Prof. Dr. André R. Studart

André R. Studart obtained his doctoral degree in the area of refractory concretes and near-net-shape advanced ceramics at the Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil.

From 2002 and 2007 he was postdoc and senior scientist at ETH Zurich, where he studied the mechanical properties of dental materials and ceramics processed through colloidal routes.

In 2007 he joined Harvard University to work on porous inorganic materials obtained using microfluidic techniques. Since 2009 he is assistant professor at ETH Zurich. André‘s main research interests include bioinspired composites and complex materials with potential applications as medical implants, energy conversion systems and smart structures.

Presentation

3D composites inspired by seashells

Composite materials consisting of a polymer matrix reinforced with long continuous fibers are extensively used in the construction, aerospace, automobile and medical industries. However, the limited control over the orientation of fibers in the out-of-plane direction makes delamination a primary weakness in advanced composites.

We invented a simple, general method to deliberately control the orientational and spatial distribution of reinforcing platelets and rods within composites. We bind <0.1% magnetic nanoparticles to the nonmagnetic reinforcing particles allowing for orientational and spatial control under magnetic fields as low as 1 milliTesla. The myriad of 3D reinforced architectures that can be achieved using this simple method should be of interest for the fabrication of scratch-resistant laminates, strong adhesives, biomedical implants, dental restorations, and structural materials in general.