Prior Research Highlights
2001 — 2020

MRSEC Research Year:

(Supported under the auspices of NSF-MRSEC [DMR-2011754])
2022


(Supported under the auspices of NSF-MRSEC [DMR 1420570])
2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010


(Supported under the auspices of NSF-MRSEC [DMR-0820484])
2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

  


(Supported under the auspices of NSF-MRSEC [DMR-1420570])

2020

Bioinspired kirigami metasurfaces as assistive shoe grips
Bioinspired Kirigami Metasurfaces as Assistive Shoe Grips
Pore-level flow velocity magnitude
Understanding Flow and Clogging in Disordered Porous Media
Predictive design method used to guide multimaterial 4D printing
Shape-Shifting Lattices via Multimaterial 4D Printing
STATs implementations
Smart Thermally Actuating Textiles (STATs)
Design of active cell encapsulating materials
Mechanical Loading of Single Cells
Navajo Technical University students participating in several Harvard MRSEC STEM programs
Building Enduring Pathways in STEM: Incorporating Traditional Ways of Knowing in Materials Research
Seed PREM: Navajo Tech University—Harvard MRSEC
K-12 students engaging in Soft Robotics Workshops
Introducing Students to Materials Science
through Soft Robotics Workshops
Over 20 years of New England Complex Fluids workshops in New England
Knowledge Transfer and Community Building:
81st New England Complex Fluids Workshop

2019

Highly Stretchable and Tough Hydrogels below Water-freezing Temperature
Highly Stretchable and Tough Hydrogels below Water-freezing Temperature
Acoustophoretic Printing: Printing Soft Materials with Sound
Acoustophoretic Printing:
Printing Soft Materials with Sound
Ultra-soft, Nanofiber-reinforced Actuators and Delicate Manipulators
Ultra-soft, Nanofiber-reinforced Actuators and Delicate Manipulators
Mechanically Active Biocompatible Materials for Applying Contraction to Cells and Tissues
Mechanically Active Biocompatible Materials
for Applying Contraction to Cells and Tissues
Building Enduring Pathways in STEM: Incorporating Traditional Ways of Knowing in Materials Research
Building Enduring Pathways in STEM:
Incorporating Traditional Ways of Knowing in Materials Research
Mentoring the Next Generation through Sustained MRSEC Support
Full Circle:
Mentoring the Next Generation through Sustained MRSEC Support
Digital Rock Workshop at Schlumberger-Doll Research Laboratory
Industrial Partnership:
Digital Rock Workshop at Schlumberger-Doll Research Laboratory
Colliding Smoke Rings: Visualizing Turbulence at New Length Scales
Knowledge Transfer and Community Building:
77th New England Complex Fluids Workshop

2018

Printing of the MRSEC logo in two-color wax and two-color silicone
Printing of the MRSEC logo
in two-color wax and two-color silicone
image of Colliding Smoke Rings: Visualizing Turbulence at New Length Scales
Colliding Smoke Rings:
Visualizing Turbulence at New Length Scales
image of Crumpling Soda Cans: Predicting the Stability Landscape of Shell Buckling
Crumpling Soda Cans:
Predicting the Stability Landscape of Shell Buckling
image of Using Frustration to Design New Chiral Structures for Sensing Applications
Using Frustration to Design New Chiral Structures
for Sensing Applications
image of Digital Assembly of Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators with Spatially Programmed Nematic Order
Digital Assembly of Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators
with Spatially Programmed Nematic Order
image of A Biologically Inspired, Functionally Graded End Effector for Soft Robotics Applications
A Biologically Inspired, Functionally Graded End Effector for Soft Robotics Applications
image of Forward-Looking Metalens</a><br />Adaptive Metalens
Forward-Looking Metalens
Adaptive Metalens
image of How the Cookie Sheet Crumples: New Insights into Material Deterioration and Failure
How the Cookie Sheet Crumples:
New Insights into Material Deterioration and Failure
image of Community College Partnerships: Recruiting Veterans into Materials Science Research Careers
Community College Partnerships:
Recruiting Veterans into Materials Science Research Careers
image of Hands-on Science Labs Inspire Native American High School Students
Hands-on Science Labs Inspire
Native American High School Students
image of Raising visibility of NSF MRSEC program< at the Materials Research Society meeting
Raising visibility of NSF MRSEC program
at the Materials Research Society meeting
image of International Industrial Partnership: Developing an Microfluidic Acoustic Wave Cell Sorter
International Industrial Partnership:
Developing an Microfluidic Acoustic Wave Cell Sorter
image of Nexus of Engineering and Societal Needs - Partnership between Harvard and UTEC (Lima, Peru)
Nexus of Engineering and Societal Needs
Partnership between Harvard & UTEC (Lima, Peru)

