(2ik) Investigating Non-Equilibrium Forcing in Biological Tissues and Design of Bio-Inspired Active Adaptive Materials

Research Interests: My research focuses on using tools from equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and deploying computational simulations to study the emergent behavior of complex systems in soft matter and biophysics. In my Ph.D. work, I combined computational and analytical tools with theory to investigate morphologies, interfacial properties, and crystallization of water in the presence of organic and biological surfaces. During my postdoctoral appointment, I focused on identifying the control laws behind the non-equilibrium self-assembly of cytoskeletal networks from a thermodynamic perspective. Research in the Qiu group will aim to 1) resolve the deicing mechanisms behind self-lubricating coating materials and the design of regenerative anti-icing surfaces, 2) investigate the non-equilibrium forcing behind epithelialization in wound healing and design of effective wound-dressing materials, and 3) modulate crystal growth for biomineralization and its application in the repair of biological hard tissues.