Scientists have long desired to create synthetic systems that function with the precision and efficiency of biological systems. Using new techniques, researchers are now uncovering principles that could allow the creation of synthetic materials that can perform tasks as precise as biological systems. To assess the current work and future promise of the biology-materials science intersection, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation asked the NRC to identify the most compelling questions and opportunities at this interface, suggest strategies to address them, and consider connections with national priorities such as healthcare and economic growth. This book presents a discussion of principles governing biomaterial design, a description of advanced materials for selected functions such as energy and national security, an assessment of biomolecular materials research tools, and an examination of infrastructure and resources for bridging biological and materials science.

From simple cases such as hook and latch attachments found in Velcro to articulated-wing flying vehicles, biology often has been used to inspire many creative design ideas. The scientific challenge now is to transform the paradigm into a repeatable and scalable methodology. Biologically Inspired Design explores computational techniques and tools that can help integrate the method into design practice. With an inspiring foreword from Janine Benyus, Biologically Inspired Design contains a dozen chapters written by some of the leading scholars in the transdisciplinary field of bioinspired design, such as Frank Fish, Julian Vincent and Jeannette Yen from biology, and Amaresk Chakrabarti, Satyandra Gupta and Li Shu from engineering. Based in part on discussions at two workshops sponsored by the United States National Science Foundation, this volume introduces and develops several methods and tools for bioinspired design including: Information-processing theories, Natural language techniques, Knowledge-based tools, and Functional approaches and Pedagogical techniques. By exploring these fundamental theories, techniques and tools for supporting biologically inspired design, this volume provides a comprehensive resource for design practitioners wishing to explore the paradigm, an invaluable guide to design educators interested in teaching the method, and a preliminary reading for design researchers wanting to investigate bioinspired design.

Nature is the world's foremost designer. With billions of years of experience and boasting the most extensive laboratory available, it conducts research in every branch of engineering and science. Nature's designs and capabilities have always inspired technology, from the use of tongs and tweezers to genetic algorithms and autonomous legged robots. Taking a systems perspective rather than focusing narrowly on materials or chemistry aspects, Biomimetics: Biologically Inspired Technologies examines the field from every angle. The book contains pioneering approaches to biomimetics including a new perspective on the mechanization of cognition and intelligence, as well as defense and attack strategies in nature, their applications, and potential. It surveys the field from modeling to applications and from nano- to macro-scales, beginning with an introduction to principles of using biology to inspire designs as well as biological mechanisms as models for technology. This innovative guide discusses evolutionary robotics; genetic algorithms; molecular machines; multifunctional, biological-, and nano- materials; nastic structures inspired by plants; and functional surfaces in biology. Looking inward at biological systems, the book covers the topics of biomimetic materials, structures, control, cognition, artificial muscles, biosensors that mimic senses, artificial organs, and interfaces between engineered and biological systems. The final chapter contemplates the future of the field and outlines the challenges ahead. Featuring extensive illustrations, including a 32-page full-color insert, Biomimetics: Biologically Inspired Technologies provides unmatched breadth of scope as well as lucid illumination of this promising field.

Repackaged with a new afterword, this "valuable and entertaining" (New York Times Book Review) book explores how scientists are adapting nature's best ideas to solve tough 21st century problems. Biomimicry is rapidly transforming life on earth. Biomimics study nature's most successful ideas over the past 3.5 million years, and adapt them for human use. The results are revolutionizing how materials are invented and how we compute, heal ourselves, repair the environment, and feed the world. Janine Benyus takes readers into the lab and in the field with maverick thinkers as they: discover miracle drugs by watching what chimps eat when they're sick; learn how to create by watching spiders weave fibers; harness energy by examining how a leaf converts sunlight into fuel in trillionths of a second; and many more examples. Composed of stories of vision and invention, personalities and pipe dreams, Biomimicry is must reading for anyone interested in the shape of our future.

Bioinspired Legged Locomotion: Models, Concepts, Control and Applications explores the universe of legged robots, bringing in perspectives from engineering, biology, motion science, and medicine to provide a comprehensive overview of the field. With comprehensive coverage, each chapter brings outlines, and an abstract, introduction, new developments, and a summary. Beginning with bio-inspired locomotion concepts, the book's editors present a thorough review of current literature that is followed by a more detailed view of bouncing, swinging, and balancing, the three fundamental sub functions of locomotion. This part is closed with a presentation of conceptual models for locomotion. Next, the book explores bio-inspired body design, discussing the concepts of motion control, stability, efficiency, and robustness. The morphology of legged robots follows this discussion, including biped and quadruped designs. Finally, a section on high-level control and applications discusses neuromuscular models, closing the book with examples of applications and discussions of performance, efficiency, and robustness. At the end, the editors share their perspective on the future directions of each area, presenting state-of-the-art knowledge on the subject using a structured and consistent approach that will help researchers in both academia and industry formulate a better understanding of bioinspired legged robotic locomotion and quickly apply the concepts in research or products. - Presents state-of-the-art control approaches with biological relevance - Provides a thorough understanding of the principles of organization of biological locomotion - Teaches the organization of complex systems based on low-dimensional motion concepts/control - Acts as a guideline reference for future robots/assistive devices with legged architecture - Includes a selective bibliography on the most relevant published articles

