Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Charles Godfrey Binder Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics; Carlo Pantano, director of the Materials Research Institute; and Raul J. Martin Palma, professor of applied physics, Madrid, have replicated the process of making butterfly wings. Their groundbreaking research opens the door for future research into smaller electronic circuitry and other photonic capabilities such as better solar energy concentrators.

Their research work has been published in the 25 August 2008 issue of Applied Physics Letters: "Biomimetization of butterfly wings by the conformal-evaporated-film-by-rotation technique for photonics" and an image of their work appears on the cover of the same issue.

Additional information can be found at Physics.Org: