By Jessica Barber

On April 21, 2021, biomedical engineering student Michael Pullen will serve as Georgia Tech’s representative in the fifth annual ACC InVenture Prize. Here he will compete with teams from twelve other universities for the chance to take home $30,000 in prizes.

Pullen’s invention first took root when he experienced the struggle of getting turf burn while playing football. While most players seek protection through regular compression sleeves, this often leads to decreased grip, more fumbles, and difficulty in maneuvering plays.

While working in sports medicine with the Atlanta Falcons, Pullen found a way to directly avoid this problem. LZRD Sleeve is a compressive sleeve that integrates gripping and moisture-wicking technology to deliver protection and control without sacrificing mobility nor comfort. 

Since then, LZRD Sleeve has secured its place in non-athletic arenas. A year ago, the world of sports halted due to COVID-19 shutdowns. It was then that Pullen sought other applications for his innovative sleeve — LZRD Sleeve has expanded its market to delivery drivers, gardeners, and maintenance workers seeking better performance and protection from harm. 

LZRD Sleeve is now being used by the largest U.S. courier service, and it has also been featured in Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s podcast StarTalk. On the same hand, Pullen has been in contact with a whopping five Fortune 500 companies. He ultimately hopes that InVenture Prize will show that with hard work, nothing is impossible.

 “Never in a million years would I have thought I would be representing Georgia Tech in the ACC InVenture Prize. Getting out of your comfort zone and trying new things is important, and by winning, I hope to set an example so that others might do the same,” Pullen stated.

Overall, winning the ACC InVenture Prize would allow LZRD Sleeve to expand even further through capital investments, uptakes in production, and coverage of associated legal fees.

The Georgia Tech community is encouraged to show Pullen its support through voting for the People’s Choice Award of $5,000. Voting is open from 8 a.m. on Monday, April 5 until midnight on Tuesday, April 6.

To vote, please text GATech to win the ACC InVenture Prize People’s Choice Award to 415-965-7445.

Winners will be announced on Wednesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. on PBS stations throughout the ACC region. 

More information about LZRD Sleeve can be found at lzrdtech.com.

A new fabrication technique could allow solid-state automotive lithium-ion batteries to adopt nonflammable ceramic electrolytes using the same production processes as in batteries made with conventional liquid electrolytes. 

The melt-infiltration technology developed by materials science researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology uses electrolyte materials that can be infiltrated into porous yet densely packed, thermally stable electrodes. The one-step process produces high-density composites based on pressure-less, capillary-driven infiltration of a molten solid electrolyte into porous bodies, including multilayered electrode-separator stacks.

“While the melting point of traditional solid state electrolytes can range from 700 degrees Celsius to over 1,000 degrees Celsius, we operate at a much lower temperature range, depending on the electrolyte composition, roughly from 200 to 300 degrees Celsius,” explained Gleb Yushin, a professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech. “At these lower temperatures, fabrication is much faster and easier. Materials at low temperatures don’t react. The standard electrode assemblies, including the polymer binder or glue, can be stable in these conditions.”

The new technique, to be reported March 8 in the journal Nature Materials, could allow large automotive Li-ion batteries to be made safer with 100% solid-state nonflammable ceramic rather than liquid electrolytes using the same manufacturing processes of conventional liquid electrolyte battery production. The patent-pending manufacturing technology mimics low-cost fabrication of commercial Li-ion cells with liquid electrolytes, but instead uses solid state electrolytes with low melting points that are melted and infiltrated into dense electrodes. As a result, high-quality multi-layered cells of any size or shape could be rapidly manufactured at scale using proven tools and processes developed and optimized over the last 30 years for Li-ion.

“Melt-infiltration technology is the key advance. The cycle life and stability of Li-ion batteries depend strongly on the operating conditions, particularly temperature,” Georgia Tech graduate student Yiran Xiao explained. “If batteries are overheated for a prolonged period, they commonly begin to degrade prematurely, and overheated batteries may catch on fire. That has prompted nearly all electric vehicles (EV) to include sophisticated and rather expensive cooling systems.” In contrast, solid-state batteries may only require heaters, which are significantly less expensive than cooling systems. 

Yushin and Xiao are encouraged by the potential of this manufacturing process to enable battery makers to produce lighter, safer, and more energy-dense batteries. 

