Additive manufacturing holds incredible potential to change the way we design and manufacture materials. However, its utility has been hampered by the limited library of functional materials compatible with it. In this talk, I will show how 3D printed hydrogels infused with metal ions can be used to fabricate a wide variety of architected functional materials and devices. Furthermore, I will demonstrate how infusion of these hydrogels opens a new paradigm of manufacturing — where the material is selected after the structure/part is produced. The ability to fabricate these functional materials with high resolutions paves the way towards the next generation of 3D devices.

Prof. Daryl Yee is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering at EPFL Switzerland, where he leads the Laboratory for the Chemistry of Materials and Manufacturing. His research group focuses on integrating molecular design, materials science, and advanced manufacturing to engineer functional architected materials and devices. He is also broadly interested in 3D printing weird and difficult materials.

Prior to joining EPFL in 2023, Prof. Yee was a postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. He obtained his PhD from the California Institute of Technology, USA in 2020.