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Mission Statement The objective of the Ortiz research program is to provide a fundamental, multiscale scientific understanding of the mechanical function, quality, and pathology of structural biological materials. Biological materials, such as musculoskeletal and exoskeletal tissues, have developed amazingly complex, hierarchical, heterogeneous nanostructures over millions of years of evolution in order to function properly under the mechanical loads they experience in their environment. The Ortiz research group studies these fascinating materials using expertise in the new field of "nanomechanics"; i.e. the measurement and prediction of extremely small forces within and between nanoscale constituents in order to determine the local origins of macroscopic physical phenomena. Novel experimental and theoretical methods are employed (see Table below) in order to probe and understand fundamental nanoscale surface, bio-, and polymer physics mechanisms and design principles; i.e. how they work in tandem and what universal laws they follow to achieve a particular function. Examples of some of the biological materials studied in the Ortiz research group are provided in the Table below. A quad-tiered approach is taken to achieve this goal which includes; nanomechanics of single cells and their pericellular matrix, individual molecules, biomimetic model systems, and in-tact tissue-level properties (see One-Page Group Summary Powerpoint PDF). The scientific foundation being formed has relevance to both the medical and engineering fields. Nanotechnological methods applied to the field of musculoskeletal tissues and tissue engineering hold great promise for significant and rapid advancements towards tissue repair and/or replacement, improved treatments, and possibly even a cure for people afflicted with diseases such as osteoarthritis. In addition, the discovery of new nanoscale design principles and energy-dissipating mechanisms will enable the production of improved and increasingly advanced biologically-inspired structural engineering materials that exhibit "mechanical property amplification" - that is, dramatic improvements in mechanical properties (e.g. increases in strength and toughness) for a material relative to its constituents. An extended description of the Ortiz research program is posted here (PDF, DOC).
Examples of specific current research interests Selected Recent Papers |
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LATEST GROUP NEWS (*Archived News Here) 09/02/08 · Members of the Ortiz research group will give 9 presentations at the Fall 2008 Materials Research Society Meeting. Check out the schedule here.
08/22/08 · Members of the Ortiz research group traveled to the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Invertebrate Zoology in Washington D.C., met with researchers, viewed their mollusc, dinosaur, and ancient fish armor collections. See all photos here.
A few photos : (Left to right) Christine Ortiz holding ancient armored fish fossil, fractured and repaired shell, Dr. Jerry Harasewych showing draw of samples in mollusc archive, Postdoc Haimin Yao and graduate student Juha Song holding ancient fish armor fossil, Dr. Michael Brett Surman holding sample of Placoderm shoulder armor 07/29/08 · Read the new paper (PDF) by 2008 PhD alumni Ben Bruet and graduate student Juha Song published in the journal Nature Materials "Mechanical design principles of ancient fish armor," which will be featured on the cover (high resolution image here) of the September 2008 issue. This work was a collaboration with Professor Mary Boyce, Department Head in MIT Mechanical Engineering. See photos of our armored fish Polypterus senegalus (1) (2) (3) (4) - he is very cute! Also a high resolution photo of the macroscopic structure of the armor shown below (1) (These images require permission for use). 06/22/08 · The "Future Faculty Workshop" organized by MIT Professor and Chemistry Department Head Tim Swager for underrepresented minority graduate students and postdocs from around the country, held at the MIT Endicott House, June 15th - June 18th. To see photos from the event, please click here for PDF.
06/02/08 · Christine Ortiz attends the second trip for the Defense Science Study Group. Session 2 represents the first foray into the field. The DSSG Members visit Navy, Marine and Army bases on the East Coast. Members fly via Military Air (an Air Force KC-135). The itinerary included : Joint Forces Command (JFCOM); Norfolk, VA, Fleet Forces Command; Norfolk, VA , II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF); Camp Lejune, NC, XVIII Airborne; U.S. Special Operations Command (USASOC); Fort Bragg, NC, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM); U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM); MacDill AFB, FL Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay; Kings Bay, GA. See Photo Album here including photos of Christine Ortiz jumping off a 34' paratrooper training tower at Fort Bragg!
06/01/08 · 15 students leave for three month summer internships in Israel via the MISTI (The MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives) MIT-Israel Program. Christine Ortiz is faculty director of the MIT-Israel program which offers students the opportunity to live and work in Israel (in companies and universities) for extended periods of time, all expenses paid. Students can work in areas such as stem cell-based tissue engineering, advanced electron microscopy, cell biomechanics, nanotechnology, environmental protection and energy conversion systems, and more. The program is open to students at all academic levels (undergraduate + graduate) and post-doctoral researchers. · Read an MIT news article about the program here (includes information on how to apply). · View a powerpoint presentation with further information on the details of the program (includes information on how to apply). · Read the latest MISTI MIT-Israel Progress Report here.
03/31/08 · Congratulations to Hsu-Yi Lee (Ortiz-Grodzinsky Joint Ph.D. Student) who was awarded the Whitaker Health Sciences Fund Fellowship!! It was an extremely competitive evaluation process. The Fellowship covers full tuition, health insurance and a monthly stipend for one year and may be renewed afterwards. Nice work!
01/20/08· Christine Ortiz arrives in Jerusalem, Israel to spend the spring term as a visiting Professor at Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical Center in the Skeletal Biotechnology Laboratory of Professor Dan Gazit. To read a recent Scopus article about Prof. Gazit and the Skeletal Biotechnology Lab, please click for PDF.
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Christine Ortiz in the cockpit of an Air Force KC-135 Jet during landing.
