Mechanical engineers in the Meza Research Group at the University of Washington draw inspiration from natural structures to develop new materials.
Q&A: A UW materials lab probes the mysteries of toughness at the nanoscale
Category: Scalable Nanomanufacturing
A broad field with immediate opportunities for translational research, with specific emphasis on large-scale nanosystems for developing low-cost, high-volume nanomanufacturing solutions and bio-3D-printing for cell, tissue, and scaffold printing.
UW nanoengineers win first prize at national NanoTechnology Entrepreneurship Challenge
On June 10, 2025, Anmol Purohit, Dr. Ji Feng, and Almond Lau won first prize at the NNCI NTEC Showcase for their project, “Synthesis of metal-organic framework particles for removal of short and ultra-short chain PFAS from water”.
New ‘liquid metal’ composite material enables recyclable, flexible and reconfigurable electronics
Researchers in Mo Malakooti’s lab (mechanical engineering) have created a recyclable, flexible and self-healing composite material that could replace traditional circuit boards in future generations of wearable electronics.
Ultra-flat optic pushes beyond what was previously thought possible
In a first-of-its-kind achievement, a team of researchers at the University of Washington and Princeton University, co-led by NanoES faculty member Arka Majumdar (electrical & computer engineering, physics) and including NanoES director Karl Böhringer (ECE, bioengineering), has shown that a camera containing a large aperture, ultra-flat optic can record high-quality color images and video comparable to what can be captured with a conventional camera lens. The metalens, developed at the Washington Nanofabrication Facility (WNF), is hundreds of times smaller and thinner than a conventional camera lens, offering substantial savings in volume, weight, and device battery life.
Mo Malakooti — shaping the future of recyclable electronics
NanoES faculty member Mohammad Malakooti (mechanical engineering) has received the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award to advance sustainable manufacturing of flexible electronics.
A new framework for manufacturing next-gen materials
UW researchers have developed a novel method of synthesizing metal-organic frameworks that is fast, cheap, and sustainable.
NSF supports research into why nanofoams are full of surprises
Bubbles for toughness? ME and A&A researchers, including NanoES faculty member Lucas Meza, are collaborating to investigate and advance nanofoams, a new tiny but mighty material.
Building a career at the nanoscale
Ana Constantin joins Facebook after three years of undergraduate and professional experience at the Washington Nanofabrication Facility.
A culture of collaboration
UW Bioengineering faculty pivot diagnostics research to support the need for COVID-19 testing. The Lutz and Yager labs have developed prototypes that deliver results in less than 30 minutes, and the groups have also assembled 35,000 tests for the Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network at the NanoES building.
Break it up: Polymer derived from material in shrimp’s shells could deliver anti-cancer drugs to tumor sites
Earlier this year, UW scientists announced a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system that can ferry a potent anti-cancer drug through the bloodstream safely. The nanoparticle is derived from chitin, a natural and organic polymer that makes up the outer shells of shrimp.