Benjamin Palmer Lab

From brilliant colors to mirrored eyes, many spectacular optical phenomena in animals result from the interference of light with assemblies of highly reflective organic crystals. Despite their important role in animal behavior and their huge potential to inspire new optical materials, little is known about these materials. Our research explores the formation and function of molecular crystals in biology - the emerging field of Organic Biomineralization. We have three main research directions: (i) the discovery and characterization of optically functional bio-crystals, (ii) understanding mechanisms of biologically-controlled crystallization and (iii) bio-inspired crystallization of novel organic optical materials.