Biomimicry: Using Nature to Develop New Technologies by Noshir Pesika

Nature has had approximately 3.5 billion years to evolve and come up with unique and highly efficient ways to overcome obstacles. As scientists, we can use Nature as a source of inspiration to develop new technologies, not necessarily completely replicating nature but rather using the underlying science to solve engineering problems. Throughout history, there have been many examples of how Nature has inspired new technologies. For examples, birds have inspired the design of airplanes, the way dolphins use echo-location has inspired the development of sonar, the way burdock seeds use their spiky surface to grip onto fibrous materials such as fur inspired the creation of Velcro, the way that lotus leaves repel water has inspired the fabrication of anti-wetting/staining fabrics and the structure of shark skin is currently being explored as a means to create anti-bacterial surfaces. This presentation will cover some of the ongoing research in the Pesika lab which includes the design and fabrication of reversible adhesives inspired by the gecko lizard footpad, the fabrication of ultra-low friction surfaces inspired by articular cartilage and the fabrication of water repellant surfaces inspired by the lotus leaf.