https://phys.org/news/2018-07-lasers-mimic-shark-skin-natural.html

"Our structures are very important to the military, Boeing and NASA," said Alexander, Kingery Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "We're emphasizing these structures using these surfaces in harsh environments, but there isn't any metal surface we can't functionalize."

His team uses extremely short-burst laser pulses—those lasting tiny fractions of a second—to alter just the very fringe of a metal surface. Altering the laser angle and other parameters creates surfaces that mimic nature.