Marília Sonego is a materials engineer who, like any good scientist, saw a complex problem amid a routine experiment. Her project examines an apparent contradiction of the hedgehog, the shell of the versatile Brazil nut. Although the hedgehog has evolved to resist, a close examination of its structure under a microscope reveals numerous cracks and empty spots. And it was at a family lunch, when listening to a story about her father’s misadventure with a chestnut, that the engineer had the insight that guided part of her academic efforts. Can the strategic distribution of voids or cracks in a structure strengthen a material instead of weakening it?

Graduated in materials engineering from the Federal University of São Carlos, Sonego completed her master’s and doctorate studies at UFSC. In postgraduate studies, she attended Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht and Technische Universität Berlin in Germany. She is currently a professor at the Federal University of Itajubá, where she continues to investigate biomimicry. This approach seeks to apply the strategies and structures developed by natural selection to contemporary problems. To find balance, Sonego practices acrobatic fabric, dances forró and paints watercolours.