Helping the world one cocoon at a time, nanobiotechnology researcher Swetha Barkam extracts raw silk from cocoons to create polymer-based technology for commercial use in products such as “smart patches” which would get resorbed into the body, minimizing cost and health risk.
The goal: fully green, sustainable and inexpensive healthcare solutions for underprivileged populations.
Barkam is a doctoral student in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and a member of Dr. Sudipta Seal’s research group. She is also a graduate senator in student government and a recipient of UCF’s 2014 Extreme Leadership Scholarship.
See the original article on page three of the latest UCF Engineering and Computer Science newsletter.