LIFD Early Career Researcher Spotlight: Francis Dent

Our monthly spotlight on the work and lives of the researchers from the Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics

This month: Francis Dent

Thesis title: Design and Fabrication of Biomimetic Nano-Patterned Surfaces Using Fluid-Based Self-Assembly Techniques

School/ Faculty: School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Supervisors: Dr Sepideh Khodaparast, Dr Nicholas Warren

Tell us a bit about yourself:
My name is Francis and I’m a second year PhD student. I did my undergrad here in Leeds and loved the city so much that I am apparently still clinging to university. I enjoyed completing research in my summers and so PhD study seemed like a good next step for me. I have always been fascinated by the unexpectedness of research, and love the creativity in the exploration and the discussion that comes with it.

When I’m not in the lab, I like doing what most other students do – going to the pub and complaining about how much I spend in the pub. I am originally from Devon and enjoy the outdoors and going surfing.

What is your research about?
My research is inspired by the unique material effects that we observe from the surfaces of different insect wings. On the nanoscale, protruding features such as tiny close-packed pillars (cicada insects) facilitate enhanced functionality from super-hydrophobicity to antibacterial properties. Research has shown that these effects are not necessarily intrinsic material properties, but are often governed by the unique topographical architecture. By replicating similar patterns onto substrates of our choosing, we can exploit these phenomena in far-reaching applications ranging from photonics to medical technology. In particular, I am exploring dynamic, interfacial self-assembly patterning techniques which rely on different surface instabilities to facilitate large-scale patterning. Using this approach, we can fabricate features similar in size and shape to the biological muse, but ultimately in a low cost and scalable manner.

The wing of a cicada and the nano-patterned surface visualised through scanning electron microscopy (top and right). Lab-made surface using the self-assembly of growth of droplets to pattern a polymer pre-curser (bottom and left).

What did you wish you knew before starting a PhD?
Research is about solving problems and reaching new conclusions. The manner in which we innovate and explore new phenomena thus means that it is never going to be plain sailing. Ultimately, it takes experiments to fail and things to not always go to plan to learn the right from wrong and develop our thinking. As Einstein said, ‘If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?’.

Don’t be discouraged when things go wrong because if everything always goes right, you have to be doing something wrong.

What are your plans for the future?
I have a long way to go before finishing and writing up my PhD, but after that I hope to do a postdoc at a different university before potentially dipping my toe into industry. Bear in mind this plan is subject to change at least another 50 times before I finish my thesis…