Mosquito paper published!
What if you could make disease-transmitting mosquitoes unhappy without killing them or other organisms? What if you could convince them to live away from humans. The DREAM Lab might just have the answer! Letícia’s latest paper shows that there is a natural limit to how smooth a surface can be before mosquitoes just can’t grip… Read more »
Two more BEAMS papers
The DREAM Lab has just published two more studies on our metallic de-icing technology BEAMS. In “Durable Metallic Surfaces Capable of Passive and Active De-icing” Kamran and co-authors explored transforming BEAMS from a passive to an active de-icing technology. Now BEAMS is capable of de-icing passively, using pressurized air (like a de-icing boot), and using… Read more »
Global SEED Project Featured
The DREAM Lab was recently awarded a SEED grant from the Centre for Global Engineering at the University of Toronto on the development of anti-mosquito paint. We’re super excited to continue to try and contribute towards the fight against vector transmitted diseases like malaria, dengue, and zika. Link to story: https://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/mosquito-repellent-paint-among-five-projects-funded-by-cgen-seed-grant-program/
Snow-phobic surfaces
Our latest study has just been published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. We’ve figured out how to synergistically combine the properties of thermal insulation with superhydrophobicity in order to fabricate surfaces that snow cannot re-freeze (and therefore stick) to! Excellent work Xiaoxiao, Kamran, and Cory! Check out: Thermal Insulation and Superhydrophobicity Synergies for Passive… Read more »
Face Mask Feature
Prof. Golovin sat down with Lynsey Mellon to discuss the DREAM Lab’s latest research on face mask discomfort. The story even made it to the front page of the entire university! https://www.utoronto.ca/news/are-more-protective-masks-less-comfortable-not-long-they-fit-properly-study-finds
Face Mask Paper
Face masks have become a staple in our lives over the past few years. Anecdotally, there appears to be an inverse consensus between mask protection and mask comfort, i.e. the safer the mask the more uncomfortable it will be. Is this actually the case? Well, we put it to the test! While all face masks… Read more »
Crosslinking PDMS brushes!
Our collaborative work with the Wulff group at UVic has finally been published in the Chemical Engineering Journal! We’ve found a way to crosslink inert PDMS brushes, one of the group’s favourite technologies that we’ve developed. Crosslinking improves the mechanical resilience of the brushes and maintains their omniphobic and anti-fouling properties. Great work Xiaoxiao and… Read more »
Qimeng joins the DREAM Lab
We are pleased to welcome Qimeng Yang to the DREAM Laboratory. Qimeng did his MASc at the University of Alberta with Prof. Xuehua Zhang, and received his BS in Materials Engineering from University of Science and Technology Beijing. Qimeng is co-supervised by Dr. Ali Dolatabadi here at the University of Toronto and will be developing… Read more »
Kirigami work published!
Sonia’s excellent study using Kirigami surfaces as a platform technology to lower the adhesion of many different fouling substances, including ice, wax, mud, and a bio-foulant simulant, has been published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces! We call this technology SKINS: Suspended (allowed to flex and mimic the deformation of wrinkling films) Kirigami (the ancient… Read more »
BEAMS makes the Inside Cover Photo!
The awesome image put together by Cory, Behrooz, and Kamran has been selected as the Inside Cover Photo for this issue of Advanced Materials Interfaces. Super cool guys! https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/admi.202270002
