Bharat Bhushan
Mechanical Engineering
Nature-inspired Nanotech on the Surface
In nature, a complex interplay of structural and chemical properties allow biological materials to function from the macroscale down to the nanoscale. The bumps on the surface of a lotus leaf, the permeability of human skin, the color of a butterfly’s wings—all characteristics that allow organisms to function in their environment. The emerging field of biomimetics uses lessons from nature to develop new nanomaterials, nanodevices, and processes. Bharat Bhushan has pioneered techniques for studying nanoscale surfaces, and he uses what he’s learned to help commercial partners improve products from magnetic memory to hair conditioner and skin cream. Some of the natural surfaces Bhushan has studied are self-cleaning, self-healing, water-repellent, especially strong, aerodynamic or hydrodynamic; others are good for energy conversion and conservation, adhesion, or thermal insulation. In this talk, he’ll provide an overview of four plant and animal species—the lotus flower, rice plant, shark and butterfly—which have inspired applications that are now under development or entering the marketplace.
Bhushan is an Ohio Eminent Scholar and the Howard D. Winbigler Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
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