“The developed melt-infiltration technology is compatible with a broad range of material chemistries, including so-called conversion-type electrodes. Such materials have been demonstrated to increase automotive cell energy density by over 20% now and by more than 100% in the future,” said co-author and Georgia Tech research scientist Kostiantyn Turcheniuk, noting that higher density cells support longer driving ranges. The cells need high-capacity electrodes for that performance leap. 

Georgia Tech’s technique is not yet commercially ready, but Yushin predicts that if a significant portion of the future EV market embraces solid-state batteries, “This would probably be the only way to go,” since it will allow manufacturers to use their existing production facilities and infrastructure.

“That’s why we focused on this project – it was one of the most commercially viable areas of innovation for our lab to pursue,” he said. 

Battery cell prices hit $100 per kilowatt hour for the first time in 2020. According to Yushin, they will need to drop below $70 per kilowatt hour before the consumer EV market can fully open. Battery innovation is critical to that occurring.

The Materials Science lab team currently is focused on developing other electrolytes that will have lower melting points and higher conductivities using the same technique proven in the lab. 

Yushin envisions this research team’s manufacturing advance opening the floodgates to more innovation in this area.

“So many incredibly smart scientists are focused on solving very challenging scientific problems, while completely ignoring economic and technical practicality. They are studying and optimizing very high-temperature electrolytes that are not only dramatically more expensive to use in cells but are also up to five times heavier compared with liquid electrolytes,” he explained. “My goal is to push the research community to look outside that chemical box.”

In addition to Yushin, Xiao and Turcheniuk, co-authors included Aashray Narla, Ah-Young Song, Alexandre Magasinski, Ayush Jain, Sheirley Huang, and Haewon Lee from Georgia Tech, and Xiaolei Re from both Georgia Tech and Chongqing Technology and Business University in China.

This work was mostly supported by Sila Nanotechnologies Inc., a Georgia Tech startup, with characterization performed at the Materials Characterization Center at Georgia Tech. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring organization.

Gleb Yushin is co-founder, CTO, and a stockholder of Sila. Yushin is entitled to royalties derived from Sila’s sale of products related to the research described in this paper. This study could affect his personal financial status. The terms of this arrangement have been reviewed and approved by Georgia Tech in accordance with its conflict of interest policies. 

CITATION: Y. Xiao, et al., “Electrolyte Melt-Infiltration for Scalable Manufacturing of Inorganic All-Solid-State Lithium-Ion Batteries.” (Nature Materials, 2021)  https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-00943-2. 
 

It’s hard to believe that before coming to Georgia Tech, Gleb Yushin had never worked with batteries. Nearly 15 years later, his materials research is enabling space travel, revolutionizing the automotive industry, and contributing to clean, sustainable energy systems.

“When I arrived at Tech, I thought that innovations in batteries were long overdue,” recalled Yushin, professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering. “It may be hard to believe now, with so much excitement in electric vehicles and the recent Nobel Prize given to the lithium-ion battery inventors, but at that time, lithium-ion batteries were considered to be a ‘mature’ technology.”

Yushin’s passion for battery research led him to co-found Sila Nanotechnologies, Inc. in 2011, where he now serves as chief technology officer. Sila Nano just received a Series F funding round that boosted its valuation to over $3.3 billion. The latest investment will enable the company to evolve the electric vehicle batteries it has come to be known for and also begin introducing its high-energy battery technology into consumer devices, like fitness trackers and wireless earbuds.

For Yushin and his company, this is a watershed moment, as it looks to add 100 new positions to its existing 200 employee base and open a battery materials buildout factory in the U.S. by 2024.

But this also marks a significant moment for Georgia Tech. Sila Nano’s success can serve as inspiration to faculty, research scientists, and students looking to commercialize their own research.

“The more successful entrepreneurs we have at Tech, the more they can teach others to do it right,” Yushin said. “Furthermore, successful startups generate recognition and publicity for their universities, helping to attract ambitious and talented students from around the world.”

Companies like Sila Nano – and others that have been spun out of incubators like ATDC and CREATE-X – are playing a large role in building the commercialization ecosystem at Georgia Tech.

“The success of Sila Nano — not just in its latest valuation, but also the impact it’s having on the U.S. economy and clean energy initiatives — is very exciting for Tech,” said Raghupathy Sivakumar, interim chief commercialization officer, co-founder of CREATE-X, and engineering professor at Georgia Tech. “Bringing together commercialization and technology transfer activities with a goal of moving more intellectual property out into the marketplace greatly expands Georgia Tech’s impact on the world. We couldn’t be prouder of Gleb and the company he has built with his co-founders.”   

