<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><item href="/news-events/stories/2026/january/01092026-flexible-future.php" dsn="news"><link>https://stories.uh.edu/magazine/magazine/fall-2025/a-more-flexible-future/index.html</link><featured/><top-stories/><homepage/><pubDate>01/09/2026 02:37:22 PM</pubDate><title>A More Flexible Future</title><description>Maksud Rahman, a University of Houston assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has developed a way to turn bacterial cellulose — a biodegradable material — into a multifunctional material with the potential to replace plastic.</description><image><img src="/news-events/stories/2026/january/_images/flexible_future_spiff.png" alt="bacterial cellulose sample from maksud rahman's lab at uh"/></image><categories>Science[COMMA] Energy &amp; Innovation</categories><newsrooms>/uh-energy-innovation/news-events/innovation/</newsrooms><newsroom-tags/></item>