Chemical engineers at the U. of I. have developed a new metric for understanding how soft materials yield to stress – an advancement that will help solve various materials engineering challenges, such as how to formulate better 3D printing inks.  Image courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The mechanics behind the collapse of soft materials structure have befuddled researchers for decades. In a new study, researchers uncover a metric that finally correlates microscopic-level processes with what is seen at the macroscopic level. 

New metric allows researchers to better understand soft material behavior

Mechanical science and engineering professor Sameh Tawfick led a new study introducing click beetle-sized robots small enough to fit into tight spaces, powerful enough to maneuver over obstacles and fast enough to match an insect’s rapid escape time. Graphic by Michael Vincent

Researchers have made a significant leap forward in developing insect-sized jumping robots capable of performing tasks in the small spaces often found in mechanical, agricultural and search-and-rescue settings.  

Click beetle-inspired robots jump using elastic energy

Materials science and engineering postdoctoral researcher Wenxiang Chen is the first author of a new study that applies imaging techniques common in ceramics and metallurgy to rechargeable ion battery research.  Photo by Fred Zwicky

To design better rechargeable ion batteries, engineers and chemists from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign collaborated to combine a powerful new electron microscopy technique and data mining to visually pinpoint areas of chemical and physical alteration within ion batteries.

Previously unseen processes reveal path to better rechargeable battery performance

 Illinois researchers Weichen Li, left, and professor Shelly Zhang demonstrate how optimization theory and computer algorithms may lead the way for soft robotics and metamaterials design.    Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

A new study challenges the conventional approach to designing soft robotics and a class of materials called metamaterials by utilizing the power of computer algorithms.

New approach to flexible robotics and metamaterials design mimics nature, encourages sustainability

Materials science and engineering researchers Beniamin Zahiri, left, and Paul Braun led a team that developed new battery electrodes made of strategically arranged materials in an effort to drive better solid-state battery technologies.  Photo by Fred Zwicky

Researchers are now putting solid electrolytes in touch with electrodes made of strategically arranged materials – at the atomic level – and the results are helping drive better solid-state battery technologies.