Adhesion and Friction in Extreme Conditions and Translation to Practical Applications

The 2019 GRC/GRS on the Science of Adhesion will focus on outstanding challenges in understanding adhesion and friction in extreme conditions. The sessions will cover theoretical/simulation models to understand adhesion/friction on rough/wet surfaces; experimental measurements under these extreme conditions; understanding gained from biological systems that have to deal with challenging environmental conditions; and novel synthetic adhesives designed for these extreme conditions. The main objective of the meeting is to foster discussion between theorists working on new models for adhesion/friction; experimentalist testing relevant systems; and inspiration of new design/chemistry that comes from biological systems that outperform synthetic adhesives in these extreme conditions. Some of the presentations will be more application driven, including bioinspired adhesives, biomedical adhesives, and haptic sensors for robotics.