What do the students say about their interest in the field of “Bio-Inspired Materials”

"This internship has absolutely stimulated my interest in the field of "Bio-Inspired Materials." I've always known I wanted to do something medically relevant, and I’ve always been fascinated by the way nature is able to engineer tools to help organisms survive/thrive. This experience highlighted the intersection of these two things as my project took an observed phenomenon from an animal and attempted to mimic and repurpose this phenomenon in a synthetic environment for a medically relevant application."

"Yes, this experience has definitely stimulated my interest in the field of bio-inspired materials. I especially enjoyed the hands-on lab work, which allowed me to see how concepts are applied in practice showing me how innovative and impactful this field can be."

"This experience has helped me understand the value of using bio-inspired materials rather than being used as an eye-catching word. I have become more interested in studying and emulating the materials/structures that make biological systems stable in the face of environmental factors, to real-world engineering applications."

"This internship has absolutely stimulated my interest in the field of "Bio-Inspired Materials." I've always known I wanted to do something medically relevant, and I’ve always been fascinated by the way nature is able to engineer tools to help organisms survive/thrive. This experience highlighted the intersection of these two things as my project took an observed phenomenon from an animal and attempted to mimic and repurpose this phenomenon in a synthetic environment for a medically relevant application."

"After this internship, I believe that bio-inspired materials are a useful new tool and will quickly become a staple in industry."

"I had a really good experience working in the lab, and studying this type of material has inspired me to pursue similar studies in my academic future. This lab has opened my eyes to the world of bio-inspired materials."

"Many of the project topics in the posters seemed relevant to my skills and experience, so I would definitely consider a career in this field."

"I got to see all of the different ways that bio-inspired materials can be used in different areas of research. I really liked the creativity behind all of the projects and I hope to use bio-inspired materials in my future career."

"Yes! While I was originally interested, I have more concrete areas of Bio-Inspired Materials Research that I can articulate and look for in future programs. For instance, I learned about so many different ways bio-inspired polymer systems can be modified and tailored for various applications."