2017

image of Tough Adhesives for Wet Surfaces
Tough Adhesives
for Wet Surfaces
image of Controlled Self-Assembly of Optical Microstructures
Controlled Self-Assembly
of Optical Microstructures
image of Nanofiber Yarns Fabricated by Immersion Rotary Jet Spinning
Nanofiber Yarns
Fabricated by Immersion Rotary Jet Spinning
image of Science in Three Dimensions Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists
Science in Three Dimensions
Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists
image of Diversity Negotiation Workshop
Diversity Negotiation Workshop
image of Spreading MRSEC Technology Internationally to Create New High-tech Jobs at Home
Spreading MRSEC Technology Internationally
to Create New High-tech Jobs at Home
image of New.Mech Workshop for the New England Mechanics Community
New.Mech Workshop
for the New England Mechanics Community

2016

Octobot
An Integrated Design and Fabrication Strategy for Entirely Soft, Autonomous Robots
Crystallization of Undercooled Liquids
Materials to Improve Drug Bioavailability
Biomimetic 4-D Printing
Lewis and Mahadevan
Shape-Memory Phase Transitions in Soft Materials
Bertoldi, Suo, and Whitesides
Development of a Microcalorimeter
Needleman and Vlassak
Holiday Science Lecture for Families
A Grain of Salt: Isn't it Ionic
College and Career Awareness for Middle School Students
Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
That's How the Cookie Crumbles...
Science and Cooking
Nature's FARMacy
Preparing Postdoctoral Fellows
New England Complex Fluids Workshop
Knowledge Transfer and Community Building
Solchroma Technologies
Startup Company Formation
Shared Experimental Facilities
Aerotech Multi-Material 3-D Printer

2015

Amorphous Salt
The Microfluidic Nebulator
Soft Fiber Sensor Fabrication
Multicore-shell printing of textile-mounted, capacitive strain sensors
Hopping Towards a Better Soft Robot
A 3-D-printed, functionally graded soft robot powered by combustion
Sensors for Cellular Bioenergetics
Integrating nanocalorimetry with microfluidics
New Nanofiber Production Platform
Nanofibers fabrication from an immersion rotary jet-spinning system
3-D Printing and Soft Robotics Workshop
Artemis Project Girls Summer Camp
Developing a Culture of Innovation
MRSEC-inspired course on innovation and entrepreneurship
Shared Experimental Facilities
EnvisonTec Aureus 3-D printer
Shared Experimental Facilities
Andor/Yokogawa spinning-disk confocal microscope
Ultra-Stable Metallic Glasses
New in-situ method to study the thermal and mechanical behavior of metallic glasses
Paper-Based Electronics and MEMS
Controlled ink wetting and reactivity on paper yields defect-free devices
New Unimorph-Based Devices
Using aligned fibers to design deflection directions of dielectric elastomers
Measuring Concentration Dynamics in Porous Media
Development of new tools to observe ionic concentration in porous media
Shared Experimental Facilities
TA OSP-ARES-G2 Rheometer
Start-Up Company Formation
GnuBIO acquired by BioRad

