News

This week's recommended light read focuses upon the next generation's interest in nature-inspired design. The Biomimicry Institute holds a Youth Design Challenge every year where students across the world are challenged to find bioinspired solutions to global problems. This is the fourth year that this competition was held, where both Middle and High School students participate and ten winners are selected. Read more about this year's winners at the following link:

Drastically reducing and even eliminating our reliance on plastics is a challenge that humankind must face. Plastics offer convenience at the cost of environmental consequences. Luckily, bioinspired research is being conducted with the intention of revealing all-natural plastic replacements. The material is derived from cellulose nanofiber and mica, but its assembly is what makes it unique. Inspired by nacre, a composite material produced by some mollusks, researchers found an approach that made all-natural materials even stronger than plastics. Read more in the link below:

Congratulations to BioBuild Fellow and PhD Candidate Zachary Gould for his exceptional 2020 school year. Most recently, during Virginia Tech's Graduate Education Week, Zach was named one of the most outstanding doctoral students, representing the Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (IGEP). Zach and his wife Erin are in the picture above. Erin is also a PhD student at Virginia Tech and a BioBuild Fellow in the IGEP Program.

The growing field of bio-inspired research is revealing stronger and more sustainable building materials at an astonishing rate. This week’s light read entails a look at the deep-water marine sponge and a counterintuitive building application that may surprise you. Scientists at Harvard have learned that the diagonal skeletal structure of the sponge is far superior to conventional lattice designs that have been incorporated into buildings and bridges for more than a century.