ERC consolidator grant SCATAPNUT

SCATAPNUT (Scattering and tapping on soft hard open nuts)

With the five year project (1,99 Mio€) we will enlarge our instrumental set up and group and focus on the micro- and nano-level of nut shells.

The objectives of SCATAPNUT are threefold:

1) develop in-situ methods for in-depth characterization at the micro- and nano level

2) reveal the heterogeneity and common design principles by investigating different species and

3) follow development (soft), maturation (hard) and germination (open).

New insights into micro- and nanochemistry as well as nanomechanics in the context of tissue and cell organization will be gained as well as in-depth knowledge on the developmental processes of cell assembly, maturation and germination. This will lead to a better understanding of the underlying design principles, which is important in order to extract structure-function relationships and identify features that contribute e.g. to the high strength and cracking resistance and longevity. Such information is important for understanding biological materials and will give new input in intelligent biomimetic material design.