WISH Center Seminar | Cut or No Cut – Engineering Kirigami Frameworks Toward Real-World Applications
Dr. Shu Yang, Joseph Bordogna Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania will give a talk entitled Cut or No Cut – Engineering Kirigami Frameworks Toward Real-World Applications
Cut or No Cut – Engineering Kirigami Frameworks Toward Real-World Applications
Abstract: Kirigami, an East Asian papercutting art, allows us to create a mathematically sound method of cutting and fold, or stacking flat materials into curved objects. By introducing holes and cuts in 2D sheets, we demonstrate dramatic shape change and super-conformability via expanding or collapsing of the hole arrays without deforming individual lattice units, although it generally reduces material’s mechanical strength. When choosing the cuts and geometry correctly, we induce shape shifting from 2D to 3D. The kirigami structures can be rendered pluripotent, that is changing into different 3D structures from the same 2D sheet. In my talk, I will present different strategies that transform kirigami structures and elucidates how the kirigami mechanisms contribute to their distinctive properties, including high stretchability and adaptability, tunable surface topography, programmable shape morphing, aerodynamics, and multistability. I will end with several examples toward real-world applications, including body conformable medical devices, multi-layered body protectors with high mechanical strength, multistable soft robots, and energy efficient building envelopes.
About Dr. Shu Yang:
Dr. Shu Yang is the Joseph Bordogna Professor of Engineering and Applied Science and Chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from Cornell University and previously worked at Bell Laboratories. Her research focuses on soft materials, bioinspired surfaces, and responsive nano- and microstructured materials for applications in healthcare, wearable technology, and sustainable design. She has held leadership roles, including Deputy Director of the NSF-funded LRSM and Director of the AESOP Center. A Fellow of AAAS, ACS, MRS, APS, and RSC, she has received numerous awards, including the ACS Langmuir Lectureship, Cozzarelli Prize, and Inventor of the Year by Penn Center for Innovation. Dr. Yang is an Associate Editor of Science Advances and serves on editorial boards of leading journals. Her pioneering work in functional soft materials and adaptive surfaces continues to drive innovation in material science and engineering.
