Saturday, May 3, 2008

Sea Life Being Investigated as Potential Source of New Armour Material

Marine snails, sea urchins, and other animals from the sea are teaching researchers in UC Riverside's Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering how to make the world a better place. Consider, for example, the possibilities of designing a lightweight armor that would protect U.S. soldiers in Iraq from Improvised Explosive Devices. Or, what flexible ceramics might offer industry. Or, how everyone could benefit from new ways of producing and storing energy.

Nature holds these secrets and the answers to the questions that Prof. David Kisailus's research group is learning how to ask. "My hope," Kisailus said, "is that we can truly learn from these organisms how to design, optimize, and synthesize engineering materials that display properties that we as engineers can only dream of."

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