Bozhi Tian, Department of Chemistry, the University of Chicago, USA

Exploring Chemical Dynamics at the Soft-Hard Interfaces

Although there are numerous studies on either hard or soft materials, our understanding of the fundamentals at hard/soft interfaces has been limited. As different types of energy (such as electrostatic, mechanical, thermal, and chemical energies) display diverse scaling behaviors and can converge, an appropriate selection of the length scale is critical for promoting new scientific discoveries across these interfaces. Our group integrates material science with biophysics to study several hard/soft interfaces. We synthesize new materials and probe interfacial dynamics, with particular focus at the sub-micrometer and sub-cellular length scales. In this talk, I will focus on the interfaces that enabled non-genetic, freestanding, and semiconductor-based biological modulation. I will also discuss some recent work that exploits the dynamic behaviors of granular materials in polymeric matrices. I will end the talk by proposing several new scientific and engineering approaches to improving our fundamental understanding of the (bio)chemical processes at soft/hard interfaces and to exploring new applications of these interfacial (bio)chemical processes.

Bozhi Tian received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry from Fudan University, Shanghai, China, and the A. M. and Ph. D. degrees in physical chemistry from Harvard University in 2010, Cambridge, MA. He is an associate professor at the University of Chicago, working on semiconductor-enabled fundamental studies of subcellular biophysics and soft matter dynamics. Dr. Tian’s accolades from his independent career include the Inaugural ETH Materials Research Prize for Young Investigators (2017), Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (2016), NIH new innovator award (2016), Searle Scholars (2013), and TR35 honoree (2012). He is a deputy editor for Physical Biology (Institute of Physics).

Host: Associate Professor Menglin Chen, Dept. of Engineering & iNANO, AU