From Research to Commercialization

At Tech, research doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Engineers and scientists like Yushin actively look for ways to translate technology advancements into practical applications. Case in point: Sila Nano alone has licensed 14 different patents from the Georgia Tech Research Corporation.

“Most large companies have trouble identifying and commercializing revolutionary technologies that now commonly originate at universities or national labs rather than in industrial laboratories,” Yushin said. “If we want to have a strong, innovation-driven economy, commercializing university research is a must.”

The lab-to-market pipeline at Tech continues to grow, with a growing list of successful companies —  Brain Rain Solutions, Carbice, Zyrobotics and Sanguina, to name a few recent examples. Yushin said forming a proper ecosystem is the key to establishing the culture of thriving innovation at Tech and in Atlanta.

“The more notably successful startups that originate from Tech, the higher the chance that venture capital firms and aspiring entrepreneurs will be looking to us for breakthrough technology and research,” Yushin said. “Also, many students come to Tech with a goal of starting their own company because they see what we are doing.” 

So, what’s next for Sila Nano? Yushin plans to continue to improve and dramatically expand production of revolutionary materials for next-generation batteries that will power electric cars, trucks and buses and eventually hybrid-electric ships, planes and autonomous flying taxis. They will also become part of the renewable energy grid, he said.

As Yushin keeps advancing the storage power of batteries so, too, will Tech continue tapping the power of research and innovation to develop market-ready ideas that improve the human condition. The example of Sila Nano demonstrates the powerful potential. 

“It is incredibly exciting to contribute to building a clean, energy-sustainable future rather than waiting for it to happen,” Yushin said. “At Sila, we have showcased the major impact of materials science engineering on the future of transportation and the clean energy economy. As a Tech scientist and engineer, that makes me very proud.”

The U.S. pulp and paper industry uses large quantities of water to produce cellulose pulp from trees. The water leaving the pulping process contains a number of organic byproducts and inorganic chemicals. To reuse the water and the chemicals, paper mills rely on steam-fed evaporators that boil up the water and separate it from the chemicals.

Water separation by evaporators is effective but uses large amounts of energy. That’s significant given that the United States currently is the world’s second-largest producer of paper and paperboard. The country’s approximately 100 paper mills are estimated to use about 0.2 quads (a quad is a quadrillion BTUs) of energy per year for water recycling, making it one of the most energy-intensive chemical processes. All industrial energy consumption in the United States in 2019 totaled 26.4 quads, according to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 

An alternative is to deploy energy-efficient filtration membranes to recycle pulping wastewater. But conventional polymer membranes — commercially available for the past several decades — cannot withstand operation in the harsh conditions and high chemical concentrations found in pulping wastewater and many other industrial applications. 

Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have found a method to engineer membranes made from graphene oxide (GO), a chemically resistant material based on carbon, so they can work effectively in industrial applications. 

“GO has remarkable characteristics that allow water to get through it much faster than through conventional membranes,” said Sankar Nair, professor, Simmons Faculty Fellow, and associate chair for Industry Outreach in the Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “But a longstanding question has been how to make GO membranes work in realistic conditions with high chemical concentrations so that they could become industrially relevant.” 

Using new fabrication techniques, the researchers can control the microstructure of GO membranes in a way that allows them to continue filtering out water effectively even at higher chemical concentrations.

The research, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy-RAPID Institute, an industrial consortium of forest product companies, and Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute, was reported recently in the journal Nature Sustainability. Many industries that use large amounts of water in their production processes may stand to benefit from using these GO nanofiltration membranes.

Nair, his colleagues Meisha Shofner and Scott Sinquefield, and their research team began this work five years ago. They knew that GO membranes had long been recognized for their great potential in desalination, but only in a lab setting. “No one had credibly demonstrated that these membranes can perform in realistic industrial water streams and operating conditions,” Nair said. “New types of GO structures were needed that displayed high filtration performance and mechanical stability while retaining the excellent chemical stability associated with GO materials.”

To create such new structures, the team conceived the idea of sandwiching large aromatic dye molecules in between GO sheets. Researchers Zhongzhen Wang, Chen Ma, and Chunyan Xu found that these molecules strongly bound themselves to the GO sheets in multiple ways, including stacking one molecule on another. The result was the creation of “gallery” spaces between the GO sheets, with the dye molecules acting as “pillars.” Water molecules easily filter through the narrow spaces between the pillars, while chemicals present in the water are selectively blocked based on their size and shape. The researchers could tune the membrane microstructure vertically and laterally, allowing them to control both the height of the gallery and the amount of space between the pillars.

