Engineers Find A New Wrinkle in Research

North Carolina State University researchers in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering are exploring the possible benefits of wrinkles – how to create them, how to control them and how to use them.
Wrinkles, or buckles, in surfaces are typically considered a major design flaw that destroys the usefulness of the surface. In silicon chips, for example, wrinkled surfaces are a defect that sends a chip to the trash. But in the laboratory of Dr. Jan Genzer, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, the wrinkle has become the object of exploration for possible uses.