NSF Awards ERI Grant for Evaluating Bio-3D-printed Constructs

August 11, 2023

The Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation of the NSF has recently awarded an Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) grant of $200K to Dr. Jinki Kim, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing at Georgia Southern University.  Dr. Kim will lead the project, ERI: Nondestructive in-situ Evaluation of Bio-printed Constructs Using Video-based Vibrometry.  

The ERI grant will support fundamental research that aims to establish non-contact vibration-based monitoring strategies (“vibrometry”) to identify structural defects of 3D printed bio-constructs.  Bio-constructs are design methods and processes invented and developed under the influence of biological systems, i.e., bio-inspired and bio-fabricated design.

The research outcome is expected to create broad socioeconomic impacts on public health and biomedical fields by realizing the potential of bio-additive manufacturing (bio-AM) and strengthening U.S. competitiveness in the bioeconomy.  “On September 12, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration announced key steps to advance biotechnology and biomanufacturing in the United States through the Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy. USDA supports the development of circular bioeconomies, where agricultural resources are harvested, consumed, and regenerated in a sustainable manner. This approach can also create new revenue streams for agricultural producers and ensure that wealth and other economic benefits in the form of jobs and other opportunities are created, and stay, in rural communities.”

Dr. Kim’s integrated research and educational program, aligned with the national priorities of biomanufacturing and biotechnology, will stimulate student interest in biomanufacturing, expose undergraduate and graduate students to the research frontiers of bio-AM, and prepare the next generation workforce for the bioeconomy.