Ecologically Driven Chemical Design

Ecological design is a popular approach in architecture and industrial design where the relationships between the object (consumer product, building etc.) and its natural environment are emphasized. The Mediated Matter research group at MIT led by Professor Oxman employs the theory of material-based design computation in their projects. According to this theory the design is dictated by structural performance of the product. For instance, in the Stalasso project the mineralization processes is mimicked to produce stronger and aesthetically attractive construction materials. The computer modeling is used to create structure of the object (material) and render its draft. Then the object is manufactured from metal, plastic, and wood or their composites using computerized milling machine.

Green Chemistry
In chemistry ecological design influenced researches leading to development of sustainable or green chemistry. The introduction to green chemistry is given in a book „Green Chemistry „Theory and Practice“ by Paul T. Anastas and John C. Warner. This approach requires the design of chemical processes which minimizes the usage and production of hazardous substances. For example, LS9 Inc. a recipient of The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 2010 created industrial microorganisms to convert fermentable sugars selectively to highly pure diesel fuel providing direct biomass-to-fuel conversion.

Future Directions
As a next step in development of environmentally friendly technologies would be to engineer chemical processes that mimic natural biological pathways to form a product with given functions. Certainly, this is a tough task which may require a lot of time to find the optimal way to make the product. The usage of computer simulations can accelerate the process providing virtual environment to model the chemical pathways, conditions, and properties of materials leading to the desired product.

West Lafayette, Indiana, Dec-2-2011

The Cattail Trail

The new biking season is now open! A few days ago the odometer on my bike has reached 1000 miles. It was a series of short 16 miles rides since last April 2010. There are many nice biking trails with good pavement in West Lafayette around Purdue campus. This season I decided to change the route to make about 20 miles per ride. The new route (see the map below) goes along the Cattail, Northwest Greenway, Nighthawk, and Indian trails. It is a perfect place for watching the wildlife: geese, ducks, herons, hawks, the ubiquitous squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and even deer.

My new route: 20 miles

On the way to the Cattail trail

West Lafayette, Indiana, Apr-17-2011

The Music Animation Machine

The visualization algorithm invented by Stephen Malinowski in his Music Animation Machine is completely different from other sound visualization techniques. It can actually show you the structure of music with all the twists of melodic voices. I think, for visual learners the music animation machine has powerful teaching potential. Interestingly, that Stephen started this project in 70s, so the program has 40 years long history of development!



West Lafayette, Indiana, Apr-16-2011