For the outgoing phase of the project, Dr Lunn was based at the Materials Research Laboratory, University of California, Santa Barbara for 18 months, under the primary supervision of Prof. Craig J. Hawker with frequent input from Prof. Hagan Bayley. As outlined in the technical report, milestones and deliverables for work packages 1 and 2 were accomplished on schedule. Briefly, a general strategy for the divergent and scalable synthesis of functional lipids has been developed, and the preparation and optimisation of lipid stabilised responsive droplets achieved. For the return phase of the project, Dr Lunn was based at the Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, under the primary supervision of Prof. Hagan Bayley, with frequent input from Prof. Craig J. Hawker. Although the scope of the research is still being investigated, the main goals of work packages 3 and 4 were completed during this return phase of the project. Importantly, the 3D printing of droplet networks that can perform chemo-mechanical actuation in response to external stimuli was achieved. Some of these results represent proprietary information and are not expanded upon in this summary. The other results from this project have been disseminated in a number of ways, including at conferences, through networking events, through ongoing collaborations and as a published manuscript. Several additional manuscripts, specifically from the results obtained from work packages 2, 3 and 4, will be submitted as soon as possible. As a result of this project, an ongoing collaboration has been established between Prof. Hawker, University of California, Santa Barbara and Prof. Bayley, University of Oxford. Throughout the fellowship, the experienced researcher, Dr Lunn, learned by ‘training through research’, interactions with both supervisors, collaborations with scientists at both institutions, and ongoing communication with the wider chemical community.
