University of Akron researcher Hendrik Heinz, an assistant professor of polymer engineering, is accessing the systems of the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) to study the process of biomineralisation. Heinz is utilising advanced modelling and simulation techniques to more precisely understand how organic materials bond to inorganic materials - a natural phenomenon that if harnessed could lead to the design of composite materials and devices for applications such as bone replacement, sensing systems, efficient energy generation and treatment of diseases.
‘Advances in materials science, such as in biomedical and energy conversion devices, increasingly rely on computational techniques and modelling,’ said Heinz. ‘In particular, interfaces at the nanoscale are difficult to characterise experimentally, such as charge transport mechanisms in solar cells, the formation of biominerals and self-assembly of polymers in multi-component materials. Model building and simulation are critical to understanding dynamic processes across the length and time scales.’
