Presenter: Dr. Amir Sheikhi, Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering at Penn State University

Description: Professor Sheikhi will introduce a fundamentally novel family of nanocelluloses, named hairy cellulose nanocrystals, and explain how they overcome the limitations of current nanocelluloses, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), to open new horizons in environmental and biomedical applications. This nanomaterial platform shows the power of harnessing nature’s building blocks to produce functional soft matter. Colloidal particles, polymers, gels, foams, dispersions, and emulsions created from this abundant resource can leverage eminent, cost-effective technologies for improving the quality of modern life.

1. Biomedicine
2. Cellulose
3. cellulose nanocrystals
4. chemical engineering
5. materials science
6. nanoengineering