Modern Meadow is a modern biofabrication company. We make materials inspired by nature and grown of life’s essential elements: cells, DNA and protein.

Our labs design tailored micro-organisms, which are fermented into collagen proteins. We assemble these proteins into various structures that correspond to a range of material properties.

The result are textiles that can be used for any number of applications: From car seats to jewelry, to jackets and shoes.

The traditional leather-making process is constrained in many ways. The shape and size of the hide, the texture and thickness of the material.

Modern Meadow’s process begins by conserving environmental resources. But it also opens up a new world of design possibilities. Scientists work side-by-side with designers to create materials with the right properties for a given application.

But in order to move efficiently from proteins to novel materials, a new computational approach is needed.

How does the traditional R&D process work? In the laboratory, scientists begin by identifying the raw building blocks for a desired material: from the micro-organism to the fermentation process, to the way it's all assembled.

Using their knowledge of biology, physics, and materials, these scientists dream up the best combinations of these building blocks, and test them rigorously in the lab.

The possibilities are, quite literally, endless. Only some combinations will lead to something that's actually a leather. And getting an exact "look" may require a very specific combination.

So the traditional lab process is slow. Scientists are given a spec for a new product, and work together to create it. It needs to have a particular color, texture, and strength.

The scientists start with what they know. Perhaps one has created a soft leather before, and another has fabricated a strong leather. Yet another knows a yeast fermentation process that creates a reddish hue. They'll get together and combine the best of their knowledge about which input properties create these outputs.

In the lab, they create this new material and test its strength, water resistance, how easily it tears. They consult with designers on hue and texture.

What's the result? Well, it’s almost got the softness, but the material is rough and not very durable. It doesn't bend too easily, and risks tearing. And the color isn’t quite right. So it’s back to the drawing board for a new combination.

There are a few limitations of this approach. It’s slow. Every experiment requires weeks of making the material, waiting, testing.

Information can be lost when someone leaves.

And, the number of products created is directly proportional to the number of experiments the scientists can run.

But what if we could accelerate the scientists’ work? Modern meadow is taking this traditional materials research and augmenting it with a computational approach.

How does a computational approach help scientists?

First, it increases the speed at which they can test new combinations. Instead of testing everything with time-consuming lab work, they can simulate the results of experiments on a computer, making predictions and narrowing in on the best combinations to test.

Second, it gives scientists a way to understand the relationship between inputs like organism and fermentation process, and outputs like color and texture. Scientist can aggregate the results of many experiments in charts and analysis. This expands their knowledge, and lets them imagine new combinations to test.

Third, data storage means every experimental property and every result is kept in the cloud, accessible to the entire team. If someone leaves, the information does not leave with them. When a new scientist arrives, past experiments are there to query and peruse.

Thanks to simulated experiments, scientists can hone in on the most valuable lab work more quickly, and test only the most promising combinations.

With a computational approach, the speed of R&D increases. In the same amount of time, more experiments can be conducted. And this accelerated R&D leads to even faster product development.

And, this accelerated R&D corresponds to even faster product growth. As experiments and knowledge build up, the team can create more novel products that meet design requirements, more quickly.

A computational approach helps Modern Meadow accelerate the pace of its scientific process, beginning with biology and resulting in a greater selection of novel materials and designs.

Modern meadow starts with the raw ingredients of biology and adds computation, to create the world's most innovative materials To learn more, visit http://www.modernmeadow.com