Malica Schmidt wins ‘Research Images as Art / Art Images as Research’ competition 2020

From over 305 images, PhD candidate Malica Schmidt from the Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering (CNIE) and the Department of Chemical Engineering has won the ‘Research Images as Art / Art Images as Research’ competition 2020 organised by the UCL Doctoral School. Her winning image "Sustainable Life Support" shows a water droplet on a nature-inspired multi-functional surface. Malica created these 3D micro-printed surface structures, which absorb excess atmospheric moisture from the air and transport it passively by capillary action, to tackle issues of water recycling in extreme environments on Earth and in space. The aim of her research is to leverage passive hydrodynamic processes, often utilised in nature, and hereby achieve a reduction in energy consumption for sustainable water reuse to support life on Earth and under conditions present on the International Space Station (ISS), as well as future space missions to Moon, Mars, and beyond.