BPI Seminar by Dr. Mahdi Hamidi

Building Function into Materials: Nanoarchitectures for Energy Storage and Responsive Devices 

Agenda

• 12:00 PM Introduction by Dr. Orlando Rojas
• 12:05 PM Presentation by Dr. Mahdi Hamidi, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta
• 12:45 PM Q&A

*Sandwiches and coffee will be provided from 11:45 AM.

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Abstract

Materials do not only gain function from their chemistry. Very often, their performance is shaped by how they are structured, connected, and confined across length scales. In our group, we are interested in using this idea to design nanoarchitected materials for energy storage, sensing, and responsive microdevices.

In this seminar, I will share recent progress from the nanoAIM lab at the University of Alberta. I will begin with some of our fundamental work in nanomechanics, where we study how polymers, two-dimensional materials, and nanostructured systems deform and slide at small length scales. These studies are important to us because many emerging materials for batteries, sensors, and microdevices operate in regimes where interfaces, confinement, and local mechanical response strongly affect performance.

I will then discuss how we use this understanding to design architected materials and devices. One part of the talk will focus on electrochemically responsive microstructures, where material expansion and contraction can be used to create shape change and microactuation. I will also highlight our recent progress in architected sensing platforms, including hydrogen and biomolecular sensing, where nanoscale structure and device geometry play an important role in sensitivity and response. The final part of the talk will focus on energy storage, including our work on architected electrodes and nanostructured materials for microbatteries and advanced battery systems.

The overall message of the seminar is that architecture can be used as a design tool to connect materials, mechanics, and function. By controlling structure from the nanoscale to the microscale, we aim to understand how architecture influences material response and how this understanding can guide the development of future energy-storage, sensing, and responsive device platforms.

About the Speaker

Mahdi Hamidi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta, with a cross-appointment in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He leads the NanoEngineering for Advanced Integrated Materials lab, nanoAIM, where his group studies the mechanics, manufacturing, and functional response of nanostructured materials. His research uses this understanding to design nanoarchitected materials and microdevices for energy storage, sensing, and microactuation.

He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2019, where he worked on advanced manufacturing and structure–property relationships in multifunctional polymer nanocomposites. He later held research positions at the University of Toronto, UC Berkeley, and the University of Cambridge, working on nanomechanics of polymer nanofilms, interfacial behavior of two-dimensional materials, scalable nanomanufacturing, and three-dimensional nanoarchitectures for energy storage and microactuation. His current work combines experimental nanomechanics, micro/nanofabrication, electrochemical materials, and architected structures to develop materials platforms for emerging applications in energy and responsive microdevices.

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