2014

Electrogels
Electrically Collapsible Hydrogels with Enhanced
Mechanical Toughness
Magnetic Gels
Biphasic Design Enhances the Mechanical Properties
of Magnetically Responsive Hydrogel
New Morphological Instability
in Plastic Fluids
Pull Spinning
Novel Technique for Production of Nanofibers
Curves Alter Crystallization
Thermal Excitations of Warped Membranes
Sensor Skin
A Platform for Highly Stretchable,
Biocompatible, Transparent Sensors
Inducing Chirality
Buckling-induced Reversible Symmetry Breaking
and Amplification of Chirality
Odd Performance Under Pressure
Soft Auxetic Materials with Negative Poisson's Ratio
Printing Tissue
3D Bioprinting of Vascularized,
Heterogeneous Cell-Laden Tissue Constructs
Impacting Drops
Drops Skating and Bouncing Off Surfaces
Mentoring Veterans
Building a Long-Term Support Network
Shared Experimental Facilities
New TA Discovery Rheometers
International Soft-Matter Workshops
Dutch Soft Matter Days

2013

Complexity from Simplicity
Very Fine Art: Stunningly Beautiful Microscale Sculptures
Aizenberg, Mahadevan
Hydroglyphics: Visualizing Patterns from Wetting Contrast
Writing Secret Messages with Water
Aizenberg
Science, Engineering, and Technology in the City
A Career Exploration Day for High School Girls
Lewis
Shared Experimental Facilities
Soft-Matter Day Workshops initiated in China
Photonic Droplets:
Non-toxic Displays, Cosmetics, and Paints
Manoharan, Weitz
Liquid Embedded Elastomers
New Bendable and Stretchable Electronics
Wood
Metaphase Spindle as an Active Liquid Crystal
Experimental Test of Theory
Needleman

2012

Tough gel stretches to 21 times its length, recoils, and heals itself
Zhigang Suo, Joost J. Vlassak, David J. Mooney
International Ambassador, Career Development of Dr. Andy Utada
Soft-Matter and Innovation Workshop
Microtubules in Metaphase Spindles, Organization Revealed by Laser Nano-cutting
Daniel J. Needleman and Eric Mazur
Active Soft Materials, Sensing Deformation and Contact Pressure
R.J. Wood
Active Soft Materials, Sensing Deformation and Contact Pressure
G.M. Whitesides
Fluctuating Thin Elastic Shells, Thermal Fluctuations Modify Elastic Properties
David R. Nelson and David A. Weitz
Particles at Liquid Interfaces, Energy Barrier to Particle Surface Adsorption
Vinothan N. Manoharan and Michael P. Brenner
Fluid Drops Impacting Solid Surfaces, Drops 'Skate' on a Thin Layer of Air
Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, David A. Weitz, and Michael P. Brenner
Combinatorial AC NanoCalorimetry, In-situ X-ray diffraction and nanocalorimetry setup
Joost J. Vlassak, John M. Gregoire, and Kechao Xiao
Particles at Liquid Interfaces, Energy Barrier to Particle Surface Adsorption
Frans Spaepen

2011

Softer-than-Skin Electronics, Sensors, and Adaptive Materials
R.J. Wood, G.M. Whitesides, and Z. Suo
Universal Gripper for Soft Robotics
G.M. Whitesides and R.J. Wood
Crystals on Curved Surfaces
V.N. Manoharan and D.R. Nelson
Statistical Mechanics of Pressurized Shells
D.R. Nelson and D.A. Weitz
Conical Indentation of PDMS Gels
Z. Suo and J.J. Vlassak
Nanoporous Structures by Colloidal Co-Assembly
J. Aizenberg and L. Mahadevan
New Route to Fabricating PDMS-Based Microfluidic Components
D.R. Clarke and Z. Suo
Soft Lithography Fabrication
New Shared Experimental Facility
New England Workshop on the Mechanics of Materials and Structures

2010

Aberration Corrected Electron Microscopes
New Tools in the Shared Experimental Facilities
Catalysis for CO2 Reduction
Aspuru-Guzik, Betley, Friend
Creating New High Tech Jobs
Development of a RheoConfocal Microscope
Entropy Favors Asymmetry in Colloidal Self-Assembly
Guangnan Meng, Natalie Arkus, Michael P. Brenner, and Vinothan N. Manoharan
Ferro-Sponges for Drug and Cell Delivery
Xuanhe Zhao, Jaeyun Kim, and David Mooney
Pneumatic Belt
Xin Chen, Coskun Kocabas, and George M. Whitesides
Sequential Adsorption Model of Microfiber Clustering
Jayson Paulose, David R. Nelson, and Joanna Aizenberg
Soft Matter Science Revealed through Cooking
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(Supported under the auspices of NSF-MRSEC [DMR-0820484])

