NDSU researchers recently published the cover article in the Journal of Polymer Science B. The article outlines an advance in adhesion control technology. 

The article was written by NDSU alumnus Jared Risan; BS '09, civil engineering, MS '14, mechanical engineering; Andrew B. Croll, assistant professor of physics; and Fardad Azarmi, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

According to the article's abstract, a Tokay gecko switches a foot from a high- to low-adhesion state by hyperextending its digits and peeling them from the surface. The peeling motion is a mechanical method of adhesion switching and does not need a complex chemical response. The researchers said the simple mechanical switching motivated the search for other mechanical methods of adhesion control.

More information on the article can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/polb.23643/abstract.

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