Sustainable and Bioinspired Materials Symposium

About Prof. Silvia Vignolini

Silvia Vignolini is the Director of the Sustainable and Bio-inspired Materials Department at the Max Plank Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam (Germany) and a University Professor in Sustainability and Bio-inspired Materials at the Chemistry Department in Cambridge (UK). She studied Physics at the University of Florence, Italy. In 2009, she was awarded a PhD in Solid State Physics at the European Laboratory for non-Linear Spectroscopy and the Physics Department at the University of Florence. In 2010, she moved to Cambridge as a post-doctoral research associate working in the Cavendish Laboratory and the Plant Science Department. Her research interest lies at the interface of chemistry, soft-matter physics, optics, and biology. In particular, her research focuses on the study of how biopolymers are assembled into complex architectures within living organisms and how they can be exploited to fabricate a sustainable functional materials.

Talk: Biomimetic Colour Engineering: from Nature to Applications

The most brilliant colours in nature are obtained by structuring transparent materials on the scale of the wavelength of visible light. By designing the dimensions of such nanostructures, it is possible to achieve extremely intense colourations over the entire visible spectrum without using pigments or colourants. Colour obtained through structure, namely structural colour, is widespread in nature.

This seminar delves into the intriguing phenomenon of structural coloration observed in nature, where organisms produce vibrant hues without the use of conventional pigments or colorants. By manipulating nanostructures at the scale of visible light wavelengths, stunning colors are achieved across the entire spectrum. The diverse range of natural photonic nanostructures, from meticulously ordered to entirely random, will be explored, alongside recent progress in mimicking these structures using cellulose, a widely available and low-cost polymer found in plants.

This biomimetic approach not only holds promise for the development of new photonic materials under ambient conditions but also sheds light on the biological processes underlying their formation in living organisms.

About Prof. Filipe Natálio

Filipe Natálio holds a degree in Chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon and obtained his Ph.D. from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany). Following his postdoctoral work in Germany, he established his research group as a junior professor at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, focusing on bioinspired materials and biofabrication. He later served as a Principal Investigator at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel), where he expanded his research in material farming, biological systems for material production, as well as scientific archaeology. He is currently an Associate Professor at NOVA School of Science and Technology (NOVA FCT), where he leads research at the interface between chemistry, biology, and materials science.

Talk: Living Materials as Biological Factories to Produce Functional Textiles With Tailored Properties

Harnessing biological systems as living materials represents a promising frontier for the sustainable production of functional complex materials. However, the complexity of higher organisms and the limited mechanistic understanding of biological processes across molecular, cellular, and organismal scales have so far constrained their use as engineered biofactories for materials with controlled properties. Advancing this approach requires the integration of knowledge across chemistry, organism-level biology, tissue culture, and biochemistry to enable controlled modulation of biological output. Here, recent progress is discussed based on ongoing and previous work on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), combining the chemical design of cellulose-based functional building blocks with organism-level systems and cultivation strategies to explore the production of fibers with tailored structural and functional characteristics.

Despite this progress, significant challenges remain in terms of scalability, process stability, and translation of laboratory-based systems into practical and industrially relevant applications. Addressing these limitations will be essential to support the development of living systems as platforms for material production, contributing to emerging strategies for more sustainable and biologically integrated manufacturing routes within future bio-based economies.

About Prof. Lucio Blandini

Lucio Blandini is full professor and director of the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK) at the University of Stuttgart. His research lies at the intersection of engineering and architecture, spanning from lightweight mineral systems to adaptive skins and structures. He has many years of professional experience, focusing on innovative façades and special structures, such as the Ferrari Museum in Modena and the Kuwait International Airport. Since 2017, he has been a partner at Werner Sobek AG in Stuttgart.

Talk: Porous and Sustainable Skins and Structures

In nature, porous systems are much more common than in the built environment. Sponges, bones and tissues exhibit varying degrees of porosity, balancing the need for stiffness and strength in certain areas with the integration of multiple functions, while adapting to growth processes. Transferring the concept of porosity to the built environment can help us to reduce resource consumption, to increase the level of circularity, and to integrate new functions in built systems, so to improve their overall performance.  

The talk presents the research carried out at the ILEK that applies these considerations to different systems, materials, and scales. On a larger (structural) scale, porosity is designed engaging parametric tools and topological optimisation. It is then implemented by integrating mineral hollow spheres (functionally graded concrete) or through 3D-printing (zero-waste sand formwork). On a smaller scale, porosity is employed to activate and optimise microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) in order to substitute cement as a binding agent in mineral-based materials (bio-concrete). However, the potential of porosity extends beyond structural components. The talk also presents current research on 3D-printed bio-mineralised facade panels. Furthermore, it introduces a multi-layered textile facade system (HydroSKIN) that can act as a rainwater retention system and, in summer, as a “cooling sponge”. 

About Prof. Jürgen Rühe

Jürgen Rühe studied Chemistry at the University of Münster and completed his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research and the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. After postdoctoral research at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California, he held positions at the University of Bayreuth and the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, before being appointed Professor of Chemistry and Physics of Interfaces at the University of Freiburg in 1999, where he has been based ever since. He currently leads the DFG Cluster of Excellence "Living and Energy Autonomous Materials Systems" (livMatS) and serves as Executive Director of the Freiburg Institute for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies (FIT). His research explores how polymer-coated and nanostructured surfaces can be engineered to control wetting, reduce friction, resist biofouling, and enable biosensing — with over 450 publications and around 21,000 citations.

