Post-doctoral researcher Matteo Galli’s work on poroelastic indentation analysis, including nanoindentation analysis, has been published in CMES, Computer Modeling in Engineering and Sciences. The article appears in a special issue of CMES focussing on contact mechanics, and edited by Prof. Selvadurai of McGill University. The paper describes an algorithm for fast analysis of indentation curves, with output parameters including the hydraulic permeability. This work eliminates the need to run reverse-FE models of individual indentation creep load-time plots, and allows for permeability mapping in short time-frames along with modulus mapping. Further, a universal database serves materials with a wide range of material properties, and the utility of the method is demonstrated for materials with kPa (hydrogel) to GPa (bone) elastic modulus values.

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Group member Oliver Hudson has won a share of an international architectural design prize. The group, which formed in the department’s 4D13 Architectural Engineering module, was a mix of architects and engineers. The winning design was for an eco-friendly house powered in part by living algae contained in bioreactors integrated into the house design. This is the second award for this group and this project, previously they were finalists in the Cambridge University Entrepreneurs’ business concept challenge. Congrats to Oliver and his colleagues!

Michelle and Tammy provided mechanical expertise, in the form of nanoindentation testing and analysis, for a collaboration with the group of Molly Stevens at Imperial College London, Dept. of Materials. The study examined, using a wide variety of characterization techniques, the bone-like material formed by embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and differentiated osteoblast cells. Interestingly, the material created by the embryonic stem cells was least “bone-like” while the tissue produced by the adult cells was both bone-like and similar to the osteoblast-derived tissue. Mechanically, there was about an order of magnitude difference between the tissue types, with embryonic cell-derived tissue demonstrating significantly smaller stiffness values compared with the other two groups. A write-up of the study appears in Nature Reports Stem Cells and the paper appeared recently in Nature Materials.

Michelle was recently in Manchester, on a visit hosted by Brian Derby of the University of Manchester’s School of Materials. The visit round up is posted online on their group’s website: http://brianderby.co.uk/

Undergraduate researcher (and medic-in-training) Wesley Chua has had a journal paper accepted based on a summer research (UROP) project in our group in 2007. (At the time it was still to become a group, Wesley was the first researcher working in the OyenLab since it’s establishment at Cambridge!) Wesley’s review, “Do we know the strength of the chorioamnion? A critical review and analysis” will be published in a special supplement of the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology in 2009. Wesley can be spotted in the photos here during his second stint as a UROP.

The internet is abuzz with news of the first space-walking stuffed bears; here in the OyenLab we are so pleased to note that group member Dan Strange (back row, second from the right in the group holiday photo) was part of the teddies in space team. More details here and here.

We had our Dec. 2008 holiday party today, and here is the full group photo:

OyenLab PhD student Oliver Hudson was part of a team that recently won a £100 prize from the Cambridge University Entrepreneurs competition. They were required to write 100 words describing an innovative technology and its business potential. The group now has an opportunity to submit up to 1500 words for a prize of £1000. Congratulations to Oliver!

Michelle’s recent article, “Collagen Mechanics: Learning from Nature” can now be found online here. This was published in Cambridge University’s Research Horizons magazine.