Metamaterials: Going Beyond What Nature Gives Us

Metamaterials: Going Beyond What Nature Gives Us

Amy Szuchmacher Blum

Oct. 5, 2017 19:00

Abstract: Even the most high tech devices depend on the physical properties of the materials used to make them. These properties generally arise from the chemical identities of the component materials. However, as our understanding of how electromagnetic waves interact with matter has grown, it has become possible to design materials that have properties not seen before in nature. These new materials, known as metamaterials, will be the focus of this talk. Metamaterials describe a class of materials in which the properties arise from the interaction of electromagnetic waves with the sub-wavelength sized component structures or ‘meta’-atoms that constitute them. I will discuss some of these new materials and their applications, and give examples of how we are repurposing proteins from viruses to make these exciting new materials.