The team then tested the GO nanofiltration membranes with multiple water streams containing dissolved chemicals and showed the capability of the membranes to reject chemicals by size and shape, even at high concentrations. Ultimately, they scaled up their new GO membranes to sheets that are up to 4 feet in length and demonstrated their operation for more than 750 hours in a real feed stream derived from a paper mill.

Nair expressed excitement for the potential of GO membrane nanofiltration to generate cost savings in paper mill energy usage, which could improve the industry’s sustainability. “These membranes can save the paper industry more than 30% in energy costs of water separation,” he said.

Georgia Tech continues to work with its industrial partners to apply the GO membrane technology for pulp and paper applications. 

This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Institute (#DE-EE007888-5-5), an industrial consortium comprising Georgia-Pacific, International Paper, SAPPI, and WestRock, and the Georgia Tech Renewable Bioproducts Institute. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring organizations.

CITATION: Zhongzhen Wang, et al., “Graphene Oxide Nanofiltration Membranes for Desalination under Realistic Conditions.” (Nature Sustainability, 2021)  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00674-3.

The U.S. pulp and paper industry uses large quantities of water to produce cellulose pulp from trees. The water leaving the pulping process contains a number of organic byproducts and inorganic chemicals. To reuse the water and the chemicals, paper mills rely on steam-fed evaporators that boil up the water and separate it from the chemicals.

Water separation by evaporators is effective but uses large amounts of energy. That’s significant given that the United States currently is the world’s second-largest producer of paper and paperboard. The country’s approximately 100 paper mills are estimated to use about 0.2 quads (a quad is a quadrillion BTUs) of energy per year for water recycling, making it one of the most energy-intensive chemical processes. All industrial energy consumption in the United States in 2019 totaled 26.4 quads, according to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 

An alternative is to deploy energy-efficient filtration membranes to recycle pulping wastewater. But conventional polymer membranes — commercially available for the past several decades — cannot withstand operation in the harsh conditions and high chemical concentrations found in pulping wastewater and many other industrial applications. 

Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have found a method to engineer membranes made from graphene oxide (GO), a chemically resistant material based on carbon, so they can work effectively in industrial applications. 

“GO has remarkable characteristics that allow water to get through it much faster than through conventional membranes,” said Sankar Nair, professor, Simmons Faculty Fellow, and associate chair for Industry Outreach in the Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “But a longstanding question has been how to make GO membranes work in realistic conditions with high chemical concentrations so that they could become industrially relevant.” 

Using new fabrication techniques, the researchers can control the microstructure of GO membranes in a way that allows them to continue filtering out water effectively even at higher chemical concentrations.

The research, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy-RAPID Institute, an industrial consortium of forest product companies, and Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute, was reported recently in the journal Nature Sustainability. Many industries that use large amounts of water in their production processes may stand to benefit from using these GO nanofiltration membranes.

Nair, his colleagues Meisha Shofner and Scott Sinquefield, and their research team began this work five years ago. They knew that GO membranes had long been recognized for their great potential in desalination, but only in a lab setting. “No one had credibly demonstrated that these membranes can perform in realistic industrial water streams and operating conditions,” Nair said. “New types of GO structures were needed that displayed high filtration performance and mechanical stability while retaining the excellent chemical stability associated with GO materials.”

To create such new structures, the team conceived the idea of sandwiching large aromatic dye molecules in between GO sheets. Researchers Zhongzhen Wang, Chen Ma, and Chunyan Xu found that these molecules strongly bound themselves to the GO sheets in multiple ways, including stacking one molecule on another. The result was the creation of “gallery” spaces between the GO sheets, with the dye molecules acting as “pillars.” Water molecules easily filter through the narrow spaces between the pillars, while chemicals present in the water are selectively blocked based on their size and shape. The researchers could tune the membrane microstructure vertically and laterally, allowing them to control both the height of the gallery and the amount of space between the pillars.

The team then tested the GO nanofiltration membranes with multiple water streams containing dissolved chemicals and showed the capability of the membranes to reject chemicals by size and shape, even at high concentrations. Ultimately, they scaled up their new GO membranes to sheets that are up to 4 feet in length and demonstrated their operation for more than 750 hours in a real feed stream derived from a paper mill.

