Dr. Alexander Alexeev, assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded a prestigious 2013 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation’s division of materials research on mesoscale modeling of soft polymer networks.
Hydrogels are widely utilized in a variety of products from medical implants and drug delivery agents to cosmetics and diapers. Alexeev will develop new computational models to better understand microscale properties of hydrogels and examine their utility in different engineered systems. In particular, he will study how microscopic capsules made of responsive hydrogels can be used in novel drug delivery applications.
“I am excited to receive this CAREER award that will support my research on polymer gels. These fascinating materials have a great potential for the use in a variety of engineering applications. We will develop new mesoscale computational approaches that can be used to accurately model gels and will help us to better understand their behavior in different conditions. The research will particularly focus on gels that can change the shape and other properties in response to local variations of temperature or pH. Such responsive gels enable researchers to create microscopic devices that can sense and actively response to minute changes in their environment. Furthermore, biocompatible gels are especially attractive as smart drug carriers that can be designed to deliver and discharge drugs in a highly specific location within the body, thereby enhancing their therapeutic effect. One of the research goals of this project is to facilitate the development of such highly-needed smart carriers.”
Dr. Bill Wepfer, Chair of the Woodruff School, offers his congratulations by affirming, “Professor Alexeev's work in computational fluids mechanics has already had significant impact in advancing the understanding of soft material behavior and nanoscale structures.”
An additional and integral part of the award is an outreach component. To advance science engineering education, Alexeev will organize a video clip competition among undergraduate students. The students will prepare short videos explaining various fluid phenomena and concepts they learn in class and through everyday experiences. Working on the videos will help the students to better relate the knowledge they acquire in class to practical, open-ended problems. The videos will be posted on YouTube and will be available to the general public.