Dr Saima Aktar Sumaiya

Saima Aktar Sumaiya is a postdoctoral research scientist at Sahin Lab at Columbia University, USA. Saima’s research interests include high resolution surface imaging, nanomechanics and nanotribology. Her current research focuses on studying mechanics of hygroscopic biological materials using atomic force microscopy-based nanomechanical approaches.

Hygroscopic biological materials, ranging from wood to bacterial spores, constitute a substantial portion of the biological realm. Traditionally, these materials have not been considered part of the same class, and the mechanical behavior of some is explained within the context of "poroelasticity". Research conducted at the Sahin lab has unveiled that poroelastic theory falls short in explaining all the traits of these materials. Instead, hydration force (arises from the confinement of water within nanometer-scale gaps) emerges as a dominant factor in dictating their mechanical behavior. Saima’s research at Sahin Lab is part of a broader initiative to identify commonalities in the mechanical behavior of hygroscopic biological materials, despite their significant differences in chemical composition. The aim is to develop a robust theory that predicts both equilibrium and non-equilibrium behavior of different hygroscopic biological materials, potentially categorizing them collectively as "hydration solids," a term coined due to the influence of hydration force in their behavior.

Saima Aktar Sumaiya

Recent AFM-related papers:

• Sumaiya S.A. & Baykara M.Z. (2023) Atomic-scale imaging and spectroscopy via scanning probe microscopy: An overview  J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 41, 060802

• Sumaiya S.A., Demiroglu I., Caylan O.R., Buke G.C., Sevik C. & Baykara M.Z. (2023) Atomically Resolved Defects on Thin Molybdenum Carbide (α-Mo2C) Crystals Langmuir 39, 31, 10788-10794

• Sumaiya S.A., Liu J. & Baykara M.Z. (2022) True Atomic-Resolution Surface Imaging and Manipulation under Ambient Conditions via Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy ACS Nano 16, 12, 20086–20093

Biography: Saima carried out her Ph.D with Mehmet Baykara at University of California, Merced as well as her Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering. During her Ph.D., she specialized in high-resolution surface imaging through atomic force microscopy. Her noteworthy achievements include demonstrating the capability to achieve atomic-resolution surface imaging under ambient conditions, a feat that led to her receiving the Graduate Research Award from the American Vacuum Society in 2022. Following the completion of her Ph.D., she embarked on a postdoctoral research scientist position at Columbia University, working with Prof. Ozgur Sahin. Her undergraduate degree was from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

Twitter: @SaimaASumaiya

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saima-aktar-sumaiya-726292b6/

Webpage: https://www.extremebio.org/saima-aktar-sumaiya/

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