2010

Spindle Nanosurgery by Femtosecond Laser
Valeria Nuzzo, Eric Mazur, Jan Brugues, and Dan Needleman

2009

Soft Electrostatic Patches
Robert J. Wood and Michael Petralia
New Paradigm for Shared Experimental Facilities
TA Instruments Center for Thermal and Mechanical Analysis
New Ordered Hierarchical Helical Assemblies
Boaz Pokroy, Sung H. Kang, L. Mahadevan, and Joanna Aizenberg
Combinatorial Nano-Calorimetry on Ti-Ni-Zr
Joost J. Vlassak and Patrick J. McCluskey
Osmotically-Driven Flows in Microchannels Separated by a Semi-Permeable Membrane
N. Michele Holbrook and Jinkee Lee (Harvard); Kaare Hartvig Jensen, Thomas Bohr, and Henrik Bruus (Technical University of Denmark)
Engineering the Optical Properties of Colloidal Suspensions
Adeline Perro, Guangnan Meng, and Vinothan N. Manoharan
From Bean to Bar: The Sweet Science of Chocolate Holiday Lecture for Families
Howard A. Stone and Amy Rowat
Cooking and Science: A Conversation on Creativity
Ferran Adrià (El Bulli, Barcelona, Spain)
Tracking Cells in Three Dimensions
Prakriti Tayalia, David Mooney, and Eric Mazur
Muira-Foldable Thin Films
Jin-Oh You, Radhika Nagpal, and Debra Auguste

2008

BASF Advanced Research Initiative at Harvard
Squishy, Gooey, Stretchy: The Science of Making Pizza
Holiday Lecture for Families
H.A. Stone and A. Rowat
Defects in Thin Nematic Shells
D.R. Nelson and D.A. Weitz
Biomimetic Thin Film Muscles
K.K. Parker and G.M. Whitesides
Behavior of Microtubules in Cells
L. Mahadevan and D.A. Weitz
Shear Transformation Zones in Colloidal Glasses
F. Spaepen and D.A. Weitz

2007

Rheometer Facility
Industrial Outreach Workshop
Holiday Lecture for Children and Parents
Howard A. Stone
Gender Equity Workshop
Cynthia M. Friend
A Biophysical and Biomechanical Analysis of Worm Motile Behavior
Aravintham Samuel and Lakshminarayan Mahadevan
Optimal Vein Density in Artificial and Real Leaves
M. Zwienicki, N.M. Holbrook, L. Mahadevan, and D.A. Weitz
How Bumps on Whale Flippers Delay Stall
Ernst van Nierop, Silas Alben, and Michael P. Brenner
Surface Tension Driven Motion
Jacques Dumais
Optical Tweezers
Mara Prentiss
Probing Neuronal Origin of Behavior in C. Elegans
Samuel Chung, Aravinthan Samuel, Eric Mazur, and Jonathan Kamler
Hybrid Structures of Hard and Soft Materials of Small Features
Zhigang Suo
Fundamental Structural Rearrangements in a Flowing Glass
Frans Spaepen and David A. Weitz

2006

The P-nDSC: A Combinatorial Approach to Thermal Analysis of Materials
Colloidal Crystals
Nanoindentation of Colloidal Crystals
Nano Laser Surgery
Sub-Cellular Nanosurgery in Live Cells Using Ultrashort Laser Pulses
Cells on Asymmetric Patterns
Cells on Asymmetric Patterns
Nematic Textures in Spherical Shells
Microfluidic Assembly of Colloidal Armor
Microfluidic Assembly of Colloidal Armor
Surface Tension Rockets
Surface Tension Rockets
Self-Assembly of Supported and Unsupported Thin Films
Public Presentations
Postdoctoral Professional Development: Cool Labs, Hot Topics at the Museum of Science, Boston
Frontiers of Soft Condensed Matter Workshop:
Inter-MRSEC and Industry Partnership
Creation of New High Tech Jobs

