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Announcements
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The Biologically Inspired Materials Institute (BIMat) was established under NASA sponsorship as a University Research, Engineering and Technology Institute (URETI) in August 2002. Its declared mission is to develop new autonomous materials for space technology, using bioinspired and biomimetic processes. Involving noted researchers from five member institutions, projects pursue bioinspired materials built at the nanometer scale, utilizing “bottom-up” nanotechnology as opposed to the more common “top-down” approach. The coupling of biological inspiration with nanoscale design, “bio-nanotechnology”, leads to enhanced performance and materials properties for evermore demanding aerospace applications. Work in the topics of self-assembly, self-repair and self-healing, increased sensitivity and response in sensors and actuators, and advanced composites represent new approaches to the needs of the next generation of space vehicles and astronauts, with benefits to ceramics, polymers, composites, and adhesives technologies.
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