The Macias Rodriguez Group (ACES) is looking for an undergraduate student to work on our FiberMech project. Foods are soft materials with structures at different lengthscales that control physical properties, performance and stability. Some of these structures include fibrillar building blocks. This project aims to unravel the link between structure of gels made of model fibers and their mechanical properties. The student will investigate how gel topology affects its mechanics. This information will be complemented by mechanical measurements conducted by another student(s). Main techniques used will be confocal microscopy, and image analysis using MATLAB, Image J, Python or other software package.
Experience and Requirements:
Image processing experience or strong willingness to learn. Experience with soft materials, willingness to work on model systems representative of complext foods, image processing experience or a strong willingness to learn, and self-initiative.
Interested students should contact bmaciasr@illinois.edu by March 31, 2025.
Flyer
