Nature as Inspiration in Materials Science and Engineering

Abstract

Biological systems have been in development for billions of years; solutions for many different classes of problems have been solved through optimization of nature’s designs, development of materials and processes, and adaptation to changing conditions on Earth. Nature is a rich source of knowledge, and present-day human life has undoubtedly progressed because of our ability to be inspired by nature, and to then innovate solutions to our problems through biomimicry. In 2008, Mueller wrote about biomimicry as a ‘‘young science of adapting designs from nature to solve modern problems [which now] may be coming of age.’’ While nature’s designs are well established, our study of nature’s designs in the context of biomimicry and bioinspiration might seem new, as Mueller suggests. In fact, bioinspiration is older than one may think; our inspiration from nature is so pervasive that many aspects of modern life are taken for granted, and bioinspiration thus seems like a newer field. When we consider specific sophisticated, modern conveniences such as traveling on an airplane, we actually find that bioinspiration, which occurred hundreds of years ago, set us down a path for innovation based on nature. Why do airplanes exist? Early pioneers of aviation saw birds flying and wanted to fly as well. One of the earliest records we have of bioinspired design is from Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519). da Vinci designed flying machines and artificial wings (see Fig. 1) based on his dissections of birds. da Vinci was well ahead of his time in the translation of nature’s designs for human use, but many of his inventions on paper never became realized in the physical world. Imagine earlier people who also saw birds in flight and wanted to fly, but their technology and knowledge did not even allow for drawing a design (paper was not invented until 105 AD!). Richardson posits that many factors might have been responsible for the lack of materialization of da Vinci’s drafted inventions: a culture that had not yet developed tinkering and experimentation as a means to test designs (a culture better developed later in the Industrial Revolution), the fear of competitors and adversaries stealing his ideas, high diversity of interests, and perhaps a personality that was easily bored once the design had been made on paper. da Vinci also had a reputation of not always delivering on time or, even worse altogether, of abandoning projects. Interestingly, other famous inventors displayed similar behavior with regard to abandonment once a solution was formed. For example, the American inventor of instant photography and Polaroid (Polaroid Corporation, Waltham, MA), Edwin Land (1909–1991), ‘‘lost all motivation to write [down solutions to problems] or prove his vision to others’’ once he ‘‘could see the solution to a problem in his head.’’ In fact, ‘‘his wife, at the prodding of his instructor, would extract from him the answers to homework problems. She would then write up the homework and hand it in so [Land] could receive credit and not fail the course.’’ Nonetheless, Land never received a degree (other than honorary degrees). However, Land’s innovative and inventive nature resulted in production of a great deal of intellectual property and in 40 publications. Who knows how many patents da Vinci would have had if patent law had been formed in his time, but Land was granted 535 U.S. patents (second only to Thomas Edison who had 1097 U.S. patents). Moreover, Land’s dedication to solving problems in commercialization was obsessive and resulted in many years of innovation and realizations of designs in cameras and products—at a cost of sometimes wearing the same clothes for 18 h and forgetting to eat. Hence, being inspired is not enough—one has to have focus as well. Interestingly, Land was also inspired by nature but in the sense of vision and human perception of color. On vacation, Land’s daughter asked why she could not see the photos he was taking with his film camera JOM, Vol. 64, No. 4, 2012