Ideas worth spreading

Silk, the ancient material of the future

825,372 views |

Fiorenzo Omenetto |

TED2011

• March 2011

Fiorenzo Omenetto shares 20+ astonishing new uses for silk, one of nature's most elegant materials -- in transmitting light, improving sustainability, adding strength and making medical leaps and bounds. On stage, he shows a few intriguing items made of the versatile stuff.

Fiorenzo Omenetto shares 20+ astonishing new uses for silk, one of nature's most elegant materials -- in transmitting light, improving sustainability, adding strength and making medical leaps and bounds. On stage, he shows a few intriguing items made of the versatile stuff.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

Fiorenzo Omenetto

Fiorenzo Omenetto

Biomedical engineer

See speaker profile

Fiorenzo G. Omenetto's research spans nonlinear optics, nanostructured materials (such as photonic crystals and photonic crystal fibers), biomaterials and biopolymer-based photonics. Most recently, he's working on high-tech applications for silk.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.