Nature Inspired Engineering

Goals

To provide the student with an overall understanding of the principles and methods of nature inspired engineering; To showcase and discuss examples of nature solutions to address adaptation challenges; To guide conceptual nature inspired designs to address engineering challenges; To promote innovative solutions, critical thinking, and engineering judgment.

Issues Involved or Addressed

To understand how nature deals with and/or optimizes the phenomena of thermal regulation, penetration, separation, and breakdown, and use the learned knowledge to develop sustainable and resilient infrastructures and construction technologies. The team works on multiple topics related to infrastructure, including: Design the space/structures/materials for passive heating/cooling Understand the penetration processes of plants and animals into soils and rocks Develop new subsurface drilling technologies Investigate the strategies by nature in redistributing and processing liquids and solids Key activities of these topics include function analysis, searching for natural examples, discovering underlying mechanisms, and brainstorming prototype testing.

Partners/Sponsors

NSF