Wyss Core Faculty member Neel Joshi and Postdoctoral Fellow Anna Duraj-Thatte discuss the intersection between synthetic biology and materials science as an underexplored area with great potential to positively affect our daily lives—applications ranging from manufacturing to medicine. Dr. Joshi outlines ways that his lab at the Wyss Institute is looking at reprogramming bacteria in a wide variety of purposes such as surface applications, healthcare, and even potential means of environmental cleanup. Dr. Duraj-Thatte reviews the means that the bacteria she works with can be used for creating biofilms that can have rigid form and could be used to create synthetic biological building materials.