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DESCRIPTION:The ability to control the organization of matter across multip
 le length scales presents exciting opportunities for designing materials wi
 th emergent properties. My research focuses on the fundamental role of geom
 etry and topology in directing the assembly and physical properties of mate
 rials\, enabling the creation of systems with tailored optical and mechanic
 al behavior. During my Ph.D.\, I developed a geometry-driven framework for 
 the programmable assembly of colloidal crystals\, integrating particle shap
 e with predictive crystallographic principles to build nanoscale architectu
 res from the bottom up. This approach unlocked new strategies for construct
 ing optical metamaterials with tunable and dynamic light-matter interaction
 s. In my postdoctoral work\, I extended these design principles to macrosca
 le mechanical metamaterials\, introducing polycatenated architected materia
 ls (PAMs): a new class of interlocked 3D lattice structures fabricated via 
 additive manufacturing. PAMs offer exceptional mechanical responses\, inclu
 ding tunable stiffness\, reconfigurability\, and adaptive behavior\, addres
 sing long-standing challenges in mechanical design. These properties make P
 AMs promising candidates for deployable aerospace structures\, soft robotic
 s\, and impact-resistant systems. In this seminar\, I will discuss how a ge
 ometry-driven design philosophy provides a unifying framework for the disco
 very\, synthesis\, and manufacturing of next-generation materials\, bridgin
 g fundamental principles with practical applications in mechanics and photo
 nics.\n\n \n\nBio:\n\nWenjie Zhou is a postdoctoral scholar in Mechanical a
 nd Civil Engineering at Caltech\, working with Prof. Chiara Daraio on the c
 omputational design and additive manufacturing of architected materials. Hi
 s current research focuses on developing polycatenated architected material
 s (PAMs) and granular soft robotics for applications in aerospace\, robotic
 s\, and impact-resistant systems. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry as a Rya
 n Fellow at Northwestern University under Prof. Chad A. Mirkin\, where he p
 ioneered the geometry-driven assembly of colloidal crystals\, enabling comp
 lex optical metamaterials through DNA-mediated assembly and predictive crys
 tallography. His work has resulted in multiple first-author publications in
  Science\, Nature\, and Nature Materials\, along with many awards\, includi
 ng the MRS Graduate Student Gold Award\, Northwestern Excellence in Graduat
 e Research Award\, and IPMI Bright Futures Award.
DTEND:20250305T170000Z
DTSTAMP:20260508T141455Z
DTSTART:20250305T160000Z
LOCATION:Cruft Labs\, 309
SEQUENCE:0
SUMMARY:Wenjie Zhou: Structuring Matter with Geometry: Design\, Synthesis\,
  and Emerging Properties
UID:tag:localist.com\,2008:EventInstance_48938027351077
URL:https://calendar.college.harvard.edu/event/wenjie-zhao-structuring-matt
 er-with-geometry-design-synthesis-and-emerging-properties
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