The economics of bio-inspired design

In November, I participated once again in a conference I’ve spoken at in the past, in the Fourth Annual Bioinspiration Conference, hosted by the San Diego Zoo. From the title of this year’s conference– Accelerating Development of Nature’s Solutions—it was clear that the conference was focused on the scientific and economic realities of developing […]

By |December 2nd, 2013|Biomimicry in Action, Flowers and plants, Shark Bites|Comments Off on The economics of bio-inspired design

Natural curves

One of the things I appreciate so much about designing with natural geometries is the fact that not only is the end result more efficient—both in terms of the materials and energy usage—plus cleaner, and quieter, but it’s also invariably more beautiful. Nature’s curving geometries are graceful and elegant, very appealing to the eye. But then, perhaps those geometries so resonate with us because we […]

By |November 18th, 2013|Biomimicry in Action, Shark Bites|Comments Off on Natural curves

Seattle Town Hall and Bioneers

Town Hall_biggerI have a busy week ahead of me—I’m speaking at Seattle’s Town Hall on “How Nature Inspires Innovation” and then giving a plenary at the 24th Annual National Bioneers Conference in Marin County. I’ve not been to Town Hall, but have been impressed by the caliber of speakers there. Certainly, if I […]

By |October 14th, 2013|Biomimicry in Action, Shark Bites|Comments Off on Seattle Town Hall and Bioneers

The elegance of fluid flow

I want to share a past NASA Image for the Day titled Glow with the Flow.  This was sent to me by one of my wonderful shareholders, Barbara Renzi, and I wanted to post it earlier, but the site was unavailable […]

By |October 2nd, 2013|Shark Bites|Comments Off on The elegance of fluid flow

Amazing Cephalopods

My wife, Francesca sent me a link to this fascinating video about  how certain cephalopods—squid, cuttlefish, and octopus, —employe camouflage. As a scuba diver and snorkeler, I knew a bit about this but admit was surprised at the extent of their abilities, particularly their use of pigments called chromatophores:

Most cephalopods possess chromatophores – that is, colored pigments – which they can use in a […]

By |September 23rd, 2013|Animals, Biomimicry in Action, Sea life, Shark Bites|Comments Off on Amazing Cephalopods

Over easy …

A little something to go with breakfast …

It seems that whenever humans create technology to solve a problem, we end up causing detrimental side effects. We created the internal combustion engine, which is less than 30 percent energy efficient, and gave rise to asbestos, chromium, lead, and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) contamination of air, lakes, and aquifers, and escalating asthma rates […]

By |September 16th, 2013|Animals, Flow, Shark Bites|Comments Off on Over easy …

A bit more about bees …

Just an update— found this on the BBC online site (though if you’re keeping an eye on the ongoing bee crisis, you may have seen this, as it’s from March): Neonicotinoid pesticides ‘damage brains of bees.’   Apparently two research papers were recently published offering substantial evidence that neonicotinoids and coumaphos interfere with bee brain activity, […]

By |September 9th, 2013|Biomimicry in Action, Flowers and plants, Insects, Shark Bites|Comments Off on A bit more about bees …

A (Sustainable) Worldwide Economic Wave

SOCAP13 logoLater this week, I’ll be participating in a panel on “The Natural Revolution” at SOCAP13, the Social Capital Markets Conference. It brings to mind the opening to Chapter 3, about this new wave of invention.

By building products and businesses that can maintain […]

By |September 2nd, 2013|Shark Bites|Comments Off on A (Sustainable) Worldwide Economic Wave

A few thoughts on book birthing

Open Book, by KoS (Own work) , via Wikimedia CommonsI’ve heard it said that bringing a book into the world is a bit like giving birth—there’s a long period of gestation followed by a surprising amount of pushing and shouting just to get the thing into readers hands. In the best of all possible […]

By |August 26th, 2013|Biomimicry in Action, Shark Bites|Comments Off on A few thoughts on book birthing

Bees are having a moment

I mentioned bees in my last post, and here we are again.  As part of an occasional series on their rooftop apiary, the San Francisco Chronicle’s August 15 Garden section highlighted a visit from Queen Turner, the head of beekeeping for the Ministry of Agriculture in Botswana.  Meanwhile, the August 19 issue […]

By |August 19th, 2013|Biomimicry in Action, Flowers and plants, Insects, Shark Bites|Comments Off on Bees are having a moment