Nair expressed excitement for the potential of GO membrane nanofiltration to generate cost savings in paper mill energy usage, which could improve the industry’s sustainability. “These membranes can save the paper industry more than 30% in energy costs of water separation,” he said.

Georgia Tech continues to work with its industrial partners to apply the GO membrane technology for pulp and paper applications. 

This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID) Institute (#DE-EE007888-5-5), an industrial consortium comprising Georgia-Pacific, International Paper, SAPPI, and WestRock, and the Georgia Tech Renewable Bioproducts Institute. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring organizations.

CITATION: Zhongzhen Wang, et al., “Graphene Oxide Nanofiltration Membranes for Desalination under Realistic Conditions.” (Nature Sustainability, 2021)  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00674-3.

The President's Undergraduate Research Award pays selected students $1500 to conduct undergraduate research. Applications for summer 2021 funding are due on February 26, 2021. 

Apply online at urop.gatech.edu

California, September 14, 2020: TiE Global hosted the 2nd edition of the TiE University Pitch Competition over the weekend. Cash prizes of close to $14,000 and almost $35,000 worth of in-kind prizes were given out to the 13 participants. TiE Atlanta’s Aerodyme Technologies from Georgia Institute of Technology came in first, winning $5000. TiE Silicon Valley’s team Ambii from San Jose State University bagged the second prize, winning $3000; while TiE Toronto’s LSK Technologies, a MedTech startup from the University of Toronto emerged as the third winner, winning $2000.

The winning team, Aerodyme Technologies has created a novel device that saves fuel costs for tractor-trailers by minimizing aerodynamic drag. Ambii, which came in second, provides an in-store music streaming platform for retail outlets, cafes and restaurants without the hassles of licensing. Third prize winner, LSK Technologies, created a diagnostic device for testing infectious diseases such as Covid19 at the point of need. 

Congratulating the winning team, Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Chairman of the TiE Global Board of Trustees said, "We are proud of these young talented entrepreneurs. Their growth story from pitches at their local TiE Chapters till the Global Finals has seen a massive expansion and iteration of thought and structure. This is a complete team effort put forward by the program co-chairs and charter member mentors who helped them grow their idea, giving them thorough guidance and mentoring the students over the last few months to compete on a global stage.”

Aerodyme Technologies participated in Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X Startup Launch program during summer 2019. During the startup accelerator program, the Aerodyme team was able to conduct customer discovery and receive mentorship and funding to take their product to market. The team also won 2nd place in the 12th annual InVenture Prize competition in March 2020. As part of the competition, Aerodyme received $10,000 in cash and patent filing assistance funded by the Georgia Tech Research Corporations. 

The second edition of the TiE University jointly organized by TiE Atlanta & TiE Hyderabad had 13 teams representing TiE chapters from India, Israel, UAE, Israel, USA, and Canada. These teams were previously the chapter winners and were then mentored to participate in the Global finals. After the Semi-final round on Saturday, seven teams were selected for the finals. Teams had a 10-minute pitch to an eminent Jury panel and a 5-minute live Q&A. 

Speaking at the Presentation Ceremony the TiE University program co-chairs Dr. Paul Lopez, SubbaRaju Pericherlaand Viiveck Verma, said they are looking to expand the program participation to 40 chapters and 400+ universities worldwide by 2022.

The worldwide jury panel for the finals, consisting of VCs and investors, included Bodhi Capital’s  Dharti Desai, Silicon Valley Bank’s Priya Rajan, Elevate Capital’s Kumar Sripadam, and Inflexor Ventures’ Venkat Vallabhaneni.  Semi-finals judges from across the globe included Craig Abbott, Rakesh Bhatia, Radhika Iyengar, Rama Devi Kanneganti, Doc Parghi, and Sonia Weymuller.

Apart from the top three winners, prizes were announced in various other categories. Silicon Valley’s Ambii and New Jersey’s Volant from New Jersey Institute of Technology jointly received a $1,500 Best Elevator Pitch award. Similarly, Teams Clean Electric from IIT/BHU, Varanasi representing TiE Mumbai, and Aruga Technologies from Carnegie Mellon University representing TiE Pittsburgh jointly received $1,500 Best Technology prize. Frinks, from IIT Hyderabad, representing TiE Hyderabad took the $500 People's Choice Award. Apart from this, all participating teams walked away with technology and service prizes worth $2500 per team.

The competition also hosted a keynote address by serial entrepreneur Thejo Kote. Thejo sold his connectivity startup, Automatic for $115 million to SiriusXm. He inspired the university startup teams and online audience alike by saying, “The biggest lesson I’ve learned along the way is to make sure you enjoy the journey (of building a startup) and it’s something that you learn from and grow from. Else it will be a lot more challenging.”

