OPEN ACCESS
Bio-inspired design (BID) and its many variants (biomimetics, biomimicry etc.) continues to be a promising innovation methodology in which practitioners from industry and academia search nature’s evolutionary diversity for meaningful design opportunities. However, despite BID’s potential to contribute greater value to society, it remains an obscure field. In this paper, we present a case dem- onstrating how a novel educational exercise could play an important role in advancing the field by stimulating student interest in BID and the more broadly associated Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields which drive it. Specifically, we discuss a cross-disciplinary university seminar that uses an experimental photo journaling exercise called the “de Mestral Project” which aims to recreate the successful invention process of Velcro by Engineer Georges de Mestral. This exercise cultivates observation skills, or the ability to look closer at the natural world as a foundation for uncovering new opportunities for design. Critical to the activity is the use of macro photography to help facilitate this discovery process. The outcome of this project has led to early stage BID concepts that have been explored more deeply in subsequent funded research efforts and in capstone Industrial Design studio projects. The development of the de Mestral project in ongoing; the purpose of this paper is to describe its methods and preliminary outcomes.
bio-inspiration, bio-inspired design, biomimicry, biomimetics, interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, sustainable design, STEM.
[1] Whitefoot, K.S. & Olson, S., Making Value: Integrating Manufacturing, Design, and Innovation to Thrive in the Changing Global Economy, The National Academies Press: Washington and DC, 2012.
[2] Kelly, D., Xie, H., Nord, C.W., Jenkins, F., Chan, J.Y. & Kastberg, D., Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Mathematics, Science, and Reading Literacy in an Inter- national Context: First Look at PISA 2012, National Center for Education Statistics: Washington and DC, 2013.
[3] US Department of State, 2016, available at: http://www.state.gov/e/oes/stc/stem/index. htm.
[4] National Research Council. Convergence: facilitating transdisciplinary integration of life sciences, physical sciences, engineering, and beyond. Committee on Key Challenge Areas for Convergence and Health. Board on Life Sciences, Division on Earth and Life Studies, The National Academies Press: Washington and DC, 2014.
[5] Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, 2016, available at: http://wyss. harvard.edu/viewpage/537/.
[6] PureBond Hardwood Plywood, available at: http://purebondplywood.com/about/the- purebond-story/.
[7] Fermanian Business & Economic Institute, Bioinspiration: An Economic Progress Report, 2013, [Online], available at: http://www.pointloma.edu/sites/default/files/file- manager/Fermanian_Business Economic_Institute/Economic_Reports/BioReport13. FINAL.sm.pdf.
[8] National Research Council. A New Biology for the 21st Century, National Acade- mies Press: Washington, 2009, available at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_ id=12764.
[9] Vincent, J.F., Bogatyreva, O.A., Bogatyrev, N.R., Bowyer, A. & Pahl, A., Biomimetics: its practice and theory. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 3(9), pp. 471–482, 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2006.0127
[10] Nagel, J., Kennedy, B. & Buikema, A., Integrating biology, engineering and design for sustainable innovation. In Conference Proceedings: International Stem Education Conference of the IEEE, IEEE: Princeton, 2015.
[11] Center for Biologically Inspired Design, Georgia Institute of Technology, available at: http://www.cbid.gatech.edu/.
[12] The Biomimicry Center, Arizona State University, available at: http://biomimicry.asu. edu/.
[13] Yen, J., Weissburg, M., Helms, M. & Goel, A., Biologically inspired design: a tool for interdisciplinary education. Biomimietics: Nature-Based Innovation, ed. Y. Bar-Cohen, Taylor & Francis, pp. 331–360, 2011.
[14] Biomimicry 3.8 Institute, AskNature – The Biomimicry Webportal, Available at: http:// www.asknature.org/, (accessed 20 May 2016).
[15] Kelley, T. & Kelley, D., Creative Confidence, Crown Publishing: New York, 2013.
[16] Autumn, K., Sitti, M., Liang, Y.A., Peattie, A.M., Hansen, W.R., Sponberg, S., Kenny, T.W., Fearing, R., Israelachvili, J.N. & Full, R.J., Evidence for van der Waals adhesion in gecko setae. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 99(19), pp. 12252– 12256, 2002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.192252799