the complexity of the human body. Purdue Polytechnic’s David Gonzalez Rodriguez is researching the creation of 3D-printed flexible structures that can function as soft actuators and sensors.

Mohammad Parhizi, a post-doctoral research assistant, is studying the behavior of lithium ion batteries to determine how they perform under stress. Parhizi’s research could lead to safer batteries for industry, government and the military. 

Professionalization, the process of achieving widespread recognition and higher socioeconomic status for emerging occupations, used to take decades. Yubo Kou, a postdoctoral research associate in computer graphics technology, is researching how social media and online communities are changing the speed with which professionalization takes place.

Dongjun Bang, a postdoctoral research assistant in the School of Engineering Technology, wants to advance the world’s understanding of the mechanics of fractures.