Biomimicry: Harnessing Nature’s Wisdom for Modern Solutions

2. Welcome to our course on Let’s Ask Nature: How Biology Informs Modern Design and Problem Solving Moderator: Peter Woodruff SS3L Winter 2015

3. Biomimicry is an old practice and a new discipline that emulates nature’s time-tested strategies for surviving and thriving sustainably on Earth. International Society of Sustainability Professionals 

4. Biomimicry is a growing discipline that studies nature’s systems and then imitates these designs and processes to sustainably solve current challenges. Studying a leaf to invent a better solar cell is an example of biomimicry. Studying the intertwined complexities of a watershed to understand systems thinking is another. While biomimicry may be an emerging discipline in western culture, it is preceded by the practice of biomimicry embedded in many indigenous cultures. http://www.sustainabilityleadersnetwork.org/2013/03/biomimicry-curriculum/

5. Biomimicry is a growing discipline that studies nature’s systems and then imitates these designs and processes to sustainably solve current challenges. Studying a leaf to invent a better solar cell is an example of biomimicry. Studying the intertwined complexities of a watershed to understand systems thinking is another. While biomimicry may be an emerging discipline in western culture, it is preceded by the practice of biomimicry embedded in many indigenous cultures. http://www.sustainabilityleadersnetwork.org/2013/03/biomimicry-curriculum/

6. Biomimicry is a growing discipline that studies nature’s systems and then imitates these designs and processes to sustainably solve current challenges. Studying a leaf to invent a better solar cell is an example of biomimicry. Studying the intertwined complexities of a watershed to understand systems thinking is another. While biomimicry may be an emerging discipline in western culture, it is preceded by the practice of biomimicry embedded in many indigenous cultures. http://www.sustainabilityleadersnetwork.org/2013/03/biomimicry-curriculum/

7. Biomimicry is a growing discipline that studies nature’s systems and then imitates these designs and processes to sustainably solve current challenges. Studying a leaf to invent a better solar cell is an example of biomimicry. Studying the intertwined complexities of a watershed to understand systems thinking is another. While biomimicry may be an emerging discipline in western culture, it is preceded by the practice of biomimicry embedded in many indigenous cultures. http://www.sustainabilityleadersnetwork.org/2013/03/biomimicry-curriculum/

8. What Could Nature Teach Us? • Agriculture • Architecture • Climate Change • Energy • Energy Efficiency • Human Safety • Industrial Design • Medicine • Natural Cleaning • Transportation Biomimicry 3.8 http://biomimicry.net/about/biomimicry/case-examples/

9. So, are all of these terms equivalent? See handout

10. http://www.sustainabilityleadersnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Day-1-Slides-on-Biomimicry-advanced.pdfhttp://www.sustainabilityleadersnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Day-1-Slides-on-Biomimicry-advanced.pdf

11. Papers in biomimetics http://data.nistep.go.jp/dspace/bitstream/11035/2843/1/NISTEP-STT037E-53.pdf

14. Why Look to Biology for Design Ideas?

15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n77BfxnVlyc Janine Benyus: 12 sustainable design ideas from nature