Dr. Stephen J. Clarson
“Worldwide market for silicon-based polymers is currently $10 billion a year.
So, there are many
applications with potential for major economic impact,"
Amy Long
•Major: Materials Engineering
•Hometown: Brunswick, OH
•Favorite Color: Red
Lillian Olando
• Major: Chemical Engineering
• Hometown: Nairobi, Kenya
• Favorite Color: Blue
Lyndsay Rush
• Major: Chemical Engineering
• Hometown: Marysville, OH
• Favorite Color: Pink or Purple
Kevin Say
• Major: Materials Engineering
• Hometown: Lima, OH
• Favorite Color: Blue
Jacob Somerson
• Major: Chemical Engineering
• Hometown: Troy, OH
• Favorite Color: Green
Bioinspired Materials Synthesis
• What?
• Synthesizing natural silica structures
• Uses: Engineering, Chemistry, Biology
How Do You Do That?
• Study the process in vivo
• Isolate and sequence proteins
• Investigate, investigate, investigate
Clarson’s Research
• Silica nano particle synthesis
• Mimic proteins with synthetic macromolecules and polypeptides
• “We utilized a synthetic form of the active site of a key enzyme from the diatom Cylindrotheca
What Can You Do With That?
• Clarson’s research applied to Germanium, Titanium, and other particles
• Use synthetic macromolecules to design materials for applications including:
– Optical devices