Thomas Vasileiou

I joined the ACT in January 2018 as a Research Fellow in Biomimetics. I am interested in applying biomimetics principles in space related problems. Specifically, I am looking into how fungi are able to thrive into high-radiation environments and if it is possible to transfer this knowledge into shielding materials for ionizing radiation. Moreover, I am interested in answering the question if it beneficial to employ aquatic locomotion principles on the robotic exploration of icy water moons.

I have a background in mechanical engineering and I did my PhD at ETH Zurich. During my doctoral thesis, I looked into the effects of substrate elasticity on the water repellency of surfaces (hydrophobicity), taking inspiration from butterfly wings. Moreover, I investigated the application of acoustophoresis in biological procedures.