Over millions of years, nature has evolved high-performance materials and structures, offering invaluable inspiration for designing next-generation devices. For example, water-repellent surfaces have been developed by mimicking the microstructures of lotus leaves, while shark skin-inspired textures are replicated to reduce drag on ships.
A recent paradigm shift in bioinspired manufacturing has transitioned from purely process-focused development to applications centered on achieving specific functions. Bioinspired manufacturing opens exciting opportunities to replicate and manipulate complex natural features with outstanding optical, electrical, thermal, mechanical, and hydrodynamic properties. However, current manufacturing processes face significant challenges, including scalability, production time, material availability, and the ability to customize microstructures ranging from zero to three-dimensional forms. These limitations hinder the realization of the full potential of bioinspired designs.
In this project, students will work on designing and developing a novel manufacturing process based on digital mask projection-based photopolymerization. The effectiveness of this innovative approach will be validated by the rapid fabrication (within seconds) of functional films with nature-inspired structures, such as moth-eye patterns for antireflection, lotus leaf textures for water repellency, and shark skin microstructures for drag reduction

• Students will learn to build a new manufacturing prototype and integrate necessary hardware, software, and electronics components under the guidance of a research advisor and graduate students.
• Students will get an understanding of natural structure-property relationships and will be able to mimic natural structures into artificial devices using the new manufacturing process.
• Students will get hands-on experience in interdisciplinary fields, including additive manufacturing, material synthesis, bio-inspired designs, and process planning.
• Students will get an opportunity to present their research findings as a poster and/or publish in a journal/conference.
• Students will build collaboration and communication skills through bi-weekly group presentations.
• Students will get an opportunity to participate in lab tours and workshops for upcoming UB students, academic speakers, and industry collaborators.

• Sai Hamsitha Reddy Guvvala (Ph.D. Student) 

• Attend Lab Safety workshop
• Review the Advanced Manufacturing lab's research page to familiarize yourself with the research topic
• Lab Website: https://sites.google.com/view/lichadelab

Manufacturing, Bio-inspired design, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, SEAS