MAE Seminar – Engineered Living Materials Capable of Self-Growing, Self-Healing, and Self-Cleaning: From Grand

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MAE Seminar – Engineered Living Materials Capable of Self-Growing, Self-Healing, and Self-Cleaning: From Grand Vision to Commercial Reality

Dear Undergraduate and Graduate Students, Faculty, and Staff,
You are invited! UF Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering’s Seminar Series
This is a perfect opportunity to enjoy some coffee, cookies, and captivating talks! These sessions feature amazing guest speakers, from academic trailblazers and industry movers to our very own faculty candidates showing off their expertise and fresh perspectives. Come for the treats, stay for the engaging discussions, and connect with fellow MAE enthusiasts. Everyone is welcome!

Engineered Living Materials Capable of Self-Growing, Self-Healing, and Self-Cleaning: From Grand Vision to Commercial Reality

March 13, 2025, at 12:50pm, Location: MAE-A 303

Prof. Congrui Jin
Assistant Professor
Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution
Texas A&M University

Abstract
Recent advances in synthetic biology and materials science have given rise to a new form of materials, namely engineered living materials. Currently, developing engineered living materials that combine the structural properties of traditional construction materials with attributes of living systems, including the ability to self-grow, self-repair, self-clean, detect environmental threats, and capture carbon dioxide, has emerged as a new promising research area. In this talk, self-growing bricks, self-healing concrete, and self-cleaning surfaces are introduced as examples to discuss the general principles to be applied when designed living construction materials to perform specific functions in open environments, the main challenges to make them a commercial reality, and the future directions in this emerging interdisciplinary field.

Biography
Dr. Congrui Jin received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Nankai University, China. She earned her MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta and received a Ph.D. with a major in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Applied Mathematics from Cornell University. She is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University. Her research interest lies in the broad area of mechanics and materials motivated by practical applications in sustainability and resilience.

MAE Faculty Host: Yong Huang