HollowSilk
Growing optical fibres with proteins. An ARIA-funded collaboration with the University of Bath and Tufts University, exploring silk proteins as templates for hollow-core optical fibres.
Hollow-core optical fibres guide light through a tiny air-filled channel. Their geometry opens possibilities for communications, sensing, and lasers, but making these intricate structures at scale remains a manufacturing challenge.
HollowSilk asks whether engineered silk proteins can help build those structures through self-assembly. The aim is to use proteins as templates for precisely shaped optical materials, exploring a lower-energy route to fabrication.
I collaborate with the University of Bath and Tufts University, connecting my work in engineered silk and protein materials with optical fibre fabrication. Bath's team is led by Professor William Wadsworth, with Dr Rox Middleton and Dr Soraya Caixeiro.
The project is funded through ARIA's Universal Fabricators programme, which investigates proteins as tools for manufacturing advanced inorganic and composite materials. HollowSilk is part of its 1D fibres challenge.