One of the broader impacts of our research is the significant contribution to workforce development. Through our collaboration with Maneesh K. Gupta (AFRL), one of our PhD students was able to spend a summer at the Air Force Research Laboratory learning new micro-rheological techniques (Fig. 3).

Our protein-based hydrogels were assessed in high throughput using the micro-rheology techniques of multiple particle tracking and differential dynamic microscopy (DDM). DDM was introduced for its applicability in high throughput and automation with minimal user intervention. Through this, a new technique for high-throughput materials characterization was developed, with results guiding designs of future protein variants.

A manuscript detailing the method development and validation is under preparation by the student with continued collaboration ongoing.