BioPACIFIC MIP Seminar: Arri Priimägi

Abstract

Biological systems, viewed within the materials science perspective, are excessively complex. They are adaptive, multifunctional, dissipative, self-regulating, and capable of evolving and  learning from their past experiences. Hence, biological systems have provided a great source of inspiration for scientists aiming to design functional and “intelligent“ materials. Liquid crystal network- (LCN) and hydrogel-based soft actuators provide a rich platform for simplistically mimicking some of the properties of natural systems, as demonstrated by recent examples of systems that are deemed autonomous, adaptive, or self-regulating. In this talk I provide an overview on our efforts to devise light-responsive LCNs and hydrogels that are dynamic, multiresponsive, and feedback-driven, i.e., “life-like” in a simplified sense. These systems fall way short on their natural counterparts in terms of complexity, capability to respond to environmental cues, and to "learn". Hence, is the terminology used to describe these materials justified or useful? I will try to reflect on this question, using our own work on light-responsive soft actuating systems as an example.

Biography

Arri Priimägi is a professor of chemistry in the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Tampere University, Finland, and the leader of Smart Photonic Materials (SPM; http://research.tuni.fi/spm) research group. He received his Ph.D. in 2009 from Aalto University, Finland, majoring in physics/photonics. Following the completion of postdoctoral fellowships in Japan and Italy, he began his independent career as a tenure-track professor in Tampere in 2014 and became a full professor in 2019. His research interests revolve around different aspects of light-controllable and multi-responsive functional systems based on supramolecular assemblies, liquid crystalline systems, and hydrogels, the group activities ranging from synthesis and characterization of molecular photoswitches to applications of light-responsive surfaces and thin films in photonics, soft robotics, and biomaterials sciences.