Bioinspired Soft Materials

非技术摘要：Brandeis生物启发软材料研究科学和工程中心(MRSEC)寻求设计新材料，以捕捉在生物体内发现的非凡功能。为了实现这一愿景，该中心协同关注软材料研究前沿的两个主题。第一个，自限组装，采用生物启发的方法来开发一套积木，这些积木经过平衡的自组装，以规定的有限大小终止。学会设计自限结构使新型功能和适应性材料的可伸缩设计成为可能，例如用于药物治疗的可涂抹光子涂层和衣壳，包括抑制病毒感染的一般策略，包括新冠肺炎。第二种是软活性材料，它的灵感来自于活细胞的非凡能力，它们具有感知、自我修复和移动的能力。该MRSEC正在建立设计、测量和控制活性材料中的力的原则，以产生可快速重新配置的仿生材料，其应用领域广泛，包括机器人、微流体和自适应光学。MRSEC强调STEM劳动力的人力资源开发。为了促进这一点，MRSEC的科学通信实验室由科学研究生和博士后组成，他们接受了培训，成为有效的沟通者和同行导师。这些本科学通信实验室导师培训他们的同龄人所需的技能，以便将他们的科学传播给不同的受众，从未来的雇主到多样化的、非科学的公众。教授之路计划，旨在为尖端材料研究中代表性不足的少数族裔提供优秀的博士后研究员培训，并旨在为个人担任全职教师职位做好准备。技术摘要：布兰代斯生物灵感软材料研究科学与工程中心(MRSEC)正在设计新材料，捕捉生物有机体中发现的非凡功能。该中心由两个跨学科研究小组(IRG)组成。IRG1，自限组装，解决了软材料科学中的一个重大挑战，即复杂和功能材料的自组装。虽然生命系统通常实现大小可控的组装，但合成方法远远落后。IRG1采用了一种生物启发的方法来开发一套积木，这些积木经历了平衡的自组装，并在规定的有限大小下自我终止。学习设计自限结构使新的功能和适应性材料的可伸缩设计成为可能，例如用于药物和基因治疗的可涂覆光子涂层和衣壳。软活性材料IRG2的灵感来自于活细胞的非凡能力，如爬行、重组和再生，这些能力是由耗能的分子马达驱动的。一个尚未满足的重大挑战是构建具有主动应力的人造活性材料，旨在产生所需的功能。这导致了下一代活性材料的出现，这种材料坚固耐用，具有长寿命的可编程动态特性，从而为应用铺平了道路。这个MRSEC强调STEM劳动力的人力资源开发。为了促进这一点，MRSEC的科学通信实验室由科学研究生和博士后组成，他们接受了培训，成为有效的沟通者和同行导师。教授之路计划，旨在为在尖端材料研究方面代表性不足的少数族裔提供优秀的博士后研究员培训，并旨在为个人担任全职教师职位做好准备。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical Abstract: The Brandeis Bioinspired Soft Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) seeks to engineer new materials that capture the remarkable functionalities found in living organisms. To realize this vision the Center synergistically focuses on two topics at the forefront of Soft Materials research. The first, Self-Limiting Assembly, adopts a bioinspired approach to develop a suite of building blocks which undergo equilibrium self-assembly that terminates at a prescribed finite-size. Learning to engineer self-limiting structures is enabling the scalable design of new functional and adaptable materials, such as paintable photonic coatings and capsids for drug therapy including general strategies to deactivate virus infection, including covid-19. The second, Soft Active Materials, is inspired by the remarkable capabilities of living cells, with their abilities to sense, self-heal and move. This MRSEC is establishing the principles to design, measure and control the forces in active materials to generate rapidly reconfigurable life-like materials, with applications in fields as diverse as robotics, microfluidics and adaptive optics. The MRSEC emphasizes human resource development for the STEM workforce. To facilitate this is the MRSEC’s SciComm Lab comprising science graduate students and postdocs trained to become effective communicators and peer mentors. These SciComm Lab mentors train their peers in the skills they need to communicate their science to disparate audiences ranging from future employers to a diverse, non-scientific public. The Path-to-Professorship Program, aimed at providing superior postdoctoral fellow training for underrepresented minorities in cutting-edge materials research and designed to prepare individuals for assuming full-time faculty positions.Technical Abstract: The Brandeis Bioinspired Soft Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC)is engineering new materials that capture the remarkable functionalities found in living organisms. The Center is organized into two Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRG). IRG1, Self-Limiting Assembly, addresses a grand challenge in soft materials science, the self-assembly of complex and functional materials. While living systems routinely achieve size-controlled assembly, synthetic approaches lag far behind. IRG1 adopts a bioinspired approach to develop a suite of building blocks which undergo equilibrium self-assembly that self-terminates at a prescribed finite-size. Learning to engineer self-limiting structures is enabling scalable design of new functional and adaptable materials, such as paintable photonic coatings and capsids for drug and gene therapy. IRG2, Soft Active Materials, is inspired by the remarkable capabilities of living cells, such as crawling, reconfiguring, and regenerating which are driven by energy-consuming molecular motors. An unmet grand challenge is to construct artificial active materials with active stresses designed to produce a desired function. This is leading to the next generation of active materials that are robust and exhibit long-lived programmable dynamics, thus paving the way to applications. This MRSEC emphasizes human resource development for the STEM workforce. To facilitate this is the MRSEC's SciComm Lab comprising science graduate students and postdocs trained to become effective communicators and peer mentors. The Path-to-Professorship Program, aimed at providing superior postdoctoral fellow training for underrepresented minorities in cutting-edge materials research and designed to prepare individuals for assuming full-time faculty positions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.