UVA School of Engineering assistant professor Liheng Cai is developing a new synthetic rubber that is not stereotypical of durable materials that are stiff, heavy, and bulky. Cai’s lab is heeding the challenge of coming up with a new soft material that is “soft as a Jello-O or ice cream, or even as soft as biological tissues – but that contains no water or solvents”, according to Cai.