Polymer engineering for solid-state heating/refrigeration

Support a pilot project that utilizes unique equipment in Ukraine to improve MIT-engineered polymer fibers to replace HVAC technology with a high-efficiency sustainable solid-state alternative.

Replacement of conventional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) technologies with solid-state mechanocaloric alternatives holds promise of both increasing their energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. State-of-the-art mechanocaloric metal shape-memory alloys have high cost and require high actuating forces, while cross-linked
polymer thermosets exhibit large actuating deformations, poor cycling stability, and generate non-recyclable waste.

Understanding and engineering thermo-mechanical properties of polymers is crucial for advancing passive and active solid-state cooling technologies and heat pumps. This research also has many security-related applications, including achieving thermal comfort of field personnel and electronics, safe storage and preparation of food rations, as well as overall energy efficiency and global sustainability.

Image credits: Duo Xu, You Lyu & Buxuan Li

Hydrogel engineering for healthcare & atmospheric water collection

Hydrogels with engineered moisture transport and toughness are needed for medical research and fresh water harvesting technologies. Pilot collaborative MIT projects with Ukrainian academia and start-ups need help to advance this important research.

Many communities worldwide experience fresh water shortage, which inhibits their land development and creates harsh humanitarian conditions. More than half of Mexico’s territory lie in the arid/semi-arid zones, while the situation is even more dire in Middle East, where most of land is arid. In southern Ukraine, desertification of thousands of hectares of fertile steppe land may be in progress following the breach of the Kakhovka Dam by the Russian army in 2023, with potentially grave consequences for the world food supply.

Fortunately, the Earth atmosphere provides a vast resource of fresh water, and atmospheric water harvesting technologies can operate in arid climates and in regions where large-scale installations are impractical by economic or security reasons. Collaborative projects between MIT and groups in Ukraine, Mexico and Israel aim to advance development of moisture-managing soft materials for water capture and medical applications, including wound treatment and drug delivery.

Research support credit: MIT J-WAFS Center, MISTI Israel Seed Fund & MIT-Ukraine through The Global MIT At-Risk Fellows (GMAF) Program; Image credit: Ikra Shuvo & Felice Frankel.

Strain-engineered radiation shielding and cladding materials

Nuclear technology plays a key role in the global clean energy transition and will help to secure a new energy future of post-war Ukraine. Support joint MIT-Ukraine projects addressing technologies that might shape the future of humankind by enabling energy security and space travel.

Studies of materials interactions with ionizing radiation (energetic electrons, protons, gamma rays, neutrons, etc.) are important for developing fundamental understanding of material properties, studying materials degradation in extreme environments, and for the development of new radiation shielding and cladding materials for terrestrial and space applications. Evaluation of corrosion in cladding materials considered for use in the next-generation nuclear reactors is the key step to prevent their malfunction. On the other hand, strain and crystallinity engineering in polymer-based radiation shields can help to not only advance terrestrial energy sector but also enable space exploration, including manned missions to Moon and Mars.

Research support credit: MIT MISTI Czech Republic Seed Fund