From Blavatnik to NSF CAREER awards, Clark School faculty receive recognition for their work to advance technology and drive positive social change.
Professors Liangbing Hu and Teng Li holding a modified lithium-metal battery with a wooden negative electrode.
Liangbing Hu Named Finalist for 2021 Blavatnik National Awards
Liangbing Hu, materials science and engineering professor at the University of Maryland and director of the Center for Materials Innovation (CMI), is one of 31 finalists for the 2021 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists offered by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences. Hu is one of 10 nominees in the physical sciences and engineering category.
Hu, a self-described "wood nanotechnologist," has made headlines numerous times over the last several years for his out-of-the-box and green approach to solving some of the world's most pressing problems. Using wood-derived nano-fibers, Hu has engineered materials to improve energy efficiency, to desalinate and filter water, and to serve as environmentally friendly building materials. His innovations have led to the development of 'transparent wood,' which is similar to steel in strength but six-times lighter and able to serve as a replacement for glass, with five times better thermal insulation; a wood-based technology that can cool a building's temperature by almost 10°C without electricity; and a low-cost wood and water battery for large-scale energy storage on the electric grid. These achievements are why Hu has caught Blavatnik's attention for the third year in a row.
Earlier this year, Hu was also elected to the class of 2021 Materials Research Society (MRS) Fellows. He was recognized for his pioneering studies in the areas of wood nanotechnologies, ultra-high temperature manufacturing, and for uncovering new materials and methods for energy storage and conversion, printed electronics and wearables. Hu is the first scholar from UMD to win this prestigious recognition.
Natural hazards seldom occur in isolation: an earthquake may lead to flooding if dams or levees break. Risk mitigation needs to consider these multi-hazard events, yet experts generally address each type of hazard individually.
Shelby Bensi, assistant professor at the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, has set to develop tools and strategies that can guide our understanding of more complex types of risk. In her NSF-funded research, Bensi will seek to create a common lexicon and mathematical framework that will enable specialists in different hazard areas to communicate and collaborate effectively.
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) has recently emerged as a leading therapeutic gene delivery system, becoming the first virus granted approval for clinical use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Recognizing this, Assistant Professor in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering Gregg Duncan is investigating how AAV interacts with components of the bloodstream and tissues like the brain, liver, and heart to maximize AAV’s therapeutic benefits in diseases such as arthritis, cancer, and hemophilia. Along with his work in the lab, Duncan will apply the NSF award toward a summer research immersion program for Baltimore high school science teachers to promote research exposure for underrepresented students.
The field of risk assessment is important not only for regulating existing technologies, such as nuclear power, but also for emerging ones, such as autonomous vehicles or—farther down the road—cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
In her NSF-funded research, Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering Katrina Groth plans a significant rethink of this field by leveraging techniques from two different areas: probabilistic risk assessment and prognostics & health management. The former, applied typically to large-scale systems such as power plants, employs logic models to determine when, how, and why a system could fail. The latter, often applied to smaller systems such as pumps, relies on using sensors to monitor system statuses and flag any anomalies or breakdowns.
For decades, scientists have shown that targeting therapies to lymph nodes—the body’s immune system “command center”—can significantly enhance the efficacy of both vaccinations and immunotherapies. Methods to target lymph nodes typically rely on direct injections, but Assistant Professor at the Fischell Department of Bioengineering Katharina Maisel is investigating another tactic: tapping the lymphatic vessels’ transport function to deliver therapies these nodes.
Similar to how blood vessels carry blood throughout the human body, lymphatic vessels carry lymph, a fluid largely composed of white blood cells and antibodies. Maisel is exploring how the material properties of tissues, such as shape, surface chemistry, and fluid flow, affect how nanoparticles can be used to transport a payload via lymphatic vessels.
Taylor Woehl, Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, investigates the chemical processes involved in forming metal nanoparticles. These nanoparticles, also known as multimetallic nanoparticles, have promising applications in enhancing the efficiency of electrolytic fuel cells for cars and chemical synthesis. Each application requires a different type of nanoparticle containing a specific combination of metals, so a better understanding of the synthetic processes used to make multimetallic nanoparticles is important for controlling their properties. The Woehl research group will use an electron microscope, which uses electrons instead of light to take images, to develop a detailed understanding of the chemical reactions involved.
