Cora was our summer undergraduate research student for Summer 2023. She joined the MF-ROMP subgroup and completed a lot of amazing work. We hope that you had a good time working with us this summer. …
Dependence of the kinetic energy absorption capacity of bistable mechanical metamaterials on impactor mass and velocity
Using an alternative mechanism to dissipation or scattering, bistable structures and mechanical metamaterials have shown promise for mitigating the detrimental effects of impact by reversibly locking energy into strained material. Herein, we extend prior works on impact absorption via bistable metamaterials to computationally explore the dependence of kinetic energy transmission on the velocity and mass of the impactor, with strain rates exceeding 10 2 s−1. We observe a large dependence on both impactor parameters, ranging from significantly better to worse performance than a comparative linear material. We then correlate the variability in performance to solitary wave formation in the system and give analytical estimates of idealized energy absorption capacity under dynamic loading. In addition, we find a significant dependence on damping accompanied by a qualitative difference in solitary wave propagation within the system. The complex dynamics revealed in this study offer potential future guidance for the application of bistable metamaterials to applications including human and engineered system shock and impact protection devices.
Congratulations Kyle on receiving a poster award at the National Graduate Research Polymer Conference 2023!
Kyle recently attended the National Graduate Research Polymer Conference 2023 held at University of Michigan. He presented a poster titled “Dual-Wavelength Digital Light Processing Toward Multimaterial Printing” and was awarded 3rd place for his poster.
Congrats to Meg on passing her RP!
Congrats Meg for passing her research proposal (RP)! We are excited to see what you will do next!
Congrats to the group for being awarded 2nd place at Engineering Expo for their exhibit, “Playing with Plastics: How Scientists Make Meaningful Materials”
The Boydston group participated in the Engineering Expo hosted at UW-Madison by presenting an exhibit called “Playing with Plastics: How Scientists Make Meaningful Materials.”
The exhibit included interactive demonstrations featuring 3D printing, active experiments, and real-world examples, to help participants understand plastics all the way down to the atomic scale! Also, sneak a peek into the future of plastics through demonstrations with shape-memory, light-responsive, and self-healing materials.
This year, we placed second among research groups out of 50 total exhibits and were awarded $500! We’ll definitely get 1st place next year!
Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Starting Fall 2023
The Boydston group has two opportunities available for undergraduate research assistants starting Fall 2023. Materials Characterization of Thermosets and Thermoplastics. For more information, please read the advertisement. To apply, please fill out this form. Please contact Brittany …
Congrats Daria on receiving the Ackerman Scholarship and a NSF REU at UPenn!
Congrats Daria on receiving the Ackerman Scholarship, which is a Chemistry Undergraduate Award from UW-Madison. She will also be attending the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU) at UPenn. Congrats on your amazing achievements and we wish you the best of luck at your REU!
Congrats to Ruojia on receiving the Wisconsin ACS Local Section Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Chemistry!
Ruojia was selected to receive a Wisconsin ACS Local Section Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Chemistry! She is one of seven recipients selected this year for this award by the Fellowships and Scholarships Committee. The committee considered nominations from faculty of graduating, soon to graduate, or recently graduated chemistry majors who have demonstrated excellence in both coursework and research. Congratulations on your stellar achievement!
The Boydston group goes to ACS Indianapolis!
On March 26-30, 2023, the Boydston group attended ACS Indianapolis to present their talks and posters. Congrats to the following group members for presenting their work! Sean Gitter Vinnie Rigoglioso Ruojia Li
Congrats to Sean and Xuejin on their recent publication in Angewandte Chemie!
This paper was done in collaboration with a former Boydston group postdoctoral scholar, Xuejin Yang, and the Michael group at University of Washington. This work reports on the post-polymerization modification of polynorbornenes.