Fiorenzo G. Omenetto is the Frank C. Doble Professor of Engineering, and a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. He also holds appointments in the Department of Physics and the Department of Electrical Engineering.
His research interests are at the interface of technology, biologically inspired materials and the natural sciences with an emphasis on new transformative approaches for sustainable materials for high-technology applications.
He has proposed and pioneered the use of silk as a material platform for advanced technology with uses in photonics, optoelectronics and nanotechnology applications, is co-inventor on several disclosures (~100) on the subject, and is actively investigating applications of this technology base both for technical and design applications.
Prof. Omenetto was formerly a J. Robert Oppenheimer Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratories, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Tällberg Foundation Global Leader. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and of the American Physical Society, and a Senior Member of SPIE. He was named one of the 50 top people in tech by Fortune magazine in a class including (among others) Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Shigeru Miyamoto. His research has been featured extensively in the press with coverage in the most important media outlets worldwide.

Giulia studied Materials Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy, where she developed a passion for the nano-world. Intrigued by the phenomenon of structural colors, she pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in the UK, investigating the optical properties of self-assembled photonic crystals. Currently, she holds the positions of Deputy Director and Research Assistant Professor at Silklab, where her primary research focus is on studying light management in natural systems. Giulia's research interests revolve around biophotonic structures, structural colors, as well as optical and electronic imaging, spectroscopy, and optical modeling.
Having grown up in a hardware store, Giulia cultivated a passion for construction sites and cooking. She is curious about all things marine-related and botanical oddities. If you are searching for her, you can probably find her at the microscope, captivated by the beauty of shiny creatures.

Stacie spent the first part of her career as a software engineer for a variety of software companies. Looking for new challenges, she joined Tufts' engineering department in 2014 and Silklab in 2018. Her focus as both a software engineer and as a lab coordinator has been to solve problems and create efficient processes so that her colleagues can be efficient with the work and research they are doing.
When not working in the lab, Stacie enjoys baking cookies and bringing those cookies into the lab. She also is the caring “pet parent” of two Maltese puppies, Izzi and Rozi, who sometimes get to share in her baked goods. She loves to exercise and be outdoors (recently started to play pickleball) and has a passion for theater and the arts.

Silvia is a research technician at Silklab within the Biomedical Engineering Department at Tufts University. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in engineering physics at Politecnico di Milano in Italy. During her M.S., she worked in the VIBRA lab, focusing on coherent Raman and non-linear optical microscopy techniques for biomedical applications, particularly focusing on the analysis of senescent cells.
Eager for new challenges, Silvia joined Silklab in 2024 to explore the fascinating realm of silk-based materials and their unique properties. In her spare time, she enjoys sports such as volleyball, climbing, and skiing, and loves listening to music while savoring a cup of coffee. You'll always find her stopping to pet every cat or dog she encounters along her way.

Marco was born in Bari in southern Italy. While in Bari he accomplished his Bachelors and Masters degree in biotechnology and a PhD in organic chemistry. He joined Silklab in 2019 to continue his studies on bioinspired materials and start new research on adhesive materials.
Marco is interested in gardening, board games, photography and many other things. He loves to read books about the history of science and is happy to strike up a conversation about politics, social customs, and philosophy.

Xuelian was born in Chongqing in China. Her major for her Bachelor's and Master's degree was materials science and engineering at Hunan University in China. The main topic during her master study was tests and evaluation of silicon- and silica-based anode materials for Li-ion batteries. Then, she earned a PhD at UCLouvain in Belgium and continued acquiring knowledge in the energy storage field and researching cathode materials for batteries as a research assistant. She joined Silklab in 2022 to investigate biomaterials for micro energy storage devices.
Xuelian loves doing yoga and cycling in the countryside. Very recently, she has become interested in watching talk shows. After work, she spends time with her little son and enjoys playing hide-and-seek with him.

Narendar was born in Hyderabad in India. He completed his Bachelors and Masters degree in Physics. He earned his Master of Technology and PhD in Physics from IIT Kharagpur, India, where he developed his passion for silk and its technology. He joined Silklab in 2023 to investigate silk structures for photonic and electronic devices. Before joining Silklab, he worked with Prof. Sunghwan Kim as a research assistant professor at Ajou University, Korea.
In his free time, he loves to read books about self-knowledge and enjoys watching movies.

Doyoon Kim earned his bachelor's degree in Bionano technology and developed passion for nano structure and materials. He earned Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering under the supervision of Prof. Jeong-Yun Sun at Seoul National University, where he designed soft materials for stretchable/deformable photonic gel devices. He joined Silklab in 2023 to investigate tunable optics and protein based tough gels. Before joining Silklab, he worked with Prof. Joanna Aizenberg as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard.

