Socially‐Directed Development of Materials for Structural Color

Abstract Advancing a socially‐directed approach to materials research and development is an imperative to address contemporary challenges and mitigate future detrimental environmental and social impacts. This paper reviews, synergizes, and identifies cross‐disciplinary opportunities at the intersection of materials science and engineering with humanistic social sciences fields. Such integrated knowledge and methodologies foster a contextual understanding of materials technologies embedded within, and impacting broader societal systems, thus informing decision making upstream and throughout the entire research and development process toward more socially responsible outcomes. Technological advances in the development of structural color, which arises due to the incoherent and coherent scattering of micro‐and nanoscale features and possesses a vast design space, are considered in this context. Specific areas of discussion include material culture, narratives, and visual perception, material waste and use, environmental and social life cycle assessment, and stakeholder and community engagement. A case study of the technical and social implications of bio‐based cellulose (as a source for structurally colored products) is provided. Socially‐directed research and development of materials for structural color hold significant capacity for improved planetary and societal impact across industries such as aerospace, consumer products, displays and sensors, paints and dyes, and food and agriculture.