Blue tarantulas and researchers such as Bor-Kai Hsiung, a graduating University of Akron student, could revolutionize how we color our world.
Research involving the furry spiders, specifically how their hairs produce vibrant, durable colors that don’t fade, has been the focus of Hsiung’s study at UA.
“The color is called ‘structural color,’ and it’s brighter, more vivid, more durable than pigment” used in most human-made items, Hsiung said this week in a UA lab. He said this as he poked the shedded skin of a blue tarantula and the carcass of an Australian peacock spider.
Hsiung’s work was sponsored by the paint and coatings maker Sherwin-Williams Co., which doesn’t discuss future applications.
On Saturday, UA will make history, graduating Hsiung and another student who are the first two in the world to complete Ph.D.-level training in biomimicry.
Biomimicry — combining the words biology and mimic — is a relatively new field that involves studying nature to find answers to human problems. Velcro — modeled after burrs of the bedrock plant — is probably the most famous example of biomimicry.
Professors in UA’s Integrated Bioscience program are cheering the first students to complete the biomimicry curriculum.
“A lot of people put in a lot of hard work to make this program happen,” said Todd Blackledge, a biology professor and Hsiung’s adviser.
“To see it come to fruition with these students and to see their success is really exciting.”
On Saturday, Hsiung, 37, whose nickname is “Bill,” will receive his Ph.D. along with Emily Kennedy. As part of her biomimicry studies, Kennedy helped to develop a hedgehog-inspired product that can be used as a liner in football helmets for concussion prevention.
A third student, Daphne Fecheyr-Lippens, is close to graduating. She is wrapping up her research and is completing it in Belgium.
UA’s five-year curriculum is the only biomimicry fellowship of its kind.
Students pair up with a company to help develop potential new products or processes based on nature. The Great Lakes Biomimicry nonprofit works with UA.
“Students are actually embedded. ... They spend 20 hours a week in the R&D [research and development division] of a company,” said Peter Niewiarowski, biomimicry fellowships director. He’s a UA professor of evolutionary biology and integrated biosciences.
Different angles
While at UA, Hsiung was among researchers who studied why blue tarantulas are the same color from different viewing angles.
They are not iridescent, like a peacock feather that reflects different colors when the angle is changed.
This means that structural colorants inspired by the blue tarantula could someday be used in devices such as phones and televisions that are looked at from different angles.
To date, the biomimicry curriculum has attracted 17 fellows from across the world.
Hsiung, a native of Taiwan, received a master’s degree in biomedical science from the University of California, Riverside. While in California, he heard an online talk by biomimicry expert Janine Benyus and was drawn to the field.
He returned to Taiwan to work in industry and found information about UA’s fellowships while searching online.
“When I first learned about it, I said, ‘What university?’ ” Hsiung said.
He said he learned from others in Taiwan that the university “was famous in polymer science,” reassuring him that UA had rigorous doctorate programs.
Hsiung didn’t know much about spiders when he arrived at UA, but was intrigued with the adhesive and mechanical properties of spider silk. He got immersed in his research at UA and learned “they have all kinds of different and diverse, complex behaviors.”
After graduating, he plans to continue with research and development in biomimicry. He’s looking at possible positions at an Ohio university as well as one in California, where he says he would be eager to tackle “any challenging human problem with inspiration from nature.”
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com.