About TiE University:

TiE University program focuses on enhancing the learning objectives of university students globally through the creation and presentation of business pitches for startups and new small business ventures so that they aspire to become entrepreneurs. TiE University is looking to expand its reach to 40 chapters and 400+ universities worldwide. If you’re interested, reach out to the below-mentioned media contact. For more information, visit - https://tie.org/tie-university/

About TiE Global:

TiE Global, is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship around the World. TiE strives to inspire entrepreneurs through mentoring, networking, education, incubating and funding programs and activities. With nearly 2000+ events held each year, TiE brings together the entrepreneurial community to learn from local leaders, as well as each other. Few of the annual flagship events conducted by TiE are TYE, TiE Women, TiE University, TiECons and TGS. For more information, please visit our website at https://tie.org/

Media Contact:

Aparna Mishra Aparna@tie.org

By Jessica Barber

           On Wednesday, September 16, the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) hosted the kick-off session for the 13th Annual InVenture Prize. With over $35,000 in prizes, the competition is the holy grail of college entrepreneurship. Although the InVenture Prize officially starts in January 2021, students have already begun their preparations and idea declarations.

Unlike previous years, the kick-off was hosted online through Gatherly, a virtual event platform recently built by none other than Georgia Tech students. Despite this, attendees did not miss a beat. The kick-off marked a return to normalcy for the Georgia Tech innovation community from learning key information about the competition to directly speaking with past winners.

           After a welcome from interim Assistant Director of Student Innovation, Recha Reid, students were given an overview of some upcoming InVenture Prize events, including the ongoing Pitch Your Idea and IdeaBuzz sessions. Students were given an overview of OUE’s customer discovery, financial forecasting, marketing, and patent/copyright workshops. From there, the floor was turned over to Dr. Chris Reaves, executive director of the office for Academic Enrichment Programs.

           “At its core, the InVenture Prize is an invention startup competition, but we work together — even the teams work with each other — to help one another. We achieve more, grow more, and develop our companies better when we’re helping each other, and that’s a big part of what we’re doing,” Reaves explained.

           Later, students were given the opportunity to speak with representatives from Queues and Aerodyme, the respective first- and second-place winners of the 2020 InVenture Prize. Students learned firsthand what it takes to succeed on the InVenture Prize stage; the teams later offered advice on the invention process, their lessons learned, and the visibility benefits of participating in the competition.

           “If you’re on the edge right now about doing InVenture Prize, definitely do it. We actually had that same thought before we did it, and we’re just so glad that we did. It’s a lot of work, and you’re going to step outside of your comfort zone, but it’s so worth it”, said Joy Bullington of team Aerodyme Technologies. 

           Queues team member Sam Porta similarly had some words of encouragement for those looking into the 2021 InVenture Prize. 

           “The difference between an entrepreneur and someone who’s just engineering something is persistence, and the InVenture Prize is a great opportunity to test this. If you think you’ve come up with something great that has a lot of value, then, by all means, do it,” Porta emphasized.

           Towards the end of the session, students were invited to visit virtual “booths” dedicated to areas of health, retail, fintech, transportation, education tools, gaming, and networking.

           “InVenture is honestly one of the reasons I chose to come to Tech, and I’m just so excited to come into with something that I’m really confident about,” an attendee said.

           “The most interesting thing about tonight was hearing from the past winners and having them talk about their experiences. Definitely super excited to apply, and hopefully we do really well,” another stated.

           Registration for the 2021 InVenture Prize will remain open until January. Student innovators are invited to check out OUE’s information and development sessions to be held throughout the Fall semester. All dates and related topics can be found at innovation.gatech.edu and inventureprize.gatech.edu.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE 2021 INVENTURE PRIZE BY CLICKING HERE

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Imagine a reusable face mask that protects wearers and those around them from SARS-CoV-2, is comfortable enough to wear all day, and stays in place without frequent adjustment. Based on decades of experience with filtration and textile materials, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have designed a new mask intended to do just that — and are providing the plans so individuals and manufacturers can make it.

The modular Georgia Tech mask combines a barrier filtration material with a stretchable fabric to hold it in place. Prototypes made for testing use hook and eye fasteners on the back of the head to keep the masks on, and include a pocket for an optional filter to increase protection. After 20 washings, the prototypes have not shrunk or lost their shape.