Taehoon’s journey towards engineering began with replicating gecko-inspired pillar arrays with conductive elastomeric compounds for an ECG monitoring skin patch. He earned his Master’s degree in material science and engineering from KAIST, Korea. To broaden his skills and knowledge in microfabrication, he worked at SK Hynix for a period, specializing in high aspect ratio contact etching for NAND devices. After experiencing the biomedical industry, Taehoon prepared to jump into his new life in the USA to pursue a PhD degree.
Taehoon, fascinated with a biomaterial that has been used since ancient times and excited to learn more about silk, joined Silklab in 2018. His research focuses on making silk-based biophotonic devices with perfectly smooth edges and symmetric geometry. In scientific terms, this kind of structure is called “whispering gallery mode microresonator”. With this silk microresonator he is developing bio-compatible laser particles that can be easily printed on any surface which will be applicable to cell-tagging, sensing, and many other fields.
Silklab regularly holds cooking competitions and, thanks to this event, Taehoon has learned that making food for his beautiful wife and friends is a great pleasure. He enjoys watching YouTube in his free time to learn how to cook and brew his favorite dishes and wines (Which he then disposes of into his stomach). “Come to think of it, I should’ve watched how to lose weight first, before trying to cook and enjoy these foods.”

Nick is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. He received his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Western Washington University in 2015 where he then completed his Masters of Science in chemistry in 2017. While at WWu he worked with silk biomaterials in Amanda Murphy’s lab as a graduate technician in the Advanced Material Science and Engineering Center.
Nick’s current work focuses on creating new photoactive biomaterials based on silk fibroin. His goal is to engineer these materials to be used for 3D photofabrication of living tissues, with independent spatiotemporal control of the mechanical, biochemical, and cellular characteristics of the tissue. He hopes that these materials can advance the practice of true-3D tissue engineering and augment capabilities towards fabricating fully functional tissues and organs.
Outside of the lab Nick spends his time making 3D art, practicing martial arts, reading sci-fi novels, and drinking “truly excessive” volumes of coffee.

Chungman Kim joined the SilkLab as a postdoctoral researcher in 2024. He earned both his bachelor's and doctoral degrees in Physics from Seoul National University and conducted research as a visiting fellow in Weitz lab at Harvard during his Ph.D. studies for three years. During his doctoral studies, he carried out structure-property research on soft matter using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).
At Silklab, he plans to leverage his AFM expertise and soft matter research experience to explore both fundamental and applied studies on the use of silk as surfactants.
When he's not in the lab, you'll find him busy chasing after his little daughter. In the rare moments of freedom, he enjoys listening to music and catching up on movies.

Prior to embarking on his journey at Tufts University, Bryan earned a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from Hofstra University. His time there was spent conducting research where he combined the use of ultrasound as a therapeutic device with electrical modeling. He has since joined the Silklab at Tufts University as a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His research utilizes silk as a biomaterial in devices with a medical and environmental application.
When not in the lab, Bryan loves watching TV, listening and playing music, and supporting his New York sports teams, which he will not abandon even though he is in Massachusetts.

Shonglin is an adaptive designer with a background in fashion. She is PhD student in the interdisciplinary program at Tufts University. She is a Research Assistant at Silklab where she will be working on harnessing the power of bio-fabrication and technology to generate reliable and scalable solutions for the design world.
In April 2022, she earned her MSc in Design for the Fashion System from Politecnico di Milano, Italy with a semester at Fashion Institute of Technology NYC, USA. For her research thesis, she worked on a potential biomaterial to replace Petro-chemical based surface design matter being used in the fashion industry. During her masters, she worked on multiple projects of digital fabrication, wearable technology, and material tinkering. Before pursuing her masters, she gained industry experience by working in the fashion industry of New York with renowned designers Zac Posen and Phillip Lim. Shonglin earned her B. Des. in Fashion Design from the Footwear Design and Development Institute, India. During her Bachelors, she interacted with various Indian artisans, learnt their crafts, and worked for the Fashion Design Council of India by assisting them in various roles for reputed fashion shows.
Having grown up for the most part in the world's biggest and most diverse democracy, India, diversity and inclusivity comes very naturally to Shonglin. She enjoys learning languages and is a polyglot, fluent in almost 6 languages. Whenever possible she enjoys exploring the city with friends, likes to learn the local crafts and she loves to cook various cuisines, especially Italian food from scratch.

