Pilgyu Kang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
George Mason University

"Micro/Nano Mechanics and Photonics for Biomedical Applications"

Nanostructuring of atomically-thin two-dimensional (2D) materials (e.g. graphene and MoS2) has showed promise to create new functionalities for various biomedical applications, especially flexible and wearable electronics. In this talk, I will discuss how nanostructuring of atomically-thin materials could create new functionalities based on the fundamental studies of mechanics and photonics at nanoscale. I will first discuss how nanostructuring of atomically-thin 2D materials allows for the enhancement of their exceptional material properties and creating new functionalities in mechanical, optical, plasmonic properties. I will also introduce a shrink nanomanufacturing method developed based on nanoscale mechanics of atomically-thin materials, including graphene and MoS2 atomic layers. Shrink nanomanufacturing allows large-scale, uniform crumpling of graphene, a two-dimensional (2D) material, enabling mechanical stretchability and strain tunability of a flexible optoelectronic device. I will highlight a high-performance flexible photodetector developed based on the shrink nanomanufacturing approach as well as its potential in flexible/wearable optical sensing technology for biomedical applications.

Lunch will be served at the beginning of the seminar.