Dr Khaled Saoud, a physics professor at the Liberal Arts and Science Program, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) in Education City, a Qatar Foundation (QF) partner university, has been awarded a Technology Development Fund (TDF) grant from Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) for his development of an aerogel resin for 3D printing.
The technology will allow the production of personalised medical products and devices such as prosthetic hands, legs, joints, dental implants and hearing aids, according to a press statement.
“I am excited about this project and expect that this technology will solve many problems in the medical field and aerospace industry by providing a robust aerogel resin formulation, which makes ultralight, strong materials that can be applied in a multitude of ways,” Saoud explained, adding that he aims to develop and optimise the resin, based on a silica aerogel/polymer composite, for stereolithography-based 3D printing technology.
The resin will enable the 3D printing of a strong, ultra-light, flexible, highly porous, biodegradable, biocompatible product with minimum shrinkage, using rapid prototyping capability, the statement noted. It will also pave the way for 3D printing of different types of porous materials such as graphene aerogel and metal organic framework.
The TDF provides gap funding for early-stage, promising technologies that may be further developed to increase their commercialisation potential. The objective is also to build a robust, valuable intellectual property portfolio in Qatar’s priority research areas.
Dr Michael Rao, president of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and the VCU Health System, praised Saoud for his work.
“This is an outstanding accomplishment and I know you are as proud and excited as we all are for you. Thank you for all that you do on behalf of VCU and again, congratulations on the award.”
“The objective of the Technology Development Fund is to make market-driven technologies less risky and more attractive to potential licencees,” said Abeer al-Hammadi, director of Innovation and Economic Development, QF RDI. “We are delighted to provide such funds to the state-of-the art aerogel technology developed by Dr Khaled at VCUarts Qatar. The technology so far has attracted many entrepreneurs and private players in different applications.”
Find out more about VCUarts Qatar at qatar.vcu.edu
Dr Khaled Saoud
