Microvascular Autonomic Composites (μVAC)

An AFOSR Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative

Prof. Scott R. White, PI

Dr. Les Lee, AFOSR PM

Dr. Hugh DeLong, AFOSR Co-PM

Overview

μVAC was conceived in response to a new paradigm in materials design, that of autonomy – the ability to achieve adaptation and response in an independent and automatic fashion. The central vision of μVAC is the synthetic reproduction of autonomic biological functions, obtained through the creation and integration of complex materials systems with three-dimensional microvascular network architectures.  Our approach relies on biomimetic and bio-inspired designs and includes the acknowledged leaders of this field of research coupled with the foremost scientists and engineers in autonomic materials.

Research Team

We have assembled a preeminent team of scientists and engineers in a partnership between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Duke University, and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) enhanced and guided by a strong consulting relationship with the Harvard Medical School. Our team includes leading experts in biomimetics and constructal theory (Adrian Bejan, Duke), bio-inspired design and optimization (Jonathan Freund, UIUC), ultrasonic imaging (Olaf von Ramm, Duke), polymer chemistry (Jeffrey Moore, UIUC and Fred Wudl, UCLA), materials fabrication (Jennifer Lewis, UIUC), computational mechanics (Philippe Geubelle, UIUC), flow visualization (Ken Christensen, UIUC), multiscale experimental mechanics (Nancy Sottos, UIUC and Thomas Hahn, UCLA), and autonomic systems (Scott White, UIUC). From the pioneering development of self-healing polymers and composites to recent breakthroughs in microvascular systems, our team is at the forefront of the scientific topics encompassed in this proposal.