Dive Brief:

• Research faculty and students from MIT and other schools are looking closely at the structure of bamboo to learn how it ca  be turned into a composite material for structural use in regions where it grows fast and plentiful.
• Commercial bamboo products are being made now, but this project is analyzing the structure of various parts of bamboo stalks to learn what sections of bamboo are best suited to products that could rival steel or concrete for residential or low-rise commercial applications.
• Analysis of bamboo's microstructure shows it is stronger and denser than pine, fir and spruce.

Dive Insight:

The MIT team, led by Professor Lorna Gibson, hopes to be able to show wood processors how to determine which sections of bamboo stalks to use for various applications of their composite materials.