Introduction to Biomimicry for Fluid Mechanics Students Defne Apul and Jill Shalabi University of Toledo Department of Civil Engineering Feb. 3, 2009

You will use biomimicry in your projects Part A: You will perform an experiment to measure something Part B: You will theoretically calculate what you would expect to see in the experiment Part C: You will compare the results from parts A and B Part D: You will follow up with where else this phenomenon is used in nature and in existing technology

What is biomimicry? From bios, meaning “life” + mimesis, meaning “to imitate” Biomimicry = to imitate life

Biomimicry?

The “tail” of Velcro….

Biomimicry Definition Term first used by Janine Benyus in her book, Biomimicry: Innovations Inspired by Nature (1997) Viewing nature as role model/teacher– nature has already solved many of the technological and sustainability problems that we face today - learning from nature, not about nature Imitate nature’s processes, not products

Conquest of Nature? “Conquest” of nature has consequences in today’s scientific and social paradigms

Us vs. “Them” Us Linear Centralized Individualistic Independent Inflexible Singular Them Circular Decentralized Cooperative Interdependent Adaptive Redundant

Our Results Depleted natural resources Habitat loss Climate change Endangered/extinct species Persistent bioaccumulative toxins Dependence on petroleum Problems!

Their Results Life creates conditions conducive to life Energy only from sunlight Materials synthesized at ambient temperatures using local materials No toxic pollution only a few of all of chemically possible structures are synthesized (humans use the entire periodic table!) No waste No problem!

Nature as Teacher When faced with a problem, ask the question “What organism needs to solve the same problem to survive….What Would Nature Do?”

Nature as Teacher (cont’d) Inspiration - look to nature to transform society water energy materials food Invention - original processing starting with a natural process that solves a similar problem Information - life adds info in the form of shape/structure

Some of nature’s teachers (Let’s give them a hand…..)

Whales

Kingfishers

Box fish

Termites (Look, Ma! No air conditioning…)

Seashells ( Why aren’t they infinite in size?)

Pros and Cons UN Environmental Program has biomimicry project – “Nature’s 100 Best” Habitat conservation Copy nature’s products rather than processes GE, Proctor & Gamble, Boeing, General Mills, Nike recruiting biologists

Lotus effect

Pros and Cons (cont’d) Complexity occurs at nano- and micro-scale Behavior cannot be deduced from a knowledge of components – the whole is greater than the sum of parts Nature doesn’t work toward some “final” goal like we (engineers) do Result of random experiments over thousands or millions of generations

Summary We are facing increasing pressures: Energy Water Materials Food Nature has already “figured out” how to avoid these problems Look to nature as a teacher/role model, but nature is not always cooperative…..

“It’s no problem to apply a 0.2 Newton pre-load to a patch of gecko adhesive and drag it in a distal direction at one micron per second. But try asking a gecko to do the same thing with its foot. It’ll probably just bite you.“ – Kellar Autumn, gecko adhesion researcher

Acknowledgements Slide #4 Slide #5 Slide #6 Benyus, Janine Biomimicry: Innovations Inspired by Nature. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. New York, NY, 320 pp. Slide #7 Slide #8 Slide #11http:// Slide #13 feet.jpghttp:// Slide # Slide#15 Slide #16 gallery.asphttp:// Slide #17 eastgate-centre-in-zimbabwe/

Acknowledgements (cont’d) Slide #18 Posters_i _.htmhttp:// Posters_i _.htm Slide #19 UN Environmental Program D=5816&l=en Slide # F91AF82BA85E/0/lotuseffect0005.jpg Lotus Effect: efecto-lotus/ Slide # text/8