 |
| In this issue
 | The Biomimicry Institute Newsletter - July 2010 Mexican Biomimicry Workshop Addresses Local Design Challenge  Water - lack of it, too much of it, quality of it. That was the theme followed by 23 participants at the recent Biomimicry and Design Workshop in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. The fourth annual Veracruz workshop took participants on a tour of habitats from desert to dry pine forest and from rainforest to mangroves. Along the way, the participants learned about biomimicry and applied the biomimicry methodology to a challenge faced by many communities there - managing storm water in a city located in the rainforest. The Veracruz workshop was organized and taught by Biomimicry Fellows Raúl de Villafranca and Delfín Montañana from the Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA) and Megan Schuknecht and Sherry Ritter from The Biomimicry Institute.Prior to the week-long workshop, the four instructors taught a half-day biomimicry workshop to over 50 eager professionals and students on the UIA campus, and Megan and Sherry delivered evening lectures on biomimicry and Life's Principles to conclude UIA's diploma course on sustainable design and construction. Biomimicry Seed Planted in the Netherlands The Netherlands are known for their struggle against the elements, mainly rising water. Now it is time to work with the elements in order to innovate for a truly sustainable society. In the International Center for Sustainable Excellence (ICSE) in Eindhoven, design capital of North Western Europe, a new branch of biomimicry has sprouted. BiomimicryNL is one of the first not-for-profit organizations outside the U.S. that has begun the process of creating a strategic partnership with The Biomimicry Institute and the Biomimicry Guild. Our main focus is to inspire, educate, and create a network of biomimicry-interested professionals here in Europe. In our short existence, already a profound number of Dutch universities have shown interest in incorporating biomimicry in their curriculae, among them the world renowned Design Academy, our neighbor here in Eindhoven. It’s just a matter of time before Dutch biomimicry designs will change the world!  In cooperation with Dayna Baumeister of the Biomimicry Guild, BiomimicryNL is organizing a two-day workshop on October 6th and 7th at the ICSE in Eindhoven, immediately followed by a five-day Biologist at the Design Table Training from October 8-13. Contributed by Bas Sanders, Netherlands NL What can an Elephant Teach You about Communication? Join us in South Africa and Find Out!  This is not the zoo. Join us in South Africa in September and learn to view, value, and be inspired by the country's amazing wildlife and flora in the context in which they evolved. You can participate in our Biomimicry & Design Workshop or our second-ever, and first international, Biomimicry Educators' Training Workshop. Both workshops will be held in Tilodi Wilderness, Leeuwpoort, about two hours by road from Johannesburg. Registration for international workshop applicants will open July 19. However, if you would like to attend the educators' workshop, you are invited to apply now (PDF).AskNature Featured Product FLOWE Wind Farm Design
One problem with conventional wind turbines is that they take up a lot of land. Dr. John Dabiri at the Biological Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, is now testing an array of vertical-axis wind turbines based on his research on how fish in schools use small vortices shed by other fish to lower the energy cost of swimming. By testing arrangements of vertical-axis turbines, Dabiri and his colleagues hope to greatly increase power output per acre of land. Visit AskNature, our online database of biological solutions and biomimetic products, for more sources of design inspiration. Biomimicry Research and Design News Roundup BBC Earth News: Turtle 'super tongue' lets reptile survive underwater Wyss Institute: Bioengineers at Harvard's Wyss Institute Successfully Replicate Nature's Design Principles to Create Customized Nanofabrics Treehugger: Box Designed to Regrow Plants in Deserts Could Save Drought-Stressed California Wineries Science News: Mechanism Behind Controlled Swarm in Bacteria Discovered |
Address postal inquiries to:
Biomimicry Institute
257 W. Front St.
Suite B
Suite B
Missoula, MT 59802
