From the thermodynamic point of view, most materials are either in their equilibrium states, such as inorganic and organic crystals, or in kinetically trapped non-equilibrium states, such as porous materials. Life, on the other hand, is in dissipative non-equilibrium (or dynamic) state, with hierarchically ordered complex structures and highly coordinated functions. Developing dynamic materials systems where structural orders are sustained by continuous energy input and dissipation will not only introduce a new paradigm in materials science but also impact robotics. In the context of robotics, a micro-robot collective is a dynamic and programmable materials system, where fundamental physical and chemical principles guide the designs of local interactions and global behaviors. Through judicious selections of physiochemical forces from the nanometer scale to the millimeter scale, we are developing a platform of micro-robot collectives that not only advances our understanding of collective systems in general but will also help address critical challenges facing society, such as healthcare and clean water, in the future.
collective systems dynamic materials programmable self-assembly
Exploring collective behaviors using the platform of dynamic and programmable self-assembly of spinning micro-rafts at the air-water interface.
My current research interests lie at the intersection of materials synthesis/fabrication and non-equilibrium systems, including additive manufacturing and high throughput materials discovery through machine learning, morphogenesis and programmable self-assembly, nanofluidics and clean water, micro-robotics and dynamic materials systems.
Koens, L., Wang, W., Sitti, M., Lauga, E.
The near and far of a pair of magnetic capillary disks
Soft Matter, in press, 2019 (article)
Wang, W., Timonen, J. V. I., Carlson, A., Drotlef, D., Zhang, C. T., Kolle, S., Grinthal, A., Wong, T., Hatton, B., Kang, S. H., Kennedy, S., Chi, J., Blough, R. T., Sitti, M., Mahadevan, L., Aizenberg, J.
Multifunctional ferrofluid-infused surfaces with reconfigurable multiscale topography
Nature, June 2018 (article)
Wang, W., Kishore, V., Koens, L., Lauga, E., Sitti, M.
Collectives of Spinning Mobile Microrobots for Navigation and Object Manipulation at the Air-Water Interface
In 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), pages: 1-9, 2018 (inproceedings)
Wang, W., Giltinan, J., Zakharchenko, S., Sitti, M.
Dynamic and programmable self-assembly of micro-rafts at the air-water interface
Science Advances, 3(5):e1602522, American Association for the Advancement of Science, May 2017 (article)