“If we want to reopen the economy and ask people to go back to work, we need a mask that is both comfortable and effective,” said Sundaresan Jayaraman, the Kolon Professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Materials Science and Engineering. “We have taken a science-based approach to designing a better mask, and we are very passionate about getting this out so people can use it to help protect themselves and others from harm.”

The fundamental flaw in existing reusable cloth masks is that they — unlike N95 respirators, which are fitted for individual users — leak air around the edges, bypassing their filtration mechanism. That potentially allows virus particles, both large droplets and smaller aerosols, to enter the air breathed in by users, and allows particles from infected persons to exit the mask. 

The leakage problem shows up in complaints about eyeglasses fogging up as exhaled breath leaks around the nose, making people less likely to wear them. The fit problem can also be seen in constant adjustments made by wearers, who could potentially contaminate themselves whenever they touch the masks after touching other surfaces.

To address the leakage challenge, Jayaraman and principal research scientist Sungmee Park created a two-part mask that fastens behind the head like many N95 respirators. The front part — the barrier component — contains the filtration material and is contoured to fit tightly while allowing space ahead of the nose and mouth to avoid breathing restrictions and permit unrestricted speech. Made from the kind of moisture-wicking material used in athletic clothing, it includes a pocket into which a filter can be inserted to increase the filtration efficiency and thereby increase protection. The washable fabric filter is made of a blend of Spandex and polyester. 

The second part of the mask is fashioned from stretchable material. The stretchable part, which has holes for the ears to help position the mask, holds the front portion in place and fastens with conventional hook and eyelet hardware, a mechanism that has been used in clothing for centuries.

“We want people to be able to get the mask in the right place every time,” Jayaraman said. “If you don’t position it correctly and easily, you are going to have to keep fiddling with it. We see that all the time on television with people adjusting their masks and letting them drop below their noses.”

Beyond controlling air leakage, designing a better mask involves a tradeoff between filtration effectiveness and how well users can breathe. If a mask makes breathing too difficult, users will simply not use it, reducing compliance with masking requirements.

Many existing mask designs attempt to increase filtration effectiveness by boosting the number of layers, but that may not be as helpful as it might seem, Park said. “We tested 16 layers of handkerchief material, and as we increased the layers, we measured increased breathing resistance,” she said. “While the breathing resistance went up, the filtration did not improve as much as we would have expected.”

“Good filtration efficiency is not enough by itself,” said Jayaraman. “The combination of fit, filtration efficiency, and staying in the right place make for a good mask.”

The stretchable part of the mask is made from knitted fabric — a Spandex/Lyocell blend — to allow for stretching around the head and under the chin. The researchers used a woven elastic band sewn with pleats to cover the top of the nose. 

The researchers made their mask prototypes from synthetic materials instead of cotton. Though cotton is a natural material, it absorbs moisture and holds it on the face, reducing breathability, and potentially creating a “petri dish” for the growth of microbes. 

“Masks have become an essential accessory in our wardrobe and add a social dimension to how we feel about wearing them,” Park said. So, the materials chosen for the mask come in a variety of colors and designs. “Integrating form and function is key to having a mask that protects individuals while making them look good and feel less self-conscious,” Jayaraman said. 

The work of Jayaraman and Park didn’t begin with the Covid-19 pandemic. They received funding 10 years ago from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study face masks during the avian influenza outbreak. Since then Jayaraman has been part of several National Academy of Medicine initiatives to develop recommendations for improved respiratory protection.

Covid-19 dramatically increased the importance of using face masks because of the role played by asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic exposure from persons who don’t know they are infected, Jayaraman said. While the proportion of aerosol contributions to transmission is still under study, they likely increase the importance of formfitting masks that don’t leak.

Jayaraman and Park have published their recommendations in The Journal of The Textile Institute, and will make the specifications and patterns for their mask available to individuals and manufacturers. The necessary materials can be obtained from retail fabric stores, and the instructions describe how to measure for customizing the masks. 

“There is so much misinformation about what face masks can do and cannot do,” Jayaraman said. “Being scientists and engineers, we want to put out information backed by science that can help our community reduce the harm from SARS-CoV-2.”

Link to plans, patterns and specifications for this mask

CITATION: Sungmee Park and Sundaresan Jayaraman, “From containment to harm reduction from SARS-CoV-2: a fabric mask for enhanced effectiveness, comfort, and compliance.” (The Journal of The Textile Institute, 2020) https://doi.org/10.1080/00405000.2020.1805971 

Research News
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Media Relations Contact: John Toon (404-894-6986) (jtoon@gatech.edu).

