BIOCOMPATIBLE OPTICAL MATERIALS: Silk optics material pioneer Omenetto named Guggenheim Fellow

Fiorenzo G. Omenetto has received the only Guggenheim fellowship in engineering and one of 180 fellowships awarded to scholars, artists, and scientists chosen from almost 3,000 applicants in the U.S. and Canada. Omenetto is professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University School of Engineering and adjunct professor of physics in the School of Arts and Sciences (Medford/Somerville, MA). The award will support his efforts to demonstrate the first implantable and fully bioresorbable optical and electronic components. “This is part of a broader vision to establish silk as a sustainable, biocompatible materials platform for a new class of multifunctional devices that can address as-yet unmet needs in medical, food safety and environmental applications,” said Omenetto.

Omenetto’s research focuses on interdisciplinary themes that span nonlinear optics, nanostructured materials, optofluidics and biopolymer-based photonics. His laboratory has pioneered the use of silk as a material platform for photonics, optoelectronics and high-technology applications, and is actively investigating novel applications that rely on this new technology base.