Biomimetic Design
Venue: A221 Room - Polo scientifico-tecnologico Fabio Ferrari via Sommarive 9 - Trento
Lectures: May 31st 11.00-13.00 and June 4th 15.00-17.00
- Vamsi Yadavalli - Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA,USA
Biomimetic design reflects a unique approach to innovation inspired and guided by the concept of “learning from nature”. From airplane wings envisioned by da Vinci to Velcro®, humans have long turned to countless flora and fauna for inspiration and instruction. Amazing functional architectures have been perfected over billions of years of evolution. Nature not only teaches, but provides structurally hierarchical systems for utilization, reverse engineering or re-engineering to form devices and materials that are sophisticated, sustainable and renewable. In these lectures, we will discuss several examples of both biomimetic designs as well as potentials for biodesign across multiple length scales. These range from superhydrophobic leaves to tough mollusk nacre; from dynamic drag reducing shark skin to beak-inspired trains; from polysaccharide-based chitinous exoskeletons in crabs to structural iridescence in Morpho butterfly wings and peacock feathers. In addition, various synthetic and natural materials inspired by or derived from such systems will be discussed for applications such as regenerative medicine or bioelectronics.