Workshop on Papertronics: Paper-based Electronics for the 21st Century to be held on September 12-14, 2016 at the Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel in Arlington, VA

The emerging field of paper-based electronics has augmented the science and engineering of cellulose-based materials for worldwide broader impacts in healthcare, flexible electronics, energy harvesting and storage, and electromechanical structures. These new applications stem from appreciable advances in the physics and processing of cellulose-based materials for microfluidic and electronic devices, packaging, and system architectures. Papertronics or paper-based electronics will leverage the physical properties of cellulose or cellulose-like materials while being biodegradable, renewable, and environmentally benign. Given these advances, it is timely to evaluate current progress and discuss future directions that will lead to effective and coordinated efforts for the field. To address these efforts, a workshop is proposed at the Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel from September 12-14, 2016, to assemble university, industry, and government experts in the field of paper-based electronics. . The broader outcome of the workshop is in the Identification of the interdisciplinary directions and the related educational approaches that are likely to be most suitable in the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. The proceedings of the workshop and the list of recommendations will be made available to all participants of the workshop, other scientists, industry and policymakers.

As a material, cellulose/paper has attracted significant attention for its fibrous, renewable, and bendable properties. Paper is a renewable resource with the most common forms coming from trees. Consisting primarily of polymeric cellulose, paper is a multi-scale material with millimeter-scale structures built on interlocking micro and nano fibers. This fibrous network permits wicking/handling of liquids for electro-chemo-mechanical sensors and devices. Paper also has tunable stress-strain relationships, which can be soft with similar mechanical impedance to biological tissue or hard with a theoretical elastic modulus for cellulose nanocrystals greater than steel and similar to Kevlar. Cellulosic fibers are compatible with metallization, conductive coatings, nanotubes, and graphene for patterned electrical properties. Scientifically, the challenge is to leverage and tune these properties to invent devices and envision architectures that will provide technical and scalable advantages over conventional electronic systems. This workshop will bring together research leaders in academia and government labs, along with those in small and large businesses, to discuss the state of the art and potential future directions in paper-based electronics under three main themes: electronic devices, packaging, and system architectures; sensors for healthcare and environment; and physics and processing. A goal of the workshop is to address potential for scalability in electronic devices, packaging, system architectures, and in determining the high-impact opportunities in these areas. The outcome of this workshop will be an inventory of scientific issues and technological challenges associated with interconnects, circuits, integration, sensing devices, and scalability to move the frontiers of technology.