Dr. Chelsea Heveran
Name and Position:
Chelsea Heveran
Assistant Professor, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department
Group Website: https://www.montana.edu/heveranlab/
What was your central research questions?
Skeletal effects of aging and disease, hierarchical natural composites, data-driven materials design, biomimetic materials design
What motivates or inspires your research?
I am inspired by the beauty of bone. Bone self-assembles into a beautiful hierarchical biomineralized structure that is strong and also tough. I am driven to understand how bone achieves these excellent properties and to understand the role of embedded bone cells in maintaining the quality of the surrounding bone. Using these lessons, we might be able to design living building materials from the ground up that offer more sustainable alternatives to conventional cementitious products.
What is your academic background, and what professional development prepared you to do this research (i.e., what advice to young scientists who might be interested in pursuing this research as a career opportunity?)
I received a BA in Psychology from Lewis and Clark College. I then earned a Master of Engineering in Material Science and Engineering from Boston University. I received my PhD training in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.
What were some of the key research findings, and what was their significance and application?
The Heveran Biomechanics and Bio-inspired Materials Lab has worked to answer some of the following questions:
*Are embedded bone cells a therapeutic target for age-related fragility?
*Can we engineer reusable and recyclable modular building materials using biomineralizing microbes?
*Can biomineralization treatment help us repurpose waste plastic as a reinforcement for concrete?
What was the funding source for this research?
Montana INBRE, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health
Please provide a few recent publications that resulted from your research done at ICAL.
Vahidi, G., Rux, C., Sherk, V. D., & Heveran, C. M. (2020). Lacunar-canalicular bone remodeling: impacts on bone quality and tools for assessment. Bone, 115663.
2019 MONT Photo Contest most stunning submission. Photo done by Chelsea Heveran, PhD; Michael Espinal; Cecily Ryan,PhD; Adrienne Phillips, PhD with a Zeiss Supra 55VP at MSU ICAL.
2019 MONT Photo Contest most stunning submission. Photo done by Chelsea Heveran, PhD;Michael Espinal; Cecily Ryan,PhD; Adrienne Phillips, PhD with a Zeiss Supra 55VP at MSU ICAL.