Call for Papers

Please contact the symposium organizers with questions.

Electronics and robotics are ubiquitous and among the fastest-growing sectors. They enabled striking benefits to mankind such as increased efficiency and automation, enhanced safety and security and advancements in medicine, energy, agriculture, education and many other fields. However, there is a mounting problem related to plastics in the electronics and robotics industries, especially considering the thousands of tons of electronic and robotic waste (e-/bot-waste) generated at the device's end of life. Traditional plastics are petroleum-based, they display a prolonged environmental lifespan, and are commonly incinerated upon disposal. One solution to this pressing issue lies in the adoption of polymers that are biobased and/or biodegradable. Many biopolymers are notable for being compostable and recyclable, offering multiple options to avoid landfilling at the conclusion of their life cycle. The significance of biopolymers has become paramount in addressing the issue of e-/bot-waste, which needs a collaborative effort among the realms of materials science, electronics, robotics, and sensors. This synergy highlights the potential for the creation of environmentally friendly components for electronics and robotics. Promising examples can be found in established research fields such as soft robotics and flexible electronics but also include emerging areas such as biodegradable sensors for environmental monitoring, edible electronics and robotics, and underwater robots. The symposium will be a focal point for the in-depth exploration of these research fields. The focus of this symposium will be on both fundamental and applied research in the realm of biopolymers, with potential applications in the fields of electronics and robotics. It will span a broad spectrum of research areas, encompassing advances in green chemistry, polymer science, composite development, sensors design and engineering, sustainable manufacturing, green electronics, and the seamless integration of these innovative solutions into robots. The symposium's topic of interest comprises a wide variety of topics, including but not limited to biopolymer-based basic electronic materials like dielectrics, conductors, and semiconductors, devices crafted from biobased and biodegradable materials such as sensors and actuators, and structural components for electronics and robotics such as printed circuit boards and encasements. Biopolymer-based energy sources, supercapacitors, and energy harvesting systems such as triboelectric generators and solar cells, as well as biomass-based devices and edible electronic and robotic systems will also be of interest. This symposium offers a unique platform for researchers from diverse backgrounds in materials synthesis, electronics, robotics, and device and sensor fabrication to converge and collectively work toward reducing reliance on petroleum-derived materials. This collective effort aims to establish the groundwork for a more sustainable future in the realms of electronics and robotics.

Topics will include:

• Innovative use of biopolymers as building blocks for dielectrics, electrical conductors, and semiconductors.
• Biopolymer-based composites for electronics and robotics.
• Degradable robotic components: towards zero waste electronics and robotics.
• Biopolymers engineering for transient electronics.
• Biopolymer-based actuators for soft robotics.
• Haptic feedback systems from biopolymers.
• Biopolymer-based additive manufacturing for electronics.
• Biopolymer-based hydrogels used for electronics, sensors, and robotics.
• Recyclable electronics and robotics.
• Sustainable and green manufacturing.

Invited Speakers (tentative):

• Ana Claudia Arias (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
• Emiliano Bilotti (Imperial College London, United Kingdom)
• Mario Caironi (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy)
• Kenjiro Fukuda (RIKEN, Japan)
• Francesco Greco (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Italy)
• Suk-Won Hwang (Korea University, Republic of Korea)
• Martin Kaltenbrunner (Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Austria)
• Nicholas Kotov (University of Michigan, USA)
• Danielle Mai (Stanford University, USA)
• Denys Makarov (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany)
• George Malliaras (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom)
• Abdon Pena-Francesch (University of Michigan, USA)
• Luisa Petti (Libera Università di Bolzano, Italy)
• Ritu Raman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
• Eleni Stavrinidou (Linköping University, Sweden)
• Yu Jun Tan (National University of Singapore, Singapore)
• Helen Tran (University of Toronto, USA)

Symposium Organizers