Bioinspired Materials for Medical Applications examines the inspiration of natural materials and their interpretation as modern biomaterials. With a strong focus on therapeutic and diagnostic applications, the book also examines the development and manipulation of bioinspired materials in regenerative medicine. The first set of chapters is heavily focused on bioinspired solutions for the delivery of drugs and therapeutics that also offer information on the fundamentals of these materials. Chapters in part two concentrate on bioinspired materials for diagnosis applications with a wide coverage of sensor and imaging systems With a broad coverage of the applications of bioinspired biomaterials, this book is a valuable resource for biomaterials researchers, clinicians, and scientists in academia and industry, and all those who wish to broaden their knowledge in the allied field. - Explores how materials designed and produced with inspiration from nature can be used to enhance man-made biomaterials and medical devices - Brings together the two fields of biomaterials and bioinspired materials - Written by a world-class team of research scientists, engineers, and clinicians

Archie Carr (1909-1987), the eminent naturalist, writer, and conservationist, was particularly entranced by the wildlife and ecosystems of Florida, where he lived for more than 50 years. This book - which includes some of his essays - is full of details and anecdotes about the flora, fauna, and humans that have inhabited Florida's colourful landscape.

This book comprises a first survey of the Collaborative Research Center SFB-TRR 141 ‘Biological Design and Integrative Structures – Analysis, Simulation and Implementation in Architecture’, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft since October 2014. The SFB-TRR 141 provides a collaborative framework for architects and engineers from the University of Stuttgart, biologists and physicists from the University of Freiburg and geoscientists and evolutionary biologists from the University of Tübingen. The programm is conceptualized as a dialogue between the disciplines and is based on the belief that that biomimetic research has the potential to lead everyone involved to new findings far beyond his individual reach. During the last few decades, computational methods have been introduced into all fields of science and technology. In architecture, they enable the geometric differentiation of building components and allow the fabrication of porous or fibre-based materials with locally adjusted physical and chemical properties. Recent developments in simulation technologies focus on multi-scale models and the interplay of mechanical phenomena at various hierarchical levels. In the natural sciences, a multitude of quantitative methods covering diverse hierarchical levels have been introduced. These advances in computational methods have opened a new era in biomimetics: local differentiation at various scales, the main feature of natural constructions, can for the first time not only be analysed, but to a certain extent also be transferred to building construction. Computational methodologies enable the direct exchange of information between fields of science that, until now, have been widely separated. As a result they lead to a new approach to biomimetic research, which, hopefully, contributes to a more sustainable development in architecture and building construction.

Although modern cell biology is often considered to have arisen following World War II in tandem with certain technological and methodological advances—in particular, the electron microscope and cell fractionation—its origins actually date to the 1830s and the development of cytology, the scientific study of cells. By 1924, with the publication of Edmund Vincent Cowdry’s General Cytology, the discipline had stretched beyond the bounds of purely microscopic observation to include the chemical, physical, and genetic analysis of cells. Inspired by Cowdry’s classic, watershed work, this book collects contributions from cell biologists, historians, and philosophers of science to explore the history and current status of cell biology. Despite extraordinary advances in describing both the structure and function of cells, cell biology tends to be overshadowed by molecular biology, a field that developed contemporaneously. This book remedies that unjust disparity through an investigation of cell biology’s evolution and its role in pushing forward the boundaries of biological understanding. Contributors show that modern concepts of cell organization, mechanistic explanations, epigenetics, molecular thinking, and even computational approaches all can be placed on the continuum of cell studies from cytology to cell biology and beyond. The first book in the series Convening Science: Discovery at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Visions of Cell Biology sheds new light on a century of cellular discovery.

“Young readers will be captivated by the contemporary inventors and inventions featured, and inspired to incorporate biomimicry into their own designs.” —Miranda Paul, author of One Plastic Bag and Water is Water Who's the best teacher for scientists, engineers, AND designers? Mother nature, of course! When an inventor is inspired by nature for a new creation, they are practicing something called biomimicry. Meet ten real-life scientists, engineers, and designers who imitate plants and animals to create amazing new technology. An engineer shapes the nose of his train like a kingfisher's beak. A scientist models her solar cell on the mighty leaf. Discover how we copy nature's good ideas to solve real-world problems! WINNER AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books A National Science Teacher Association Best STEM Book “Mimic Makers reveals marvels of engineering inspired by nature with images that invite careful observation and explanations that are expressive, but never over simplified.” —Kim Parfitt, AP Biology and Environmental Science teacher, curriculum developer for Howard Hughes Medical Institute Biointeractive, and recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Math Teaching. “Amazing! . . . Love that the book features the scientists and inventors, and that there is a diverse set of them. —Janine Benyus, co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute