Abdon Pena-Francesch
Assistant Professor
Contact Information
Email: abdon@umich.edu
Office Location: 3007E NCRC B28
Currently Teaching
Biography
Our research is centered around biomaterials science, polymer chemistry, soft matter physics, and nanotechnology, with focus on exploring biology to develop advanced and programmable soft materials for robotic applications in healthcare, bioengineering, and environmental science. We are driven by engineering at the molecular, nano-, and microscale to program the materials structure and properties, and to encode advanced functionalities. We are building an interdisciplinary and collaborative research group with focus on both fundamental and applied research (including materials design, synthesis, characterization, modeling, and engineering applications).
Education
- Ph.D., Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, 2017
- M.Sc., Chemical Engineering, Institut QuÃmic de Sarrià (Barcelona, Spain), 2013
- B.Sc., Mechanical Engineering, Institut QuÃmic de Sarrià (Barcelona, Spain), 2011
Research Overview
Awards & Service
Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation), 2018 – 2020 Alumni Association Dissertation Award, Distinguished Doctoral Scholar Medal (Penn State University), 2017 NIST Center for Neutron Research Summer School Travel Award (NIST), 2017 Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award (Penn State University), 2016 Penn State Inventor Incentive Award (Penn State University), 2016 Graduate Student Award. Materials Research Society (MRS), 2016 American Conference on Neutron Scattering Travel Award (ACNS), 2016 First prize award at Engineering Science and Mechanics Graduate Research Symposium (Penn State University), 2015 Sabih and Güler Hayek Graduate Scholarship (Penn State University) 2014 – 2017 NSF Fellow, International Summer School on Biocomplexity. (BoÄŸaziçi University), 2014 P. Salvador Gil Award to Best Master Thesis (Institut QuÃmic de Sarrià ), 2013 AGAUR MOBINT Fellowship (Government of Catalunya), 2012
Prior Experience
2018-2020 Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow)