Caltech Together: Silicon Valley
“Smart Structures—Self-Sensing, Energy Generating, and Shielding”
Thursday, February 19, 2026
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
To attend, please click this link to register for the webinar.
Following the webinar, join us for a post-event social via Zoom, where you’ll have the opportunity to mingle with fellow alumni and speak with the presenter. We look forward to seeing you!
Peter Tong
“Smart Structures—Self-Sensing, Energy Generating, and Shielding”
by Deborah D.L. Chung, Caltech’s 2025 Distinguished Award Alumni
Structural electronics refer to electronic functions provided by structures, such as aircrafts, buildings, and 3D-printed structures.
An example is structural self-sensing, i.e., a structure monitoring its own health with no additional sensors. Other examples include energy generation and electromagnetic radiation shielding. Such functions render a smart structure.
The underlying science involves understanding the relationship between the structure and the properties of its material—a relationship well established for mechanical properties, but not electronic properties.
In this talk, I will explain the electronic properties of structural materials, an area that has long escaped the attention of the research community.
About the Speaker
Deborah D.L. Chung is the State University of New York Distinguished Professor in University at Buffalo (UB). She received her PhD in Materials Science from MIT (1977), and her BS and MS from Caltech (1973), being the first female BS engineering graduate of Caltech.
She is a pioneer and international leader in the fields of multifunctional structural materials, thermal interface materials, and electromagnetic interference shielding materials. In particular, she is the inventor of smart concrete.
She has authored or coauthored over 600 archival journal papers and 10 books.
Deborah is Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of American Carbon Society, and Fellow of ASM International. Other honors received include UB President’s Medal; Honorary Doctorate from University of Alicante, Spain; and Pettinos Award from American Carbon Society.
She is also one of Caltech’s 2025 Distinguished Award Alumni.
To attend, please click this link to register for the webinar.
Our Alumni Volunteers
The following alumni work together to serve you: Avni Gandhi, Dave Adler, Jane Frommer, Ralph Pursifull, Susan Huynh, and Peter Tong.