Two COE faculty members have been named as co-directors of a new U.S. Air Force Center of Excellence. This center will focus on the design of nanostructures for energy harvesting and adaptive materials, and develop tools to optimize critical cognitive processes of the modern war fighter. The $10.5 million Center, known as the Bio-nano-enabled Inorganic/Organic Nanostructures and Improved Cognition (BIONIC) center, will be led by Drs. Vladimir Tsukruk and Kenneth Sandhage, professors in the School of Materials Science and Engineering.

Center Funding

Funding for the Center of Excellence is provided by the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate and Human Effectiveness Directorate of AFRL, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and Georgia Tech. The initial award is for three years, with the possibility of an additional two-year extension.

Research Leaders and Thrust Areas

There are three major research thrusts, called interdisciplinary research groups, within the BIONIC center.

Kenneth Sandhage

Researchers in the first thrust, led by Sandhage, are designing, fabricating, characterizing and modeling the performance of inorganic/organic nanocomposites for efficient, remote energy-harvesting devices, such as photovoltaics and batteries.

Vladimir Tsukruk

Tsukruk leads the second interdisciplinary research group focusing on designing, fabricating, characterizing and simulating the performance of inorganic/organic nanocomposites for tunable, adaptive materials. When these adaptive materials are exposed to heat or light or both, they will change their properties in ways that will be useful for sensing or morphing surfaces.  

Michelle LaPlaca

The third thrust is being led by COE faculty member, Michelle LaPlaca, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. LaPlaca’s research lab plans to develop tools and assessment methods to optimize critical cognitive processes of the modern war fighter.