CAREER: Multiscale Mechanics of Mycelium for Lightweight, Strong, and Sustainable Composites

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This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant will focus on revealing the fundamental principles that govern the multiscale mechanics of mycelium-based composites and integrate research into an educational program. Mycelium is massively produced during mushroom growth as the main body of fungi. It plays an essential role in altering soil chemistry and mechanics, enabling a suitable living environment for different plant species. Their growth naturally forms entanglement and bonds to integrate organic wastes, including hardwood residue, mill dust, and stalk, to produce strong and lightweight composites without adding synthetic glues or energy input. The multiscale structure of mycelium composites includes the chemistry of mycelium fiber, the mycelium-debris interface, and the complex mycelium network entangled with debris. These features synergistically determine the composite strength, elasticity, and toughness. This research project will develop computational modeling, culturing, and characterizations capabilities to understand the evolving mycelium structure in growth and the structure-mechanics relationship to yield better composites. This research will be complemented by establishing an inclusive, engaging, and inspiring educational program to the broad community, including curriculum development, giving a special exhibition on biomaterials, coordinating learn-by-play activities and seminars on computational simulations for bridge competition in a local museum, and involving K-12 in research through an institutional STEM education center. The specific goal of this project is to develop a fundamental multiscale model of mycelium-based composites, validate the model through in-lab culturing and mechanical/structural characterizations, and reveal the mechanism of making mycelium composite lightweight and strong. The research objectives of this project include (i) development of a multiscale modeling and simulations platform for the structure-mechanics relationship of mycelium-wood composite; (ii) development of Monte Carlo and generative adversarial network models to replicate and predict the growth of mycelium network; (iii) capability to use machine learning model for fast prediction of the composite mechanical properties and their scaling law with material density. In addition, the following fundamental questions will be addressed: (1) what are the roles of environmental factors and nutrition distribution in the structure and mechanics of a mycelium network; (2) what are the roles of processing parameters in the mechanics of mycelium composites. The overall focus will be on understanding the physics of mycelium composite and the potential of producing multifunctional composites from wastes. This project will allow the PI to advance the knowledge base in material science, multiscale modeling, and mechanics, and establish his long-term career in biomechanics and biomaterials.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.