Giving New Life to Materials for Energy, the Environment and Medicine

Explore groundbreaking research in materials science and bioengineering through this keynote talk from the 2014 MRS Fall Meeting. Delve into Dr. Angela Belcher's work at MIT, where she investigates how organisms can be harnessed to create advanced technologies for energy storage, environmental sustainability, and medical applications. Learn about the 500-million-year history of organisms producing inorganic materials and how this knowledge is being applied to develop smarter, more adaptable technologies using environmentally friendly techniques. Discover how genetic engineering and biologically inspired synthesis are being used to create nanostructured materials for various applications, including lithium-oxygen and lithium-ion batteries, solar energy, carbon capture, catalysis, oil recovery, and medical imaging. Examine the use of M13 viruses in improving electrode design for energy storage and enhancing photovoltaic device performance. Investigate the potential of engineered yeast for converting carbon dioxide into building materials and the development of targeted probes for detecting and guiding surgery for submillimeter ovarian tumors. Gain insights into the future of materials science and its potential impact on energy, environmental, and medical technologies.