Aslı started her career in the field of art and design by studying UAL Foundation Diploma at School of Design and Creative Arts at Loughborough University (UK) where she explored the different fields of her practice and worked on combining visual arts and 3D design with biology and science. Inspired by the ability of design to build bridges between different disciplines and solve both personal and global problems, she studied BA Product and Industrial Design at UAL Central Saint Martins (UK) where she practised research-led, user-centred product and UX design. During her studies, she worked as a Product Development Assistant at Ferah Textiles which inspired her to develop smart textile products using chemically sensing fabrics to help individuals detect and heal women's health-related problems for her thesis project.
Currently, she is a IDoc PhD student at Silklab, focusing on developing biological interfaces for health and investigating further the adaptations of high technologies to user-focused and innovative products with an interdisciplinary approach.
Aslı is from the multi-cultural city of İstanbul, which explains her interest in exploring different cultures and observing their artistic identities. One of her favorite hobbies is photographing her explorations and adapting them into photographic art and paintings. She also loves nature and tries her best to spend time outdoors even though she keeps choosing to live in the cities with harsh weather conditions.

As a designer and researcher, Timothée's work is strongly interdisciplinary and combines materials science, mechanical engineering, biology and computational design. He specializes in the development of innovative additive printing and manufacturing processes tailored for biomaterials. His foremost intention is to explore how additive manufacturing and disassembly of functionalized silk-based biopolymers can participate to a more resilient future. Timothée began his career studying art and industrial design at the École Nationale Supérieure d'art et de design de Nancy, before specializing in design research at the prestigious École Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay. This foundation was further fortified through research internships at prestigious institutions such as the Learning Planet Institute of Université Paris-Cité (ex Centre de Recherche Interdisciplaire) in Paris and the esteemed Soft Matters research group at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris.
Timothée joined Tufts University as a full-time PhD student (IDOC Program) and Silklab as a Graduate research assistant in Fall 2024.

Manini Banerjee (She/Her) is a biodesigner and researcher. She is currently designing products that make sustainable futures and technologies accessible. As a research assistant at Silklab, she develops systems with material intelligence that dynamically sequester and sense inorganic anthropogenic toxins.
Manini has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she is trained as a human + nature-centric industrial designer with concentrations in computation and sustainability studies. She was a grant recipient for the inaugural Somerson Sustainability Innovation Grant, a TEDx speaker, and has worked at the Hyundai HQ as a robotics researcher.
Manini was born and brought up in Singapore. She dreams of a world where design creates conditions conducive to life and follows the laws of natural selection. She enjoys reading, exploring diverse cuisines, making lattes, and hanging out in her indoor jungle.

Gianluca M. Farinola completed his PhD in 1996. He was an Assistant Professor from 1996, an Associate Professor from 2003, and since 2015 he has been a Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Bari Aldo Moro.
He has been a visiting researcher at the University of Muenster, Germany (2009), an invited visiting professor at the University of Strasbourg, France (2013 and 2014) and at the University of Angers and CNRS, France (2015), and a visiting scholar at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University, US (2017 and 2018), where he was appointed as Adjunct Professor in 2019.
Gianluca is a synthetic organic chemist who sets up new methods to produce photo- and electro-active molecules, supramolecular structures and materials for applications ranging from organic photonics and electronics to biology. In the last ten years, his research has opened intriguing directions by exploiting photosynthetic microorganisms (e.g. algae and bacteria) and biological polymers (e.g. melanin, fibroin, lignin, biosilica) as sources of sustainable materials for future optoelectronics and biomedicine. He has authored ~200 publications and given 110 invited lectures in Universities and Research Institutes. He is the PI of many national, international, and industrial research projects. He is a recipient of the Ciamician Medal of the Italian Chemical Society and of the “Innovation in Organic Synthesis Award” of the Interuniversitary Consortium CINMPIS. He was appointed as a Chemistry Europe Fellow in 2019.

Mickey McManus is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, senior advisor, executive coach, faculty member at BCG U and a research fellow emeritus at Autodesk’s Office of the CTO. He is a pioneer in design futures, nurturing anti-disciplinary teams, design science, and ARPA-style “department of strategic surprise” development. Mickey holds 12 patents in the area of connected products, environments, vehicles and services and co-authored the Carnegie Science ‘Best Communicator” Award winning book, Trillions - Thriving in the Information Ecology. In Trillions he and his co-authors posit that in a deeply interconnected world unbounded malignant complexity will be one of the most significant challenges. Taming complexity will be a super power for individuals and organizations.
He has spent over 20 years learning how to nurture teams of interdisciplinary artists, PhD scientists, designers, anthropologists, business leaders, and engineers in building tangible "Version 1.0" proof of concept demonstrations/prototypes/spinouts of novel and provocative new capabilities "from the future." He has also spent significant time transitioning early tech and R and D research across the "valley of death" and into the world by focusing on taking ideas all the way to the value chain, ecosystem, and business model required to ship consumer products, services, and architected physical experiences. During his tenure at MAYA they incubated, launched and spun out 5 startups.