Currently, we face frightening and complex threats to humanity in form of climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity and ecosystems.I believe that an important aspect to mitigate these threats is to rethink how and what products and more especially which materials we use. I want to participate in this effort by researching and developing new, innovative materials – in particular, efficient bio-based polymers, fibres, and composites.I want to tackle these threats by the lens of biomimetics: this interdisciplinary and holistic approach is very useful for finding efficient and innovative solutions to a wide range of technical problems. It opens the eye to complex material-structure-property relationships, to true recycling and circular economy, and finally to the beauty of life from the smallest cell to the largest ecosystem and why they are worth being preserved with all the energy we have.