Hagfish Slime is the new Spiderweb Silk
Posted: October 29, 2011 Filed under: Biology Research, Biomimicry Methodology | Tags: biodegradable green chemistry, biological models, biomimicry fibres, bridging biology research to design, hagfish slime, high school biomimicry 2 Comments
After only a second or two, these sheets of slime are produced by the small, ancient Hagfish. If you look up close you can see the threads that create a chaotic woven structure that hold the sheets of slime together. Thanks to Jamie Miller for the photo.
This week I helped run a biomimicry workshop with high school kids. Many thanks to Dr Doug Fudge for inviting me in on the session, and Jamie Miller for making it all happen.
During the workshop Dr Fudge showed off his research into whale baleen , and the amazing slime from hagfishes. Jamie and I played with the students, helping them extract functional insights from the organisms and then leading brainstorming sessions around further research questions and design ideas. Overall it was a great experience, biomimicry encouraged everyone to look at the organisms in a different way, and ultimately Dr Fudge was thrown some questions and ideas that he has never considered before, which is always a success.
But the Hagfish Stole the Show
Lovely little critter resting in a neat spiral. Seems like the name hag is a bit harsh, until you get up close to their faces...
Scenarios of Sustainability & Biomimicry
Posted: August 18, 2011 Filed under: Biomimicry Methodology, Scenarios of Sustainability | Tags: biological models, biomimicry methodologies, biomimicry scenarios, call for help, product design and biomimicry, product design sustainability, reduced consumption, scenarios of sustainability, up-cycling in biology 9 Comments
I don't really have a good image to go with this post, so here are some kangaroos.
Ok wonderful people out there, I need some input. I’m framing a discussion around scenarios of sustainability and the deeper I get into the issues of design, the further I get from inspiration from nature. It may be because I am in a process of trying to over simplify things and might not be seeing the wood for the trees, so I’m looking for some feedback.
Scenarios of Sustainability:
I want to qualify that my statements below are my first attempt at articulating what the scenarios of sustainability are from a product design perspective. I’m not sure all my generalizations below will stand up to Architectural investigation (yet), and am well aware that there are huge issues (social sustainability, cultural diversity) that are not being tackled (yet).
Bouncing Ideas 
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