How do we turn plants into plastics and polymers? Find out in this episode as Taylor leaves Utah and ventures to Washington to sit down with Eleftheria Roumeli, an assistant professor at the University of Washington and researcher in the field of biomatter. Learn all about how a fish tank full of "gross" bacteria can be used to create complex and surprisingly strong shapes or about how Eleftheria's research group forages around local shores for seaweed to get the necessary biological materials. Finally we cap it off with a discussion about the environmental impact these materials have and how we should be evaluating their footprint.

Relevant Articles:

• Eleftheria's Research Group [LINK]
• Fabricating Strong and Stiff Bioplastics from Whole Spirulina Cells [LINK]
• The role of biomolecular building blocks on the cohesion of biomatter plastics [LINK]
• Progress in Sustainable Polymers from Biological Matter [LINK]

This Materialism Podcast is sponsored by Materials Today, an Elsevier community dedicated to the creation and sharing of materials science knowledge and experience through their peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences, educational webinars, and more

Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show!

If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter.

Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks, Andrew Falkowski, & Jared Duffy.

Keywords: Plants Biomatter Biopolymers Bioplastics

From antelope skin chains to full beryllium frames its safe to say bikes and the materials that make them have a fascinating history. Join us as we celebrate episode 100 and dive into the materials science behind this beloved mode of transportation. Starting at the invention of the first bike due to a massive volcanic eruption to the specialty bikes more expensive than a car. We break down the materials of the past that have been used to make bikes, such as wood, steel, aluminum, and even bamboo. As well as examining the materials propelling biking into the future such as titanium, carbon fiber, and more, discussing their strengths, weaknesses, and the performance considerations that influence design choices.

This Materialism Podcast is sponsored by Materials Today, an Elsevier community dedicated to the creation and sharing of materials science knowledge and experience through their peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences, educational webinars, and more

Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show!

If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter.

Materialism Team: Taylor Sparks, Andrew Falkowski, & Jared Duffy.

Keywords: Titanium Alloy Carbon Fiber Bicycles Steel Aluminum Frame BMX

How does a metal become a glass? By cooling on the order of 10^6 K/s. We sit down with Jan Schroers, a professor of engineering at Yale to discuss the exciting world of bulk metallic glasses. With over 20 million different combinations these materials are incredibly versatile and have strength numbers on par with ceramics. Also their thermoplastic forming enables metals to be formed into shapes previously thought impossible. These materials truly are a game changer and are definitely worth learning about.

This episode was sponsored by Radical AI. Be sure to check out their website to see how they are finding new materials using AI powered tools as well as purchase the materials themselves. More info about them can be found here.

This Materialism Podcast is sponsored by Materials Today, an Elsevier community dedicated to the creation and sharing of materials science knowledge and experience through their peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences, educational webinars, and more

Thanks to Kolobyte and Alphabot for letting us use their music in the show!

If you have questions or feedback please send us emails at materialism.podcast@gmail.com or connect with us on social media: Instagram, Twitter.

Keywords: Bulk Metallic Glasses BMG AI