Can we use cryptography to protect data while simultaneously enabling computation over it? Such cryptosystems have the potential to enable all of the amazing benefits of cloud computing without forcing users to give up control over their private data. The breakthrough development of fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) took the first step in this direction by showing […]
Self-assembled materials with defined nanoscale architectures can engage with biological systems in fundamentally new ways, providing unprecedented biomedical opportunities. In particular, the ability to more precisely control both the location and timing of drug release makes these biomaterials especially useful for delivering potent or sensitive cargo, which has major implications for cancer therapy and immuno-engineering. […]
The ability to predict, design and make the perfect material with just the right properties to do what we want, how we want, and when we want is the holy grail of materials research. Such “materials on demand” require control over thermodynamics, kinetics, nonequilibrium behavior, and structure across many length and time scales. With continuing […]
Launched in May 2021, the Future Leaders in Mechanobiology is a monthly seminar series featuring up-and-coming leaders in mechanobiology–PhD students and postdocs from a wide range of fields, backgrounds, and institutions. By providing an international stage to share one’s work and opportunities to interact with researchers at all career stages, we aim to create an inclusive and […]
Abstract The functionality versatility of polymeric and nucleic acid materials provides diverse engineering opportunities for the detection and therapeutic targeting of disease-associated biomolecules. My work has encompassed nanoscale and microscale technologies to address challenges in cancer therapeutics and diagnostics, from targeting the expression of dysregulated genes to probing rare protein biomarkers. I will first describe […]
Despite the recent widespread success of machine learning, we still do not fully understand its fundamental limitations. Going forward, it is crucial to better understand learning complexity, especially in critical decision making applications, where a wrong decision can lead to catastrophic consequences. In this thesis, we focus on the statistical complexity of learning unknown linear […]
In structural materials engineering, we often aim to create materials that are simultaneously strong, tough and lightweight- a combination classically considered mutually exclusive. Biogenic composite materials such as bone exhibit a combination of these properties exceeding that of their constituents, a feat generally credited to their hierarchal structure, down to the nanoscale. In this talk, […]
This seminar will be held in person and on zoom (the link will be sent out via email). Mucus is a biological gel within the lung designed to behave like an “escalator” with the ability to capture potentially harmful inhaled materials (e.g. pathogens, particulates) and carry these materials via mucociliary clearance up to the throat […]
The successful integration of precision diagnostics with new personalized therapies opens numerous doors to improve the management of a variety of diseases. In cancer, tissue-environmental features of tumor progression and invasion, including aberrant extracellular matrix remodeling, stromal composition changes, and immune cell engagement, create engineering opportunities for use in developing novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. […]
Gallium nitride (GaN) nanoelectronics have operated at temperatures as high as 1000°C making it a viable platform for robust space-grade (“tiny-but-tough”) electronics and nano-satellites. Even with these major technological breakthroughs, we have just begun the “GaN revolution.” New communities are adopting this nanoelectronic platform for a multitude of emerging device applications including the following: sensing, […]
Nature provides countless examples of the use of material heterogeneity to enhance the failure properties of materials. Many biological materials, such as bone, marine shells, and fish scales, are extremely resilient to fracture and failure. These often consist of regions that are highly mineralized and stiff and regions of biopolymers that are extremely soft. In […]
*This will be a HYBRID Event with in-person attendance in Levine 307 and Virtual attendance via Zoom Factor graphs offer a flexible and powerful framework for solving large-scale, nonlinear inference problems as encountered in robot perception. Typically these methods rely on handcrafted models that are efficient to optimize. However, robots often perceive the world through […]
Abstract High-energy density batteries will play a remarkable role in hurdling global climate change. My research focuses on the fundamental understandings of their electrochemical reaction mechanisms and the design of materials, protocols, and characterization tools to enable their safe operations over long-term use. First, I will discuss about the previously overlooked dynamics of detached lithium […]
Human Induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) has the potential to generate all cell types of a human body under 2D culture conditions or form organ like structures-organoids, under 3D culture conditions. Brain organoid cultures from human iPSCs have been recently developed to recapitulate the cellular composition and the cytoarchitecture of the developing brain. These hiPSC […]
We revisit the “One Learning Algorithm Hypothesis” of Andrew Ng (Google Brain) according to which the brain of higher-level animals and of humans processes and perceives sensory data (vision, sound, haptics) with the same abstract algorithmic architecture. We develop models, based on our earlier work on automatic target recognition with radar and other sensors, face […]
Large scale tissue damage, such as organ failure and burn injury, is a leading cause of morbidity and death. However, the mechanisms underlying full regeneration of organs remain poorly understood. As the largest organ system in the body, the integumentary system is a composite tissue assembly evolutionarily adapted for healing. Consequently, its complex physiology requires […]
*This will be a VIRTUAL Event with attendance via Zoom Webinar here. Cyber-physical systems (CPS), in most instances, represent systems of subsystems with an informationally decentralized structure. To derive optimal control strategies for such systems, we typically assume an ideal model, e.g., controlled transition kernel. Such model-based control approaches cannot effectively facilitate optimal solutions with […]
Physical Sciences in Oncology Center PSOC@Penn Spring 2022 Hybrid-Seminar Series Towne 225 / Raisler Lounge @ Noon (EST) For Zoom link , please contact manu@seas.upenn.edu
Interfaces such as grain boundaries are ubiquitous in crystalline materials and have provided a fertile area of research over decades. Their importance stems from the numerous critical phenomena associated with them, such as grain boundary sliding, migration, and interaction with other defects that govern the mechanical properties of materials. Although these crystalline interfaces exhibit small […]
This talk will be on zoom as well: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/92928358554?pwd=MWdDU0lJRmE3U0hDWUdmU284UmNGZz09
Meeting ID: 929 2835 8554
Passcode: 488035
This seminar will be held in person in Levine 307 as well as via Zoom. Mobile robot systems operate in dynamic environments, such as forests, caves, or roadways, where they must perceive and react to incoming stimuli. Each of these environments presents unique challenges such as perception in low-light conditions, high-speed understanding of objects, and […]
Abstract The rapid global consumption of single-use plastics has caused an unsustainable accumulation of plastic waste in landfills and the environment. Unfortunately, current mechanical recycling methods are expensive and produce lower-quality products. New strategies in targeted chemical upcycling of waste plastics offer unique opportunities for selective depolymerization of polyolefins to higher value chemicals under milder […]
Liquid fragility characterizes the rate of drop off in viscosity of a glass-forming liquid as its temperature increases above the glass transition. This property is fundamental to glass physics and of critical importance for engineering applications, yet its origin is unclear. Competing theories suggest that vibrational properties may play a role in fragility by contributing […]
Immunotherapies harness the body’s immune system to fight disease. Such therapies can help unleash an immune attack against diseased tissues but can inadvertently instigate an attack on healthy tissues. As a result, many promising immunotherapies face major toxicities, limiting their clinical use. By employing an iterative process that entails measuring, making, and modeling to manipulate […]
This talk will be on zoom as well: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/92928358554?pwd=MWdDU0lJRmE3U0hDWUdmU284UmNGZz09
Meeting ID: 929 2835 8554
Passcode: 488035
The growth of scale and complexity of interactions between humans and robots highlights the need for new computational methods to automatically evaluate novel algorithms and applications. Exploring the diverse scenarios of interaction between humans and robots in simulation can improve understanding of complex human-robot interaction systems and avoid potentially costly failures in real-world settings. In […]
