Konrad Rykaczewski, an assistant professor of engineering at Arizona State University, has strived for years to develop a better anti-icing solution for airplanes. His drive is more than academic: He was once stranded for two days in London when a long snowfall depleted Heathrow Airport of the supplies of antifreeze it uses to keep ice off airplane wings.
Rykaczewski’s eureka moment came later on a Panama vacation, sparked by a chance encounter with a poison dart frog. The frog’s skin inspired him to design a novel anti-icing coating. He learned that poison dart frogs have various glands in their skin. Some glands always secrete lubricant, while others secrete bits of toxin when provoked