SMART MATERIALS—MATERIALS THAT ADAPT TO CHANGING CONDITIONS - Chemistry: Notable Research and Discoveries - page 132

receive a patent for “phototropic material,” an early
photochromic glass.

19 The U.S. Air Force jet F-111, a pioneering “swing

wing” (adjustable wing position) aircraft, becomes
operational.

190s Robert Q. Fugate, a researcher working for the U.S.

Air Force, and his colleagues and other researchers
develop adaptive optics.

1999 Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, installs

an adaptive optics system.

00 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

(DARPA) begins a project, Morphing Aircraft
Structures, to investigate the potential of such
technology as shape-changing wings.

00 National Aeronautics and Space Administration

successfully tests the Active Aeroelastic Wing.

00 Gregory Carman, Lenka Stepan, and Daniel Levi

design and build a heart valve made with nitinol.

FurTHErrESourCES
Print and internet

Beylerian, George M., Michele Caniato, Andrew Dent, and Bradley
Quinn. Ultra Materials: How Materials Innovation Is Changing the
World. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2007. This well-illustrated
topic focuses on smart materials developed for applications in tex-
tiles, fashion, and design.
Center for Adaptive Optics. “Adaptive Optics.” Available online. URL:
http://cfao.ucolick.org/ao/. Accessed May 28, 2009. This tutorial on
adaptive optics has sections explaining the principles of adaptive op-
tics, why it is useful, and how it works.