Conference: 2024 Bioinspired Materials Gordon Research Conference and Seminar

Non-technical description

Bioinspired materials are artificial materials whose design, properties, and/or function mimic aspects of naturally occurring materials. Living organisms have developed exquisite approaches to assemble highly sophisticated materials, for example, for use as structural load-bearing components or to enable complex functions such as sensing and motion.

The interdisciplinary field of bioinspired materials research focuses on developing a fundamental understanding of the design, synthesis, and function of naturally occurring materials and uses this understanding to create synthetic materials and systems. Examples of bio-inspired materials include burr-seed-inspired hook-and-loop fasteners (Velcro), underwater adhesives that take inspiration from mussels’ ability to stick to rocks, power sources that imitate the electric organ of electric fish, and cell-mimicking nanoparticles for drug delivery.

This NSF grant supports the 2024 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Bioinspired Materials, which brings together some 200 researchers, primarily from the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, materials science and engineering, and medicine. The meeting is held in Les Diablerets, Switzerland, June 16-21, 2024. A large number of the participants are from the U.S., and more than half of the meeting’s participants are junior researchers, i.e., graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and early-stage professors.

GRCs provide immersive experiences in which cutting-edge, unpublished science is presented and discussed. The program includes oral and poster sessions, discussions over meals, and social engagements between sessions. A two-day Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers will precede the main meeting and offer junior scientists to discuss their projects among themselves.

A Power Hour – a unique platform found at GRCs – is devoted to discussing strategies for the advancement of women and members of underrepresented minority groups in bioinspired materials science. The meeting’s format enables the trans-disciplinary development of new ideas, allows junior researchers to engage with established senior investigators, and serves to build a research community.

Technical description

The interdisciplinary field of bioinspired materials focuses on developing a fundamental understanding of the synthesis, self-assembly, hierarchical organization, and function of naturally occurring materials and uses this understanding to develop artificial materials for a broad range of applications, including the delivery of therapeutics, tissue engineering, and living materials. The fundamental concepts behind bioinspired design are becoming increasingly integrated into a wide range of materials and devices for the biological, medical, industrial, energy, and military sectors, and form part of research activities of several programs at NSF.

The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Bioinspired Materials, held June 16-21, 2024 in Les Diablerets, Switzerland and the preceding two-day Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) for junior researchers have the goal to (i) provide a platform for the exchange of cutting-edge work on Bioinspired Materials and their applications; (ii) bring together a diverse group of presenters that include established researchers and early-stage investigators; (iii) promote the trans-disciplinary development of new ideas; (iv) build a research community; (v) nurture future researchers of the field; and (vi) promote inclusion and diversity in the bioinspired materials community. The 2024 edition of the Bioinspired Materials GRC, subtitled “Using Nature’s Design Principles to Create Functional Artificial Materials”, emphasizes the topics of Self-Assembly, Artificial Cells, Bio-inspired Therapeutic Materials, Tissue Engineering and Living Materials, and Complex Materials.

NSF funds are used to partially cover the registration of US presenters and participants in the GRC and GRS.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.