Dr. Hunter King

Title: Assistant Professor of Polymer Science, Biology, and Physics; BRIC Core Faculty
Dept/Program: School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering & The Department of Biology
Office: GDYR 617
Phone: 330-972-6370
Fax: 330-972-5290
Email: hking@uakron.edu
Website: http://www.mbod-lab.com/

Biography

Hunter King is an experimental soft matter physicist. Prior to joining UAkron as assistant professor of Polymer Science and Biology through the Biomimicry Research and Innovation Center, he was a postdoc in Prof. L. Mahadevan’s group at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, where he investigated mechanical phenomena in biological systems, focusing mostly on termite mound ventilation. He completed his PhD in physics at UMass, Amherst, focusing on mechanical instabilities of thin sheets, under the supervision of Prof. Narayanan Menon.

Research

Mechanics of structures engineered by plants and animals; non-equilibrium and soft matter physics; open-source instrumentation for table-top experiment and field measurement.

Publications

ResearchGate | Ohio Innovation Exchange

• A. Shahrokhian*, J. Feng* and H. King. (2020) Surface morphology enhances deposition efficiency in biomimetic, wind-driven fog collection Journal of the Royal Society Interface 17, 20200038
• N. Weiner, Y. Bhosale, M. Gazzola and H. King. (2019) Perspective: Mechanics of randomly packed filaments – the ’bird nest’ as a metamaterial Journal of Applied Physics 127, 050902 (featured article)
• R. Bogucki, M. Greggila, P. Mallory, J. Feng, K. Siman, B. Khakipoor, H. King, and A. W. Smith. (2019) A 3D-Printable Dual Beam Spectrophotometer with Multiplatform Smartphone Adaptor J. Chem. Ed. 10.1021
• S. Ocko*, H. King* D. Andreen, P. Bardunias, R. Soar, J. S. Turner and L. Mahadevan. (2017) Solar-powered ventilation of African termite mounds. Journal of Experimental Biology 10.1242. (Featured in Inside JEB)
• H. King. (2016) The superorganism behind nature's skyscraper. Laboratory News (Invited feature)
• J. D. Paulsen, E. Hohlfeld, H. King, J. Huang, Z. Qui, T. P. Russell, N. Menon, D. Vella and B. Davidovitch. (2016) Curvature-induced stiffness and the spatial variation of wavelength in wrinkled sheets PNAS 10.1073.
• H. King*, S. Ocko* and L. Mahadevan. (2015). Termite mounds harness diurnal temperature oscillations for ventilation PNAS 10.1073. (Publicity: Harvard Magazine, Science News, CBC's As It Happens interview, Boston Globe)
• J. Chung, H. King, and L. Mahadevan. (2014). Evaporative microclimate driven hygrometers and hygromotors EPL 107, 64002 (U.S. Patent Application No.: 15/358,025, filed November 21, 2016)
• H. King*, R. Schroll*, B. Davidovitch and N. Menon. (2012). A sheet on a drop reveals wrinkling and crumpling as distinct symmetry-breaking instabilities, PNAS (cover) 109.25, 9716-9720. (Publicity: New England Public Radio interview, sciencedaily)
• H. King, R. White, I. Maxwell, and N. Menon. (2011). Inelastic impact of a sphere on a massive plane: Nonmonotonic velocity-dependence of the restitution coefficient, EPL 93, 14002.

Education

• 2012 PhD Physics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• 2006 M.S. Physics, Bogazici University, Istanbul
• 2002 B.S. Physics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst