Events

ABSTRACT:  Mathematical programming methods have been widely adopted for process design and operation, as they provide systematic means to find optimal or feasible design/operation decisions that may not be easily seen from qualitative or simple quantitative analysis. However, mathematical programming formulations of process design and operation problems are usually nonconvex, implying that an optimal, or even a feasible solution, is difficult to obtain.

ABSTRACT:  The Singapore University of Technology and Design facilitated an ambitious large-scale science experiment in September and November 2015 which saw over 43,000 students carrying sensors designed to measure temperature, humidity, pressure, light, noise, IR temperature, motion, among other physical parameters in a project supported by the National Research Foundation and carried out with partners from the Ministry of Education and the Singapore Science Center. Prof. Erik Wilhelm, Prof.

ABSTRACT: The bottom–up approach is considered a potential alternative for low cost manufacturing of nanostructured materials [1]. It is based on the concept of self–assembly of nanostructures on a substrate, and is emerging as an alternative paradigm for traditional top down fabrication used in the semiconductor industry. We demonstrate various strategies to control nanostructure assembly (both organic and inorganic) at the nanoscale.

ABSTRACT:  The regulation of intracellular water activity is a necessary characteristic of many physiological functions in all living organisms. The high water transport rate across cell membranes is due to a type of water channel protein, aquaporin. The unique selectivity, high water transport capability, and low activation energy of aquaporins have garnered strong scientific interests with many studies concentrating on the fabrication of biomimetic membranes based on the reconstitution of aquaporins into self-assembled amphiphilic lipid or polymer bilayers.

ABSTRACT:  Complexes formed in systems containing both positive and negative charges are of fundamental importance in a variety of materials applications.  A common method for producing polyelectrolyte complex films is to sequentially deposit oppositely charged polymers, an effective but tedious process that is not readily scalable.  A focus on this talk is on the deposition of relatively thick films directly onto conducting surfaces, using electrochemical processes to modulate the local pH.  The process is carried out on a quartz crystal microbalance, which in addition to

ABSTRACT:  Carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer nanocomposites (CPNs) have recently drawn great interest for use in electronics, due to their superior properties such as tunable electrical conductivity, light weight, low cost, corrosion resistance, processability, etc. (compare with properties of currently used metals). In fact, the polymer matrix is insulative; however, incorporating a low content of conductive filler transforms it into conductive via forming a conductive network.

ABSTRACT: In this work, the issue of stability for two-phase incompressible flow in homogeneous porous media out of the Darcy regime (i.e. when inertia must be taken into account) is considered. The development is based on a macroscopic model derived by upscaling the pore-scale Navier-Stokes equations, assuming that the inertial correction is quadratic in the filtration velocity, as widely admitted with the classical Darcy-Forchheimer model. 

ABSTRACT:  Microalgae have received a great deal of attention as a platform for biofuel production due to their photosynthetic nature. However, the over emphasis on the production of lipids for biodiesel synthesis can limit the productivity of algae cultures and undervalues the potential applications for the significant quantities of protein and carbohydrate fractions present in this biomass. Currently, the commercial prospects for microalgae biofuels are primarily inhibited by their low cell densities and the high cost of current lipid extraction processes.

The transportation system is a major source of emissions of carbon dioxide.  Fuel cell vehicles operating on renewable generated hydrogen is one of ways to remove carbon from the transportation system.  The main barriers for adoption of this technology is cost and hydrogen infrastructure.  The life cost of fuel-cell systems can be addressed by making the fuel cell more durable.  Specific challenges for fuel cell development are examined.