In Associate Professor Jonathan Boreyko’s Nature-Inspired Fluids and Interfaces Lab, Ph.D. student Jack Tapocik watched a disk-shaped chunk of ice resting on an engineered metal surface. As the ice melted, the water formed a puddle beneath.

Even after many seconds of melting, the ice disk remained adhered to the engineered surface. At first, Tapocik was tempted to conclude that nothing would happen, but he waited. His patience paid off. After a minute, the ice slingshot across the metal plate he designed, gliding along as if it was propelled supernaturally.

The results are important because they have a host of potential applications. The methods team members developed lay the foundation for rapid defrosting and novel methods of energy harvesting. Their work has been published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.