Our research is focused at the interface between molecular biology, molecular genetics and materials science, with original contributions advancing our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms controlling gene regulation, enzymatic catalysis, protein assembly, intracellular osmotic pressure, bone structure-function relationships, biomineralization and biophotonics. From our discoveries of the molecular mechanisms controlling biomineralization, we developed the new field of “Silicon Biotechnology,” and a novel bio-inspired method for the low-temperature, low-cost catalytic nanofabrication of a wide range of semiconductors and ferroelectrics. Because this method gives access to structures and activities not attainable by conventional methods, we found it provided new advantages for nanostructured materials for high-power batteries, uncooled IR detectors and information storage. We now are pursuing our discoveries of the remarkable molecular mechanisms governing tunable photonic systems in squids and related organisms, and applications of these findings for electro-optics, IR detectors and improvements in solar energy conversion. Most significantly, we recently discovered how the genetically encoded block copolymeric structure and self-assembly of the reflectin proteins and their resultant emergent properties control the tunable color and brightness of light reflected from the subcellular nanophotonic structures that contain them. As we predicted, we’re able now to translate the neuronal and biochemical control of these processes to tunable control with electricity.