Mycowood: A New Era for Instruments

Hear that...? Fungal violins have entered the music scene. This technology, known as Mycowood, uses fungi to partially degrade wood used to make violins; and it results in superior acoustics. We are joined by the scientist behind these innovative fungal projects, Dr. Javier Ribera, who is a materials scientist at EMPA with specialties in cellulose and wood materials. Javier walks us through the creation of Mycowood technology, and how this unique application could evolve in further wood-based design.

Topics Covered:

• The inspiration for creating Mycowood
• How climate change is physically altering our lumber supply
• The history, theory, and materials science of the famous Stradivarius Violin
• Wood as a material for resonance, and how fungi can be used to engineer the acoustics
• The three fungi tested by EMPA for Mycowood including Schizophyllum commune, Physisporinus vitreus, and Xylaria spp.
• Processes of creating Mycowood
• The current availability of Mycowood technologies

Show notes:

Dr. Javier Riberia’s Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Javier-Ribera-2

Interview with Francis Schwarze: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48H_-CRuzWY

EMPA Website:https://www.empa.ch/

Violino ai funghi (Fungal Violin): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlICRNzPoic

EMPA Report on Mycowood for Violins: https://www.empa.ch/web/s604/mycowood-violin?inheritRedirect=true

BIotech Stradivari: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.10097

Mycowood Violins in the NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/learning/mycowood-violins-a-different-kind-of-time-machine.html


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