Curious observations can often inspirepeople to come up with new hypotheses and define new problems in research. I will ask a few such questions to stimulate discussions about materials we see and use in daily life. For example, disposal utensils are used in massive quantities, especially in China. However, materials selection for different types of disposable utensils has been quite intriguing. For example, disposable chopsticks are most commonly made of wood and bamboo, while disposable spoons, forks and knives are nearly always made of plastics. I would like to hear your thoughts about why such material selections are determined, and whether they should be and can be changed.

Biography

Jiaxing Huang is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University. He received his B.S. degree in Chemical Physics from USTC, Ph.D. in Chemistry from UCLA, and became a Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley before joining Northwestern in 2007. In research, his group uses chemical principles and tools to discover new materials, advance materials processing, and make materials innovations for better living. Some recent examples include carbon based nanomaterials, clay minerals, and novel colloidal particles for energy storage, water treatments and even safer cosmetics. Through teaching, they aim todevelop intuition, inspire creativity and bring the best out of students and themselves. His work has been recognized by awards from the National Science Foundation, the Sloan Foundation, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the American Vacuum Society, and the International Aerosol Research Assembly. He is included in the lists of Highly Cited Researchers (Thompson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics) and Most Cited Researchers in Materials Science and Engineering (Elsevier). He isalsoa recipient of theGuggenheim Fellowship, the JSPS Fellowship from Japan and the Humboldt Research Award from Germany.