Video Presentations

Plant-inspired materials systems and structures: Solutions for a “greener” technology in the 21st century

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Thomas Speck (Website)

During the last decades, biomimetics has attracted increasing attention as well from basic and applied research as from various fields of industry and building construction.

Biomimetics has a high innovation potential and offers the possibility for the development of sustainable technical products and production chains. The huge number of organisms with the specific structures and functions they have developed during evolution in adaptation to differing environments represents the basis for all biomimetic R&D-projects. Novel sophisticated methods for quantitatively analysing and simulating the form-structure-function-relation on various hierarchical levels allow new fascination insights in multi-scale mechanics and other functions of biological materials and surfaces. Additionally, new production methods enable for the first time the transfer of many outstanding properties of the biological role models into innovative biomimetic products for reasonable costs.

Animals with their fascinating movement processes have long attracted interest, but more recently also plants have been recognized as valuable concept generators for biomimetic research. The great variety of current plant-inspired material and product development is demonstrated by the Plant Biomechanics Group’s research projects of recent years. Examples include bioinspired branched and unbranched fibre-reinforced light-weight load-bearing systems, damping and puncture resistant materials systems, as well adaptive (anti-)attachment and self-repairing materials systems. Special emphasis is laid on embodied energy and intelligence found in moving plant organs which offer a huge potential for a new generation of materials systems for soft robots as well as for bioinspired architecture and technical applications in general. Such materials systems are a major field of research within the Cluster of Excellence Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS).

Biocene 2020 Virtual Event

Biocene 2020 | NASA VINE’s Virtual Tour Video Project

Winners of the Virtual Video Competition were as follows:

• “Most educational” – na2ure with “PatternABC and PeTaL – na2ure x nasa”
• “Most inclusive” – CBID and CEISMC @ Georgia Tech with “Bio-Inspired Design for Engineering Education (BIRDEE)”
• “Most inspiring” – Biomimicry 3.8 with “Project Positive”
• “Most relevant to NASA’s missions” – PAX SCIENTIFIC, INC. with “Flair Fans by PAX Scientific”

Opening Remarks for Biocene 2020	Cultivating Future Innovators & Entrepreneurs
How can Biom* be used as a vehicle to support teaching of other disciplinary topics?	Diverse Perspectives, Equity, and Inclusion Day 1 – Amplifying Diverse Voices
Combating Ableism Panel	Continuing Conversation with Giselle Carr: “Wild Resilience: Learnings from Islands for a World Navigating Disorder”
Ideas for teaching Biom	Lightning session/Open mic – stories of diversity
VINE Cluster Report Outs	Interactive session: NSF grant work and working session on what should be included in a college level course.