ABSTRACT：

    In last several years, a great deal of research and development efforts has been dedicated to a relative new field of electroresponsive or electroactive polymers (EAPs). The EAPs are polymers whose shape changes with external electric field. The newly developed EAPs exhibit a much higher strain response, which provides new opportunities for developing high performance actuators and sensors. This talk covers four parts: (1) fundamental physics of electromechanical effect; (2) physics of EAPs; (3) structure and property of newly developed EAPs; and (4) applications of the EAPs.

    A new mechanism ? interfacial layer, which is response for the high electromechanical performance of some EAPs, is introduced. The structure and properties of various EAPs are compared to provide a database for developing new EAPs and designing new devices based on EAPs. The applications of EAPs in MEMS and high performance actuators/sensors are discussed using a few examples.

Brief Biography：

Dr. Cheng earned his PhD from Xian Jiaotong University in 1995. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Materials Engineering / Mechanical Engineering Department at Auburn University and is a core member of Auburn University Detection and Food Safety Center. He authored more than 60 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals and has two grated US patents and two pending US patents about new EAPs and biosensors. He has edited two conference proceedings and two chapters in books. He has delivered more than 10 invited talks in international conferences. Dr. Cheng is a receptor of International Union of Crystallography Young Scientist Award (Vienna, 1996) and a receptor of the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (2006). He has been chairing/organizing the symposiums/conferences for MRS and SPIE.