The ELMI is a collaborative hub for basic science, technology development, and education related to materials built of and/or by engineered, non-mammalian, living organisms. We aim to revolutionize technology for society through reimagined large-scale infrastructure and human-scale products; while at the same time enabling society’s expansion through off-world exploration and habitation made possible with materials and structures that are grown from renewable resources, rather than manufactured.
Fungal Robotics
ELMI Research Scientist Anand Mishra and Faculty Rob Shepherd engineering of a fungal biohybrid robot was published in Science Robotics.
Detecting and Addressing Damage within Ship Hulls
The ELMI faculty team of Nikolaos Bouklas, Andrea Giometto, and Meredith Silberstein were awarded a 5-year Office of Naval Research grant to investigate hybrid living coatings that detect and mitigate structural damage.
ELMI Second Annual Spring Research Symposium
ELMI held its second annual Spring Research Symposium April 16, 2024 with participants drawn from five of Cornell's colleges. Lightning talks and posters spanned from diatom morphogenesis to fungal robotics to hybrid living architecture.
Scalable Microbial Synthetic Engineering
ELMI faculty Buz Barstow and Sijin Li have engineered a new version of the bacteria Vibrio natriegen that can transform plasmids without expensive equipment. This naturally competent microbe will be a key enabler for advances in ELM.
NSF Convergence Accelerator Grant
ELMI faculty Jenny Sabin and Adrienne Roeder along with two other Cornell faculty co-PIs were awarded an NSF Convergence Accelerator grant for plant-inspired research.
Sijin Li wins 2024 Schwartz Award
Prof Sijin Li has won the 2024 Schwartz Research Fund award. This award will help support her synthetic biology work at the intersection of plants and yeast.
ELM-themed KK Wang Industry Day
ELMI proudly collaborated with the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering to present the KK Wang Industry Day on September 22, 2023—an event that seamlessly blended academia and industry expertise. The day unfolded with a trifecta of dynamic panels delving into the realms of "Sustainable Materials," "Biomanufacturing," and the intricate interplay of "Food-Water-Energy Nexus." The insightful discussions were moderated by ELMI's distinguished postdoctoral fellows, Drs. Chen, Cross, and Mishra.
ELMI Faculty Member Laura Gunn Wins DOE Career Award
ELMI faculty member Laura Gunn was awarded a Department of Energy (DOE) Early Career Award for her proposal Using Ancient Enzymes for Modern Photosynthesis. This project will drive understanding of how the carbon dioxide fixing enzyme Rubisco efficiency depends on the enzymatic environment, leading to improved biological carbon capture.
Shapeshifters: Can buildings behave like organisms?
ELMI Associate Director Adrienne Roeder and colleagues were awarded a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The project reimagines the convergence of architecture and biology to understand how organisms create internal structures – and to inform a new approach to architecture.
We are a creative, innovative, collaborative team of researchers and domain experts from across Cornell University exploring frontier science and developing revolutionary technology that brings engineered living materials and structures out of the realm of science fiction and into an unprecedented reality, advancing our society.
We are excited about expanding the ELMI community. There are plenty of ways for people both internal and external to Cornell to get involved in our basic science, technology transition, and educational mission.
If you have questions,
please contact the ELMI Director Prof. Meredith Silberstein.
