Events

Welcome to the Events Weblog!

This Weblog is sponsored by the Biomimicry Institute and is intended to announce time-sensitive activities related to Biomimicry.  You are encouraged to comment on any entry through the Comments field in the trailer of each post.  TypePad asks for an e-mail address which will be publicly visible to visitors of the Weblog.  Many people set up e-mail accounts on Yahoo or Hotmail specifically for this purpose, in case the e-mail gets SPAMed.

Contributions to this Weblog are greatly appreciated!  You can post a comment to the Guest Contributions entry - I will periodically review the comments and create Events posts, giving credit to the original contributor.

Thanks, Norbert Hoeller

Oct. 1-2/2009: Biomimicry Conference in San Diego

Biomimicry Conference in San Diego.

Thursday, October 1, San Diego Zoo, 4:00 – 7:30PM

• Registration
• Biomimicry Bus Tour (4 stops with Zoo Keeper interactions)
• Wine reception with Mini Invention Convention at the new Elephant Odyssey Exhibit, and Animal Care Facility open house
• Chip Heath: “How to create an innovation hub: Biomimicry and San Diego”

Friday, October 2, Prado Ballroom, Balboa Park, 9:00AM – 3:00PM

• Welcome & Introductions
• Janine Benyus: The Future of Biomimicry
• Panel: Biomimicry from an Educational Perspective
• Lunch
• Jay Harman: The Business of Biomimicry
• Panel: Biomimicry from a Business Perspective
• Closing

According to Helen Cheng of the San Diego Zoo:

"For those who are unable to come to the conference, we will be posting some of the talks on our website at www.sandiegozoo.org/biomimicry."

Sept. 23/2009: Biomimicry in Design (London, UK)

Sept. 23/2009: Biomimicry in Design (London, UK).

"Ants can make zero waste, solar powered, sustainable architecture; how can we apply their ‘intelligence’ and 3.5 billion years of research and development to human focused, sustainable design? Join Michael Pawlyn, a pioneer of biomimetic architecture, and other prominent thinkers in this rapidly emerging area of design for this day of astounding talks and inspiring workshops."

According to http://www.londondesignfestival.com/events/greengaged-design-council, the event will be held at the Design Council, 3rd Floor, 34 Bow Street, London WC2E 7DL.   Speakers include Michael Pawlyn and Julian Vincent.The event runs from 9am to 5pm and is free, but space is limited.

Thanks to Julian Vincent and the Biomimetics list for the pointer!

April 7-9/2010: EvoEnvironment 2 - Nature Inspired Methods for Environmental Issues

Welcome to EvoStar 2010.

"EvoEnvironment 2, an event of the EvoApplications Conference is devoted to the use of nature inspired methods for environmental issues. The goal of this event is to bring researchers from a variety of different areas, computer scientists, engineers, biologists, chemists - all in concern about the environment - together for an exchange of ideas. We invite submissions on many diverse topics such as waste management, sewage treatment, control of greenhouse gas emissions, biodegradation of materials, efficient energy use or use of renewable energies to name but a few. Nature inspired methods include all aspects of evolutionary computation such as genetic algorithms, evolution strategies, genetic programming, ant algorithms, or particle swarm systems. Researchers working with bio-inspired systems or bionic systems, i.e. systems developed by looking at how nature has solved a problem are also encouraged to submit their work."

The conference will be held in Istanbul. Papers can be submitted until November 4/2009, with notification of acceptance in early January 2010.

Thanks to John Summerscales and the Biomimetics listserv for the pointer!

Oct. 15-16/2009: CBID Enhancing Innovation Through Biologically-Inspired Design

Link: CBID Enhancing Innovation Through Biologically-Inspired Design.

"With Georgia Tech's new course, Enhancing Innovation through Biologically-inspired Design, you will learn how to “think outside the box” by developing designs based on the efficiency and adaptability of natural systems.

How you will benefit:

• Rethink your approach to design and product development using principles mined from nature.
• Solve design challenges using principles from natural systems as inspiration.
• Apply proven methods and techniques to develop innovative, sustainable solutions.

This course is designed for engineers, product development professionals, and designers in a variety of industries. Architects and professionals with an interest in sustainability are strongly encouraged to attend."

July 27/2009: BBC Radio 4 Programmes - Biomimicry: Inspired by Nature

BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - Biomimicry: Inspired by Nature.

Scientist and broadcaster Prof Trevor Cox explores a new wave of biomimicry - copying nature - which aims to recreate the processes and systems that evolution has taken millions of years to perfect.

The science has moved on from Velcro and cat's eyes in the road, which mimic Nature's designs for our own benefit. What if we could take it further than just one-off, quirky projects and apply it to whole processes and industries? Could we learn a sustainable, innovative way of doing things that would enrich the Earth rather than using up its limited resources?

The broadcast is scheduled for 21:00 - I am not sure what timezone that is, but expect BBC will make the broadcast available via the BBC iPlayer.

Thanks to Emma Johnson and the Biomimetics listserv for the pointer!

October 26-28/2009: Natural and Biomimetic Mechanosensing

2009/05/11: Corrected date

Natural and Biomimetic Mechanosensing (Dresden).

"... the conference is dedicated to the identification of common principles underlying the widespread use in nature of arrays of mechano-sensory structures for the extraction of meaning from environmental signals under adverse conditions. A second focus will be on engineered systems derived from those principles"

Topics include:

• Biological mechanosensors
• • Sensory hairs: cercal hairs, trichobothria, vibrissae, etc.
  • Hair cells: mechanical properties, transduction mechanisms, etc.
  • Sensory systems: vibration sensors, flow sensors, pressure sensors, strain sensors, gravity sensors, acceleration sensors, rotation sensors, etc.
• Neuronal processing of mechanosensor arrays
• • Cricket cercal system
  • Lateral-line system
  • Hearing system
  • Vestibular system
• Artificial life-inspired mechanosensor arrays
• • Sensor materials
  • Fabrication techniques: MEMS, micro-fabrication, etc.
  • Modeling and characterisation: methods, figure(s) of merit, performance metrics
  • Sensors and actuators: artificial lateral-line sensors, anemometer arrays, etc.
• Applications of mechanosensor arrays
• • Sensors: pressure, flow, gravity, acceleration, vibration, strain, rotation, etc.
  • (Bio)robotics

Thanks to Richard Bonser for the pointer!

Postdoctoral fellow in CFD: Nova Scotia, Canada

Postdoctoral position available in Computational Fluid Dynamics, Comparative Biomechanics Laboratory, Nova Scotia Canada

Principal Investigator: Edwin DeMont, Biology Department, St. Francis Xavier University

Position Description: We are currently seeking a postdoctoral researcher to study a biomimicry application to the energy sector. The applicant should have some expertise in computational fluid dynamics, preferably with some experience using Fluent. Computational work will be completed on ACEnet.

Funding is initially for one year, and renewable pending availability of funds.

More information on the Comparative Biomechanics Laboratory is available at: http://people.stfx.ca/edemont/biomechanics-lab.html

St. Francis Xavier University is located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, a coastal community in eastern Canada.

Interested applicants should send a curriculum vita and the contact information for three letters of reference directly to E. DeMont. The position is available immediately. More information on the project can be provided to interested applicants.

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