Talk: Molecular EngineeringThrough Polymer Crosslinking in Confinement

All interactions of materials with their respective environments are controlled by the topography and chemical composition of their surfaces. Examples are the adhesion between two objects, wetting of surfaces by contacting liquids and the adsorption of molecules from the surrounding medium. Accordingly, it is important to develop chemical tools, which allow the attachment of tailor-made polymer molecules to surfaces of different chemical composition and topology.

In our presentation, a simple, new strategy will be presented which allows generating  micropatterned polymer coatings with tailor-made properties with high spatial resolution. Our strategy is based on C,H insertion reactions (C,H insertion crosslinking, CHic). To this a prepolymer containing dormant groups is deposited on the material to be coated by standard techniques of coating application. Upon exposure to heat or light the dormant groups become activated and generate permanent links between the polymer chains and to the surface.

As the crosslinking is performed in the solid state the resulting surface-attached polymer networks become anisotropic when they are exposed to solvents. This prevents for entropic reasons the penetration of such layers by macromolecules. This ‘entropic shielding’ paves the way to surfaces with very unusual properties, for example extremely low friction or protein- and cell repellent surface. We discuss the fundamentals of the process and demonstrate that this strategy can be used for a broad spectrum of different applications. It is used to reduce the friction of surfaces mimicking human joints by more than 99,5% or use such systems for self-shading buildings in architecture. Additionally, we demonstrate that such surfaces can be used in various biomedical applications. We can isolate 1 single circulating tumor cell from a background of 30 billion other cells within come 40 seconds or demonstrate the generation of a gym for single biological cells to study mechanotransduction.

About Prof. Denis Gebauer

Denis Gebauer has been Chair Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Konstanz, Germany, since October 2025. He completed his PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in 2008, followed by a postdoctoral position at Stockholm University. From 2011 to 2019, he was a Zukunftskolleg Postdoc and Research Fellow at the University of Konstanz, and from 2019 to 2025, Professor of Solid State Analytics at Leibniz University Hannover, Germany. He has received several awards, including the prestigious Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz Prize in 2012.

Talk: From Seeds to Solids: How Non-Classical Mechanisms Shape New Materials

Nucleation is a fundamental step in the equilibration of supersaturated states, which is central to various scientific fields such as materials science, geochemistry, and meteorology. Classical nucleation theory (CNT) provides some explanatory power but often fails in quantitative predictions, necessitating suitable parametrizations like in 2-step nucleation theory. However, the underlying mechanistic notions may not accurately reflect the molecular processes involved, especially in aqueous systems. Recently, the pre-nucleation cluster (PNC) pathway has emerged as a non-classical alternative, offering molecular-level insights into phenomena challenging for CNT. Here, we summarize the mechanistic differences between CNT and the PNC pathway, introducing a quantitative PNC theory that accurately describes the formation of dense liquid and solid amorphous intermediates, including amorphous polymorphism. The PNC theory also enhances understanding of the various roles of additives, enabling scalable preparation and utilization of liquid-like precursors for the synthesis of advanced (hybrid) materials. Selected examples illustrate the use of such non-classical species for target-oriented materials design. Thanks to the mild chemistry involved and the relevance for biologically controlled mineralization (biomineralization), these bio-inspired approaches promise to be inherently sustainable.

About Prof. Wilfried Weber

Wilfried Weber trained as an engineer in biotechnology at the École Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg, Wilfried Weber earned his PhD in Biotechnology in 2003 from ETH Zurich together with Martin Fussenegger. In 2009, he was appointed as the first Full Professor of Synthetic Biology in Germany at the University of Freiburg. In 2018, he was the acting spokesperson in developing the proposal for the new Centre for Integrative Biological Signaling Studies and served as founding director after the establishment of the Centre. 2023 he was appointed as Scientific Director of the INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials and as full professor at Saarland University. His research combines synthetic biology, optogenetics, and materials sciences to develop biohybrid and living materials for applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery, biosensing, and sustainable construction. He was awarded a Starting and an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council, is coordinating an EIC-funded project on engineered living materials, and is a member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering.

Talk: Accelerated Design of Living Wood Composites

Engineered living materials hold high promises as construction materials providing at the same time enhanced sustainability as well as superior functionality. Engineered wood composites are widely used in construction, yet the polymer-based binders are commonly petrol-based, emit problematic volatiles and prevent biodegradation or recycling at the end of life. Here, we develop bio-based binders augmented by engineered bacteria to form composite materials from wood waste such as sawdust.

To efficiently explore the vast design parameter space including genetic, compositional and processing parameters, we devised a robotic platform for automated materials synthesis as well as for characterization of fundamental mechanical properties. Based on an initial library of material samples, we trained a transformer model and applied inverse design strategies to predict material formulations with desired properties. Suitable formulations were further augmented with (opto-) genetically or metabolically programmable functionality to yield local coloring, space-resolved lightweight features, or early on detection of damages in the protective layer. We upscaled production by mold-based casting or additive processes for manufacturing of free-form furniture components.

We expect our approach to be scalable to other ELM formulations and application scenarios to accelerate living materials development and accelerate projects in transitioning from concept phase to practical application.