Anna Ploszajski , Research fellow at the Institute of Making, University College London, speaks about "Smart materials", on the Engineering Stage, at New Scientist Live 2019
You’ve heard of smart phones, smart watches and even smart central heating, well now it’s the turn of smart materials. These are metals, plastics, fabrics and fluids that react, sense, change colour and morph in response to the outside world, and they promise to revolutionise the way we live. In this talk, award-winning materials scientist and engineer Anna Ploszajski will be introducing you to the smart materials of today, and explore their potential for tomorrow. Anna Ploszajski is an award-winning materials scientist, engineer and communicator. By day, Anna is a research fellow at the Institute of Making, researching 4D printing and smart fabrics. By night she communicates materials science on stage, on radio, on TV and on the page. In 2017 she was named Young Engineer of the Year by the Royal Academy of Engineering, and in 2018 won the silver medal from the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. In her spare time, Anna plays the trumpet in a funk and soul covers band and swam the English Channel in July 2018. Oh, and it’s pronounced Por-shy-ski. ’m currently a post-doc research fellow at the Institute of Making, UCL. My research is focused on 4D printing – using 3D printing to make smart materials which move in response to changes in their environment. These environmental stimuli could be heat, light, moisture, pressure or magnetism. Common examples of smart materials include pinecones which open and close with changing moisture levels, and bi-metallic strips which bend when heated. Mechanical metamaterials are structures which change shape in often unusual ways, for example if you squash them from above, they get less wide sideways, as opposed to squelching out like most materials would. My research combines 4D printing and mechanical metamaterials to create materials and structures with useful mechanical properties for exoskeletal biomedical devices.
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Location: ExCel London, One Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock,
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
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