Glue from under the sea

Jonathan Wilker - 

Jonathan Wilker is part of the Department of Chemistry and the School of Materials Engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

The three main aspects of the research program he is a part of are to: characterize marine biological materials such as mussel adhesive and oyster reef cement; design synthetic polymer mimics of biological materials; and to develop applications for these new materials such as wet setting adhesives, surgical glues, dental adhesives and bone cements.

Wilker got into this research area from his scuba diving hobby. He was looking around at all the cool things under the seas and he decided that he would like to do research in that area.

In addition to scuba diving, Wilker spends a lot of time at the racetrack, learning how to race cars on road courses. Learn more about Wilker’s research on how oysters build reef structures and how mussels make glue for sticking to rocks. 

What inspired you to choose this field of study ?
 
I’m one of those people who has always been drawn to the sea. My parents are probably responsible, bringing me to the coast at every opportunity. In college and graduate school, I became captivated with chemistry and studied that.

While a postdoctoral scholar in southern California, I was scuba diving a lot, just for fun. As I saw all the sea creatures, I started to wonder about all the chemistry underwater. Our lab’s research focus has become a combination of my scientific background and a hobby. The chemistry and materials of marine organisms is a really exciting area to study.

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