Institute for Functional and Regenerative Materials

The Institute for Functional and Regenerative Materials fosters and grows the collaborative work of researchers across colleges to accelerate, advance and apply the discovery of materials with direct applications to improving our lives, environment, and health.

David McComb
Director of the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS)
Ohio Research Scholar and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
The Ohio State University

April 24, 2025 | 3:30 PM
Lecture Center D5 (UIC East Campus, Quad)

Title: Determining molecular functionality using electron energy-loss spectroscopy in the scanning transmission electron microscope.

David McComb has extensive experience in the application of EELS to the study of problems in sold-state chemistry and materials science, including structural and compositional variations in high-k oxides, short range magnetic order in transition metal oxides, interfaces in fuel cells, photovoltaics, multiferroics and biomaterials. In recent years, he has focused his attention on developing and implementing approaches to studying organic and molecular systems using these methods. He has demonstrated that these methods can be used to obtain unique insights into materials such on polymers for organic photovoltaics, biomineralized tissues, amyloid plaques, wear particles in macrophage cells associated with metal hip implants, molecular fragments associated with degradation of carbon nanotubes in cells and mechanisms for early stage mineralization processes.

The pilot Institute for Functional and Regenerative Materials brings together faculty from the colleges of engineering, liberal arts and sciences, dentistry, pharmacy and medicine. Their focus will draw on UIC’s interdisciplinary expertise and world-class research facilities to design and test new materials that have promise for medical treatments, environmental remediation and energy storage.

The initiative’s research will combine functional imaging — developing new advanced microscopy techniques to characterize the structure of adaptive, smart and biological materials — with the invention of functional biomaterials. These novel materials could be used to regenerate tissue, heal wounds, treat disease or create new laboratory models to test drugs.

The group will soon begin a search for postdoctoral researchers, and they plan to start a symposium and speaker series later this year. The pilot institute is co-directed by Eben Alsberg, Richard and Loan Hill Chair of biomedical engineering; Luisa DiPietro, professor of periodontics; and Robert Klie, professor and head of physics.

• Pilot research institutes kindle interdisciplinary activity across UIC (by Rob Mitchum)