Evolving cellular automata to grow microstructures

Abstract. The properties of engineering structures such as cars, cell phones or bridges rely on materials and on the properties of these materials. The study of these properties, which are determined by the internal architecture of the material or microstructure, has significant importance for material scientists. One of the things needed for this study is a tool that can create microstructural patterns. In this paper we explore the use of a genetic algorithm to evolve the rules of an effector automata to recreate these microstructural patterns