Laboratory for X-ray characterization of materials

The focus of our research is in the development of X-ray scattering and imaging techniques in order to understand the functional properties conveyed by the alignment of nanostructure entities, in particular of soft matter and biological tissues. We are developing 6D computed tomography techniques, called tensor tomography, which allow to obtain information about the underlying nanostructure or crystalline texture within each voxel of the tomogram. Additionally, we develop complementary visible light methods, in which we obtain alignment information of ultrastructure with tomographic Mueller polarimetric microscopy.
In the area of biological tissues we investigate how adaptations in the nanostructure are supporting a variety of functions, examples include the fast release of the chameleon tongue, the flexibility and acrobatic jumps enabled by frog bones, the swimming stability of shark vertebra or the magestic display of Narhwal tusks. In collaboration with biomedical research groups we investigate how soft and hard tissue nanostructure is affected in trauma and diseases. In the area of man-made materials, we investigate the hierarchical structure of injection-molded polymers, both synthethic polymers and ligno-cellulose based sustainable alternatives. We also investigate the structure of reinforced composites containing carbon-fibers and aramid fibers.

Our research group is located at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen, Switzerland in the Center of Photon Science. We welcome semester projects as well as Bachelor and Master thesis projects, and offer the possibility to work remotely from EPFL depending on the project. See list of specific projects or contact [email protected] for more details.