MIT engineers in collaboration with colleagues from Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy are achieving functional diversity in materials by combining a few pure components as building blocks to create diverse structures. The researchers selected bone to investigate these multifunctional composite design principles. The team used pure polymers and 3D printing to create new synthetic materials with a wide range of properties and applications. The research is described in a paper, “Bone-Inspired Materials by Design: Toughness Amplification Observed Using 3D Printing and Testing,” published in the journal Advanced Engineering Materials by lead author Flavia Libonati, a CEE Research Affiliate and Assistant Professor from Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy. Co-authors included graduate student Grace Gu; Research Scientist Zhao Qin; Professor Laura Vergani from Polytechnic University, and Markus Buehler. View the news announcement here.