Vallabh Ramesh
duPont Manual Magnet High School
Louisville, KY
Next-Gen Smart Materials: Thermo-Responsive and Conductive 3D Printable Polymer Gels
Vallabh Ramesh, 18, of Louisville, developed a smart gel that solidifies at body temperature for biomedical applications for his Regeneron Science Talent Search materials science project.
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Smart materials — which undergo microscopic changes in response to stimuli — are used in medicine today, but they need expensive 3D printers to turn them into complex structures for applications like tissue engineering, drug delivery and soft robotics. Through experimentation, Vallabh discovered the optimal concentration of components to create a gel that could be used in low-cost printers.
At first, he 3D printed structures like jaws to demonstrate their application. Then he made smart gel “pouches” that released chemicals over time to demonstrate drug delivery. He also showed how the gel could be used as a heat sink for electronics and as a conductive material that was better than commercial gels. With more testing and research, Vallabh’s gel could help improve personalized medicine.
The child of Shoba Hariharan and Ramesh Subramanian, Vallabh attends duPont Manual High School, where he leads the school’s rocketry team.
Beyond the Project
Vallabh founded a school club that later became the nonprofit Cognitive Connections, an agency that sends volunteers to visit seniors at care facilities and helps with fundraising for dementia research.
FUN FACTS: Vallabh loves design, particularly making digital wallpapers. He likes to experiment with early 2010s technology aesthetics in his designs.
