At the request of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Army Research and Development (DASA(RT)), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, under the auspices of the Board on Army Research and Development (BOARD), will appoint a workshop planning committee. The planning committee will explore research opportunities to better understand how biological systems accomplish “hiding” in different electromagnetic spectra and highlight concepts for how engineered material systems can better leverage bio-inspired concepts. The workshop outcome will be discussion of emerging research into novel material systems that can control the electromagnetic spectrum with a special emphasis on near-infrared wavelengths. The workshop planning committee will be composed of engineers and biologists and will organize a 4-day workshop centered on three framing topics:

1. How do animals and plants “control” their visibility in different electromagnetic spectra? How does environment shape their behavior?

2. What is the role of active and passive approaches to controlling visibility? What are the cost, size, weight and power (CSWAP) implications to achieving active control? What can engineering do to break the CSWAP restraints?

3. How does nature manufacture robust multifunctional surfaces inexpensively and at scale? Are there engineering limits to bio-inspired signature management?