Biologically inspired engineering

Biologically inspired engineering is a new scientific discipline that applies biological principles to develop new engineering solutions for medicine, industry, the environment, and many other fields that have previously not been touched by the biology revolution. The emergence of this new discipline is the culmination of the unification of the life sciences with engineering and the physical sciences, and it is leading to an ever deeper understanding of how life works. Biologically inspired engineering involves deep exploration into the way that living cells, tissues, and organisms build, control, manufacture, recycle, and adapt to their environment. Bioinspired engineers leverage this knowledge to innovate new technologies and translate them into products that meet real world challenges.

Biologically inspired engineering is an interdisciplinary field encompassing many specialty areas in biology (molecular cell biology, genetic engineering, developmental biology, organismal biology, clinical medicine), engineering (biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics), and the physical sciences (chemistry, physics, materials science, and nanotechnology). Integrated research programs in this area span many of these disciplines and include biomimicry, as well as analysis of the way that living systems form and function using self-assembling nanomaterials, complex dynamic networks, non-linear dynamical control, self-organizing behavior, evolution, and natural selection.

External links

• Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering at UCL (University College London)
• Biological Robotics at the University of Tulsa
• Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
• The Biomimicry Institute
• Center for Biologically Inspired Design
• Biologically Inspired Design group at the Design and Intelligence Lab, Georgia Tech
• Center for Biologically Inspired Materials & Material Systems
• Biologically Inspired Product Development at the University of Maryland
• The Biologically Inspired Materials Institute
• Center for Biologically Inspired Robotics Research at Case Western Reserve University
• Biologically Inspired Materials Institute