Sustainable Materials
Wood is one of the most abundant biomaterials on Earth, with over 3 trillion mature trees in the world. The unique material structure of wood, with pronounced anisotropy, endows it with an array of remarkable properties and functions, inspiring fertile opportunities for unconventional applications in multifunctional material design. The Center for Materials Innovation (CMI) aims to devise novel approaches to manipulate water, ions, photons, phonons, and mechanical properties by redesigning and reconstructing wood and other sustainable materials via structural engineering, chemical/thermal modification, hybridization with other materials, and the artificial creation of wood structures. Such strategies will enable a diverse range of emerging unconventional applications in high-performance structural materials, energy storage and conversion, water treatment, thermal and light management, ionic nanofluidics, green electronics, biological materials, and more.
