Seminar: Stephen Furst, Smart Material Solutions

Biomimicry and Beyond: How Nano-Scale Texturing Can Enhance A Material’s Nature, and Defy It

Abstract

Smart Material Solutions, LLC (SMS) is a Raleigh, NC, advanced materials startup that is using nanoscale surface texturing to manipulate how a surface interacts with its environment. The company’s core technology, Nanocoining, produces micro- and nanopatterned drum molds for roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography, providing the large-area nanofabrication capabilities needed to transition groundbreaking nanotechnologies from research labs to commercial-scale manufacturing. This seminar will describe how nano-textures affect surface adhesion, wetting, heating and cooling, color, and more to make products that not only mimic nature, but at times defy it. The talk will focus on the company’s work to understand and scale these surfaces to fit market demand. SMS Founder and CEO Stephen Furst, Ph.D. will describe the company’s core Nanocoining process alongside real-world applications studied over the past 9 years at SMS.

Biography

Stephen Furst, Ph.D., is a Mechanical Engineer specializing in precision engineering, nanomanufacturing, and smart materials research. Stephen founded Smart Material Solutions in 2016 to commercialize Nanocoining: a technology that enables fabrication of large-area nanopatterns via roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography, and he currently serves as the company’s CEO. Stephen previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Society of Precision Engineering and as the society’s Precision Manufacturing chair. Stephen completed his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering at NC State in 2007, then his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2009 under the direction of Thomas Dow, Ph.D., at the NC State Precision Engineering Center (PEC). In this lab, the Nanocoining technology was later invented. Stephen began his Ph.D. work in 2009 with Professor Stefan Seelecke at NC State with an emphasis on smart materials research. In 2011, Seelecke left NC State for Saarland University in Germany, enabling Stephen to continue his study abroad in Saarbrücken, Germany. In 2012, Stephen published his dissertation “Design, Fabrication, and Control Methods for Exploiting the Multifunctional Sensing and Actuation Capabilities of Shape Memory Alloy Wires.” He was awarded the highest distinction, Summa cum Laude.