Tag: design-research

Undergraduate design and research

Cross-disciplinary Research Team and Carbon Nanotube Forests

Two carbon nanotube substrates with a nanotube zoom and a sterilization step.
Detail from a schematic illustration of the process from CNT forest growth to cell seeding.

A cross-disciplinary research team of MTU undergraduate students, graduate students and professors are co-authors of an article published in the Journal of Materials Research.

The article, titled “Conductive 3D nano-biohybrid systems based on densified carbon nanotube forests and living cells,” appears in the journal’s Early Career Scholars in Materials Science issue, 2024.

The research team worked with carbon nanotube (CNT) “forests,” groupings of carbon nanotubes on which conductive biohybrid (cell-material) systems can be developed. Working with fibroblasts or cardiomyocytes, the researchers integrated the cell cultures with the CNT forests coated with gelatin. The novelty of the work lies in the use of the 3D structure of CNT forests as the main part of the scaffold and the development of a conductive, porous, and 3D cardiac scaffold with high cytocompatibility. The results show that the scaffold could be used in applications ranging from organ-on-a-chip systems to muscle actuators.

Congratulations to the research team:

Bagheri, R., Ball, A.K., Kasraie, M. et al. Conductive 3D nano-biohybrid systems based on densified carbon nanotube forests and living cells. Journal of Materials Research (2023). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-023-01163-x

The original article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

PSTDL Finalists in NASA Watts on the Moon Challenge

Assistant Professor Paul van Susante (ME-EM/MARC) and the Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab, aka HuskyWorks, advanced to the “final four” in Phase 2 of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Through this challenge, NASA seeks to partner with a broader community of experts to augment its investments in power generation.

The first competition phase started in September 2020 and included 60 eligible teams, from which seven winners were chosen. Winners in each phase receive equal shares of a prize purse, used to fuel the development of ideas for building energy infrastructures on the Moon.

“As we tread new ground in exploration, we’ll need to draw on creativity across the nation. The technologies created through Watts on the Moon are one example, with new perspectives helping us address a crucial technology gap.”

Denise Morris, acting program manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama

Building on previous success, the team will use the current $400,000 prize to refine their Phase 2, Level 3 prototype and test it under a simulated lunar environment (vacuum chamber) at NASA facilities in 2024. Up to two teams at this level will receive awards: The first-place team will be awarded $1 million, and second place will be awarded $500,000. Winners are expected to be announced in September, 2024.

You can learn more about the challenge by visiting NASA’s Watts on the Moon fact sheet. For more details on Dr. van Susante’s lab capabilities, visit the PSTDL’s  Facilities page.

Play Four Teams Advance to Final Level of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge video
Preview image for Four Teams Advance to Final Level of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge video

Four Teams Advance to Final Level of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge