Ionic Circuits in Fabric and Crystallization Control
Dr. Tom Schroeder
Project 1: Ionic circuits in fabric
When you think of an electrical circuit, you probably think about electrons carrying charge through wires or chips. It’s also possible to design circuits in which ions carry charge through solutions or gels. In this project, you will work on systems that use mobile ions to carry electrical signals and/or power through textile-based materials, with the ultimate goal of designing new wearable technologies.
Project 2: Crystallization control
Whether or not you realize it, most materials you interact with contain crystals – molecules arranged in an ordered, periodic packing. The minerals present in rocks and bone are generally crystalline, solid organic chemicals such as pharmaceutical drugs are often crystalline, and the polymers that compose textile fibers contain crystal domains. In this project, you will work on a project that leverages additives to alter crystallization rates in one of several functional contexts, most of which are related to the development of new fiber-based materials.
Desired Skills: Enough chemistry to be able to a) interpret structural formulas of organic molecules and b) handle calculations involving molar concentration. Enough data handling skills to fit data to a curve more complicated than a line. For the circuits project, one must have a basic knowledge of circuits. For the crystallization project, bonus points for any prior experience with optical microscopes.