Othmane Benafan is a NASA engineer whose work is literally reshaping how we use aerospace materials \u2014 he creates metals that can shape shift. Benafan, a materials research engineer at NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, creates metals called shape memory alloys that are custom-made to solve some of the most pressing challenges of space exploration and aviation.<\/p>\n
\u201cA shape memory alloy starts off just like any other metal, except it has this wonderful property: it can remember shapes,\u201d Benafan says. \u201cYou can bend it, you can deform it out of shape, and once you heat it, it returns to its shape.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n