Bone grafting is a common orthopaedic procedure. A patient's bone is often moved to sites where there are defects created either by surgery, disease, or trauma. Natural bone from the same patient is the optimal material but is often not available in the quantity needed. Bioceramics are one family of materials that have been targeted as potential replacements for bone graft. Synthetic ceramics can be created that are almost identical to me natural mineral component of the original bone. By modifying the constituent materials, a wide range of resorbable and non-resorbable ceramics can be fabricated for this application. In conjunction with industrial collaborators, novel ceramics and composites of different ceramics are being tested as bone graft substitutes.A parallel avenue of research for the same application involves the chemical treatment of natural bone or constituents of bone from other donors. Although remote, there is always the possibility of disease transmission with the use of an allograft (a tissue from another person). This fascinating area of research involves chemically sterilizing experimental bone and then mechanically and histologically evaluating it as a graft material.