2009-02-03
Dr. Delphine Gourdon will become the newest addition to the MS&E faculty this summer, when she joins our department as Assistant Professor in July 2009. Gourdon comes to Cornell from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), where she currently works in Biologically Oriented Materials.
Gourdon graduated in Physics at ETH Lausanne in 1999. For the last eight years (mostly spent at UC Santa Barbara), she has been addressing a variety of research issues in the fields of nanomechanics, nanotribology, thin-fims lubrication, surface science, fracture mechanics, non-equilibrium processes, and polymer science, with an emphasis the past four years on biomaterials science (including biopolymer science, cell culture and protein labeling). Her latest research topics, i.e. the bio-adhesion and bio-lubrication by nano-films of adhesive proteins and polysaccharides suggest that nature uses many tricks worth unraveling and mimicking in order to produce ultra-thin films with outstanding and unique properties (such as permanent and non-specific adhesion, anti-corrosion or ultra-low friction).
More recently at ETH Zurich, Gourdon has been working on cell adhesion and extracellular matrix assembly, focusing on the mechano-transducer protein: fibronectin. Using a combination of Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), fibronectin conformations are studied in matrix fibers of living cells to reveal the mechanisms of matrix elasticity and the dynamics of fibers assembly.
She also supervises and teaches a course for Diploma students entitled: “Materials for Biology and Medicine.”