SURF Mentoring

Potential projects/topics: Engineered Living Materials (ELMs) integrate living cells into polymer coatings and gels to create surfaces with active sensing and regenerative capabilities. However, current fabrication methods face significant barriers regarding hardware cost and there are many unanswered questions regarding biological stability and efficacy. This project aims to address these challenges by developing an accessible, robust bio-printing platform and analyzing shelf-life of various ELM application techniques. SURF students will design and build systems, and conduct shelf-life studies to quantify bacterial survival during storage and post-application. The ultimate goal is to validate a cost-effective workflow for manufacturing resilient living devices.

Potential skills gained: CAD, 3D printing, molecular cloning, materials science, microscopy, DNA extraction/handling

Required qualifications:

• Majors: Mechanical, Chemical or Bioengineering-related major
• Courses: Basic biology, chemistry, and mathematics, programming (Python) preferred

Direct mentor: Graduate Student