Nontechnical summary The materials of tomorrow will have amazing properties. They should be strong, yet able to sense when they are breaking, move to heal themselves – similar to how your skin heals when it is cut. In Syracuse, NY, roads and bridges need constant repair when the asphalt and concrete materials break, especially in harsh winters and summers. The roads and bridges of the future could be made from materials that are active and able to sense when they are breaking and then move to fix themselves. These futuristic materials could be possible if we could understand how biological systems are able to do these same activities – sensing and healing. Unlike our current construction materials, biological systems and materials are active – using energy even at the smallest scales. These smallest scales are the nanoscale and they are about 1 billionth of a yard! At this level, proteins that use energy, called enzymes, are able to push and pull and organize everything. Enzymes could be a powerful source of understanding how biological materials can do the amazing things they do. Yet, we don’t know how they work. This research will give us new insights into how enzymes can move individually and collectively to change their organizations of themselves and other materials at the nanoscale. Further, we will be strengthening the local workforce through educating local students from the high school, undergraduate, graduate, and even post-doctoral levels with the funds from th