Writer: John Toon

The simplicity and elegance of origami, an ancient Japanese art form, has motivated researchers to explore its application in the world of materials. 

New research from an interdisciplinary team, including Northwestern University’s Horacio Espinosa and Sridhar Krishnaswamy and the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Glaucio Paulino, aims to advance the creation and understanding of such folded structures for applications ranging from soft robotics to medical devices to energy harvesters.

Inspired by origami, mechanical metamaterials — artificial structures with mechanical properties defined by their structure rather than their composition — have gained considerable attention because of their potential to yield deployable and highly tunable structures and materials. 

What wasn’t known was which structures integrate shape recoverability, pronounced directional mechanical properties, and reversible auxeticity — meaning their lateral dimensions can increase and then decrease when progressively squeezed. Though some 3D origami structures have been produced through additive manufacturing, achieving the folding properties displayed in ideal paper origami remained a challenge. 

Using nanoscale effects for an origami design, the team of researchers from Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and Georgia Tech's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering sought to answer that question. They produced small, 3D, origami-built metamaterials, successfully retaining the best properties without resorting to artifacts to enable folding. 

“The created structures constitute the smallest fabricated origami architected metamaterials exhibiting an unprecedented combination of mechanical properties,” said Espinosa, the James and Nancy J. Farley Professor of Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship and professor of mechanical engineering and (by courtesy) biomedical engineering and civil and environmental engineering. 

“Our work demonstrated that rational design of metamaterials, with a large degree of shape recoverability and direction-dependent stiffness and deformation, is possible using origami designs, and that origami foldability enables a state where the material initially expands and subsequently contracts laterally (reversible auxeticity),” added Espinosa, who serves as director of Northwestern’s theoretical and applied mechanics graduate program. “Such properties promise to influence a number of applications across a wide range of fields encompassing the nano-, micro-, and macro-scales, leveraging the intrinsic scalability of origami assemblies.”

“Guided by geometry, the scaling and miniaturization of the origami metamaterial are exciting in itself and by the unprecedented multifunctionality that it naturally enables,” said Paulino, the Raymond Allen Jones Chair in Georgia Tech’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

“Only an interdisciplinary effort combining origami design, 3D laser printing with nanoscale resolution, and in situ electron microscopy mechanical testing could reveal the unprecedented combination of properties our work demonstrated and their potential impact on future applications,” added Paulino, who contributed to establishing the National Science Foundation Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program named ODISSEI (Origami Design for Integration of Self-assembling Systems for Engineering Innovation).

“Just like nature has architected a wide range of structures using just a few material systems, origami allows us to engineer resilient structural components with distinct physical properties along different directions,” said Krishnaswamy, professor of mechanical engineering. 

“We can envision origami-based soft microrobots that are stiff along some directions to carry payloads while maintaining other degrees of flexibility for motion. Origami-metamaterials that exploit reversible auxeticity and large deformation can lead to multifunctional applications ranging from deployable microsurgical instruments and medical devices to energy steering and harvesting,” added Krishnaswamy, the director of Northwestern’s Center for Smart Structures and Materials.

The study presents new avenues to be explored long term, Espinosa said.

“There are a number of possibilities,” he said. “One is the fabrication of origami structures with ceramic and metallic materials, while preserving nanoscale dimensions, to exploit size effects in the mechanical response of the structures leading to superior energy dissipation per unit volume and mass. Another is the use of piezoelectric polymers, which can result in energy harvesters that can drive sensing modalities or power microsurgical tools.”

The research, “Folding at the Microscale: Enabling Multifunctional 3D Origami-Architected Metamaterials” was published in the journal Small on July 27. Along with Espinosa, Krishnaswamy, and Paulino, coauthors include Northwestern’s Nicolas A. Alderete, Zhaowen Lin, and Heming Wei, and Larissa S. Novelino from Georgia Tech.

The research was supported by the Army Research Office (award W911NF1220022), a Multi-University Research Initiative through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR-FA9550-15-1-0009), the Office of Naval Research (grants N00014-15-1-2935 and N00014-16-1-3021), and the National Science Foundation (grant No. 1538830). Nicolas Alderete received a fellowship from the Argentinian Roberto Rocca Education Program and Larisa Novelino from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (project 235104/2014-0).

Writer: Brian Sandalow, Northwestern University