The first route grows material in response to load. Cyclic loading of piezoelectric scaffolds in an electrolyte generates surface charges that drive mineralization in proportion to stress. The resulting composites gain both stiffness and energy-dissipation capacity under the very cyclic loading that would normally fatigue them, and the growth is self-limiting, with a saturation thickness set by the applied force. Recent results show that force also controls the nucleation density, crystallization kinetics, and hardness of the mineral, pointing to mechanical energy as a general lever for directing crystallization.

The second route architects the response to load. Lattices built from liquid crystal elastomers couple snap-through buckling of tilted beams with the rate-dependent soft elasticity of mesogen rotation. The result is a reusable energy-absorbing metamaterial whose dissipation rises with strain rate by a power law and reaches densities comparable to those of plastically deforming metals.

Together, these results outline a path toward structural materials that adapt, reinforce, and protect autonomously, with implications ranging from orthopedic implants and marine structures to protective equipment and soft robotics.

Biography

Sung Hoon Kang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), where he directs the Bioinspired Extreme Materials Laboratory, the NRF-Korea Center for Variable-Property Material-Based Neural Interface Robotics, and the NRF-Korea Center for AI-Designed Biomimetic Self-Concentrating Rare Earth Selective Recovery Platform. He is a Brain Pool Plus Fellow of the National Research Foundation of Korea. Before joining KAIST, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, with appointments in the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute and the Institute for NanoBioTechnology. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University, his M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT, and his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Seoul National University.

His research addresses current challenges in engineering materials, structures, and devices for resilience, sensing, energy, and healthcare, with a focus on coupled material–mechanical systems. His group combines numerical modeling, nano-to-macroscale fabrication and 3D printing, three-dimensional structural, material, and mechanical characterization, and in vitro and in vivo testing. His work has been supported by AFOSR, NSF, NIH, ARO, ONR, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the State of Maryland, Hyundai Motor Group, and private foundations. He has co-authored 75 papers, holds eight U.S. patents, and has given more than 270 presentations, including over 190 invited talks.

His honors include the National Research Foundation of Korea Brain Pool Plus Fellowship (2024), the Nano Research Young Innovator Award (2023), the Hanwha Non-Tenured Faculty Award (2022), Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowships (2020 and 2021), the Johns Hopkins University Catalyst Award (2020), the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering Research Lab Excellence Award (2019), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program Award (FY2018), and the Materials Research Society Graduate Student Gold Award (2011). He has been invited to the National Academies' U.S. Frontiers of Engineering (2016), China-America Frontiers of Engineering (2019), and inaugural U.S.-Africa Frontiers of Science, Engineering, and Medicine symposia.

He is a member of MRS, APS, ASME, SPIE, ECS, and SES, and has served as Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Editor of the ASME Technical Committee on Mechanics of Soft Materials.

View on site | Email this event