{ "152627-21914318": { "datetime_modified":"20260922T105150", "datetime_start":"20260928T115000", "datetime_end":"20260928T125000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-09-28", "date_end":"2026-09-28", "time_start":"11:50:00", "time_end":"12:50:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"Applied Physics | Bioinspired Materials Design for Adaptation to Extreme Environments", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"Applied Physics | Bioinspired Materials Design for Adaptation to Extreme Environments: Prof. Abdon Pena-Francesch, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan", "event_subtitle":"Prof. Abdon Pena-Francesch, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan", "event_type":"Lecture \/ Discussion", "event_type_id":"13", "description":"Engineering materials deployed in realistic environments (e.g., extreme cold weather, marine environments, biologically active fluids, complex mechanical loads, etc.) routinely fail not from a single dominant stressor but from the compounding effects of environmental extremes in real-world applications. However, many organisms in Nature have evolved hierarchical, multiscale surface architectures and passive self-regulating mechanisms to resist icing, deter biological attachment, and self-repair their structure after mechanical damage. In this talk, I will present two active projects in our research group where we are studying bioinspired physical and chemical mechanisms for adaptation to extreme cold weather and to marine environments. We have developed a large library of natural biomolecules and bioinspired surfaces that inhibit the nucleation of ice (either by depressing the freezing point of aqueous solutions or by inhibiting ice recrystallization) and\/or reduce the adhesion of ice to surfaces, and have developed automated high-throughput instrumentation to screen synergistic combinations of natural and bioinspired compounds and accelerate the discovery of new anti-icing materials and strategies. Translating these strategies into synthetic materials design provides new opportunities for climate resilience, energy efficiency, and protection from extreme cold environments across industries, including healthcare, transportation, space heating, and defense.\n\n\nBio: Abdon Pena-Francesch is an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Michigan. He leads the BioInspired Materials Lab, an interdisciplinary research group working on materials science, polymer chemistry, and soft matter engineering to develop solutions for healthcare, robotics, and the environment. He obtained his PhD from Penn State University and was a Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany. His work has been recognized by multiple awards including the AFOSR Young Investigator Program Award, ACS PMSE Early Investigator Award, ACS PRF New Investigator Award, Materials Today Rising Star Award, MRS Sustainability in Action Award, and the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers.", "occurrence_notes":"HYBRID", "guid":"152627-21914318@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/152627", "building_id":"1000167", "building_name":"West Hall", "campus_maps_id":"163", "room":"340", "location_name":"West Hall", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Physics","Materials Science And Engineering","Applied Physics"], "website":"", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Applied Physics", "group_id":"3606", "website":"" }, { "group_name":"Department of Physics", "group_id":"1965", "website":"" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152627_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21914318 } , "152024-21912646": { "datetime_modified":"20260911T131259", "datetime_start":"20260928T120000", "datetime_end":"20260928T160000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-09-28", "date_end":"2026-09-28", "time_start":"12:00:00", "time_end":"16:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"\u201cWho Counts? A History of Voting in America\u201d", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"\u201cWho Counts? A History of Voting in America\u201d", "event_subtitle":"", "event_type":"Exhibition", "event_type_id":"7", "description":"Changes over the course of the nineteenth century in how Americans voted, from voice vote to public ballot box to private voting booth, also saw changes in the material culture that surrounded voting. Ballots and ballot boxes, campaign pins and ribbons, blank lists and pre-printed party tickets, lanterns and banners\u2013the creative forces of the American print industry filled the country\u2019s cities and small towns with the ephemera of electioneering.\n\nAs you look at the items in this exhibit, think about what they tell us about how Americans in the past felt about voting, and about how voting felt. How did Election Days feel when they were full of parades and music and public drinking? What was it like to vote when everyone around you knew who you voted for? And, most of all, who counted as a voter, and who did the counting?\n\nOn view September 11-December 22, weekdays from 12-4 pm.", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"152024-21912646@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/152024", "building_id":"1000159", "building_name":"William Clements Library", "campus_maps_id":"165", "room":"", "location_name":"William Clements Library", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Library","William L Clements","Tour","american culture","libraries","In Person","history","Exhibition","Exhibit","Event","Americana","american history"], "website":"https:\/\/clements.umich.edu\/exhibit\/who-counts\/", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"William L. Clements Library", "group_id":"1727", "website":"" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_152024_original-1.png" }, "occurrence_count":78, "first_occurrence":21912629 } }