2005

Double Emulsions: Droplets inside Droplets
D.A. Weitz
Public Presentations/Strange Matter Exhibit
Enriching Teacher Professional Development and K12 Education through RET
A Low-Cost and Portable Medical and Diagnostic Devices Targeted for the Third World
G.M. Whitesides and D.A. Edwards
Biomechanics at the Scale of the Cell and below Using Laser Surgery
D. Ingber, E. Mazur and D.A. Weitz
Direct Visualization of Shear in a Colloidal Glass
F. Spaepen and D.A. Weitz
Crawling of C. Elegans: How a Worm's Motion Leads to Fundamental Understanding at the Interface of Biomechanics and Neuroscience
A. Samuel and L. Mahadevan

2004

Career Development for Young Scientists
Educational Programs
Fracture in Drying Nanoparticle Suspensions
Weitz, Hutchinson, and Xie

2003

From Bosnian Emigré to Graduate Study
Tanja Hadzic, (Department of Immunolgy, University of Iowa)
How Research Opportunities Shape Scientific Careers
Dr. Nadya Mason, (Society of Junior Fellows, Harvard University).
colloidosomes
Colloidosomes: Self-Assembled Permeable Solid Shells
Weitz
Packing Spheres on a Spherical Surface: New Solution to a 100-year-old Problem
Nelson and Weitz

2002

Attractive Interactions Between Like-Charged Colloidal Particle on Surfaces
Attractive Interactions Between Like-Charged Colloidal Particle on Surfaces
Michael Brenner and David Weitz
Stress Evolution During E-Beam Deposition of Amorphous Alumina
Stress Evolution During E-Beam Deposition of Amorphous Alumina
Frans Spaepen
Novel Laser Patterning of Silicon Surfaces
Novel Laser Patterning of Silicon Surfaces
Cynthia Friend and Eric Mazur
CARS Imaging of Cells
Sunney Xie

2001

Avalanche Photodiode
Avalanche Photodiode using Microtextured Silicon
Eric Mazur and Cynthia Friend
Ab-initio Multiscale Simulation of Piezoelectric Response
Ab-initio Multiscale Simulation of Piezoelectric Response
Efthimios Kaxiras and Jim Rice
Fabrication of Complex, 3D Microstructures
Fabrication of Complex, 3-D Microstructures
George Whitesides
Photograph showing a microfluidic device we used for generating gradients of a green and red dyes in solution.
Generating Microgradients
George Whitesides and Howard Stone
Central slice (left) and side view (right) of a cell photodisrupted by 100-fs laser pulses seen by fluorescence confocal microscopy.
Photodisruption in Cells using Femtosecond Laser Pulses
Eric Mazur and Donald Ingber
Side-view SEM images of structures produced in bulk glass using 110-fs laser pulses focused by a 0.45 NA microscope objective.
Micromachining Transparent Materials with Femtosecond Laser Pulses
Eric Mazur
Atom Cloud Trapped by Magnetic Laminate inside a Magneto Optical Trap
Mara Prentiss
The upper part of the figure shows the computed electron wave flow over the potential shown in the lower part (high potential is white, low is green).
Electron Flow in a High Mobility Two Dimensional Electron Gas
Eric Heller and Robert Westervelt
The upper part of the figure shows the computed electron wave flow over the potential shown in the lower part (high potential is white, low is green).
Fluctuating Spin g-tensor in Small Metal Grains
Bertrand Halperin
Ballistic Electron Emission Microscopy and Spectroscopy. BEEM/BEES.
Venky Narayanamurti
Three-dimensional networks of fluid channels in PDMS
Three-Dimensional Networks of Fluid Channels in PDMS
George Whitesides
Optical micrograph of optical waveguides
Optical Waveguides
Eric Mazur
Uniform nanowires
Ultrathin Uniform Nanowires
Michael Tinkham
Micro-electromagnet Atom Guide
Micro-Electromagnet Atom Guide
Mara Prentiss and Robert Westervelt
GaSb Self-assembled Quantum Dots on GaAs
GaSb Self-Assembled Quantum Dots on GaAs
Venky Narayanamurti
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