The Biomimicry Resource Handbook: A Seed Bank of Best Practices contains over 250 pages of our most current biomimicry thinking, methodology, and tools for naturalizing biomimicry into the culture. We believe there is no better design partner than nature. But biomimicry is more than just looking at the shape of a flower or dragonfly and becoming newly inspired; it's a methodology that's being used by some of the biggest companies and innovative universities in the world. While reading this text you'll be immersed into the world of Biomimicry the "verb", you'll gain a competitive edge, and a fresh perspective on how the world around us can, does, and should work. After reading the text, you'll be well on your way to thinking in systems, designing in context, identifying patterns, and most importantly seeing the millions of organisms around us....differently. The text is directly applicable to designers, biologists, engineers, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, but has also proven valuable to students, educators, and a wide variety of other disciplines. Visit biomimicry.net to learn more. A digital version is available at shop.biomimicrygroup.com

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.

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.

Biomimicry uses our scienti?c understanding of biological systems to exploit ideas from nature in order to construct some technology. In this book, we focus onhowtousebiomimicryof the functionaloperationofthe “hardwareandso- ware” of biological systems for the development of optimization algorithms and feedbackcontrolsystemsthatextendourcapabilitiestoimplementsophisticated levels of automation. The primary focus is not on the modeling, emulation, or analysis of some biological system. The focus is on using “bio-inspiration” to inject new ideas, techniques, and perspective into the engineering of complex automation systems. There are many biological processes that, at some level of abstraction, can berepresentedasoptimizationprocesses,manyofwhichhaveasa basicpurpose automatic control, decision making, or automation. For instance, at the level of everyday experience, we can view the actions of a human operator of some process (e. g. , the driver of a car) as being a series of the best choices he or she makes in trying to achieve some goal (staying on the road); emulation of this decision-making process amounts to modeling a type of biological optimization and decision-making process, and implementation of the resulting algorithm results in “human mimicry” for automation. There are clearer examples of - ological optimization processes that are used for control and automation when you consider nonhuman biological or behavioral processes, or the (internal) - ology of the human and not the resulting external behavioral characteristics (like driving a car). For instance, there are homeostasis processes where, for instance, temperature is regulated in the human body.

With escalating concerns over the current state of our planet, the realization to work toward reducing our environmental footprint is gaining momentum. Scientists have realized that green chemistry is the key to reduce waste, rendering healthy environment, and improving human health. The 12 principles of green chemistry are the basic tenets that require understanding at the most fundamental level and implementation to promoting sustainable synthesis. This book discusses innovations in the form of greener technologies (superior green catalysts, alternate reaction media, and green energy sources) and elaborates their tremendous potential in combating the critical global challenges on the horizon. It intends to empower and educate students to grasp the key concepts of green chemistry, think out of the box and come up with new ideas, and apply the basic concepts in greening the world. It extensively covers the goals of the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development, which can be successfully achieved with the aid of green chemistry. It also highlights cutting-edge greener technologies such as biomimicry, miniaturization, and continuous flow. Edited by two active green chemists, the book presents in-depth knowledge of this field and is extremely helpful for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate readers, as well as academic and industrial researchers.

What would you do if you had 4 billion years to either improve or die?Chances are, you'd create the most finely-tuned machine in the known universe.Nature is a breathtaking project in survival and competition. The results have been spectacular. Nature has found a home in every corner of the globe - from the frigid ice sheets of Antarctica to the scalding waters around volcanic vents.That's testament to Nature's ability to succeed even in the face of enormous stresses. To do this, Nature has to be: Efficient Flexible Collaborative Creative Diverse These and other competitive traits of Nature have allowed it to thrive for billions of years - against enormous odds.Now, in Biomimicry for Organizations, you can examine for yourself the very qualities that Nature uses to resist the stresses of the surrounding environment and proliferate. You'll have access to insights based on the most competitive organizational model on the planet.Start your journey towards greater organizations today: Discover the qualities that Nature uses to resist the stresses of the surrounding environments and proliferate Get access to insights based on the most competitive organizational models on the planet Discover how you can make these solutions work for you and your organization Make your business, your team, your processes more efficient Re-envision problems and opportunities, overcome roadblocks to success and optimal functioning Obtain radical improvements in the organization of your resources All of this shown - in a plain and simple English - with New edition, with enhanced emphasis on key concepts and simple workshop suggestions to put biomimicry at work for you now.

Design-Based Concept Learning in Science and Technology Education brings together contributions from researchers that have investigated what conditions need to be fulfilled to make design-based education work.