Dr. Meisha Shofner’s varied research at IPST-Georgia Tech explores paper’s structure and seeks ways to take advantage of its properties as well as the properties of forest-based biomaterials to create new uses—uses that may lead to attractive commercial applications.  These applications may also advance ecologically attractive goals such as biodegradability and compostability.  Dr. Shofner joined Georgia Tech in 2005, and she has collaborative relationships with other IPST faculty.

A threshold component of Dr. Shofner’s work is understanding the unique structure of paper.  Paper is a highly engineered structure. This network feature leads to unusual properties, e.g., having a negative Poisson’s ratio or auxetic properties.  Her research, in collaboration with Professor Anselm Griffin, seeks to reverse-engineer paper to better understand its structure.  “Understanding the structure of paper can be an inspiration for understanding other networked structures,” Shofner says.

Dr. Shofner’s work in nanotechnology has received funding support and peer recognition.  This research further advances the learnings about paper structure to process and characterize cellulose-based nanocomposites to understand the available structure-property design space. This fundamental understanding will provide insight into other types of polymer nanocomposites and provide guidance for nanofiber composite design.

Nanotechnology projects currently in progress include:

• Shofner’s group explores cellulose nanocrystals as potential building blocks that can be used in water-based polymers. If successful, this research will lead to the development of new materials with the special attributes of paper and reduced environmental impact.
• Dr. Shofner’s paper, “Crystallization of Cellulose Nanocrystal / Polyhydroxybutyrate Nanocomposites,” presented at the 2012 TAPPI International Conference on Renewable Nanomaterials and co-authored by Stephanie Lin, describes studies focused on understanding how interactions of crystalline nanocellulose with polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) can modify the crystal structure of PHB and toughen the matrix and, as a result, yield improved mechanical properties.
• Dr. Shofner’s and Dr. Carson Meredith’s work with cellulose nanocrystals was recognized by the USFS/Agenda 2020/University Collaboration with the award of a grant to study the incorporation of cellulose nanocrystals into matrices for high performance materials in the aerospace industry. 
• Her research group, along with Dr. Eric Vogel’s team, seeks to identify and create different cellulose-based substrates aimed at developing flexible and robust electronic devices.  In particular, they are investigating the dry transfer of graphene—a two-dimensional monolayer of carbon atoms—on substrates.  Graphene has high strength and offers much promise in electronic applications and paper is a promising substrate for graphene applications.
• In addition to the nanotechnology research, Dr. Shofner has collaborated in investigations led by Dr. Sankar Nair in the School of Chemical and Biological Engineering to develop a robust membrane to concentrate black liquor by water removal.  This has substantial energy savings potential but is challenging because the membrane must be able to survive in the harsh environment of black liquor.

Dr. Shofner received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and her PhD in Materials Science from Rice University.  After receiving her PhD, Dr. Shofner was a postdoctoral fellow at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.   Prior to beginning graduate school, she was employed as a design engineer at FMC in the Subsea Engineering Division, working at two plant locations in Houston, Texas and the Republic of Singapore.  Dr. Shofner is a registered Professional Engineer in Georgia.  She was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor at Georgia Tech and awarded tenure effective July 1, 2013.  Dr. Shofner currently supports 6 graduate students and one post-doctoral researcher.

Below is a link to papers and presentations by Dr. Shofner:
http://www.ipst.gatech.edu/meeting/2012/2012_presentations/15-Shofner%20-Cellulose%20Nanocrystal%20Polymer%20Composites%20Processing%20Strategies%20Impacts%20on%20Polymer%20Crystallization.pdf