Dr Maksud Rahman, a BUET Mechanical Engineering graduate and Assistant Professor at the University of Houston, has developed a biodegradable alternative to plastic using bacterial cellulose.

Published in Nature Communications, his team’s research introduced a scalable method to align cellulose nanofibrils using fluid flow, producing strong, transparent sheets. They enhanced the material further with boron nitride nanosheets, achieving tensile strengths up to 553 MPa and triple the thermal conductivity of typical samples.

“We’re guiding the bacteria to produce cellulose in an organised, purposeful way,” said Dr Rahman. The innovation could revolutionise packaging, textiles, electronics, and more with eco-friendly solutions.