Synthetic color from Polystyrene versus Chitosan films of varying thicknesses and humidity: The top image shows thin film artificial color from synthetic polystyrene films of varying thicknesses while the bottom set shows color correlated to swelling of nano-thin Chitosan films in environments of varying humidity. The DoD project aims to study fundamental property correlations between polymers derived from nature such as Chotisan from mushrooms and lobsters and how multilayers of such biomaterials can provide unique mechanical, chemical and optical properties. Contributors: Samuel Wallaert (graduate student artist), and Dr. Alamgir Karim (PI)