Nature has spent 3.8 billion years refining form, function and process. With scientific rigour and creativity, we can use nature to solve almost any problem – from the nanoscale to the global. We call this bioinspiration.
About
Bioinspiration involves taking principles from biological systems and applying them to technological and design problems. As global challenges become more complex, we’re increasingly drawing inspiration from biological systems to find new solutions.
The BioInspiration Hallmark Research Initiative exists to enhance innovation and impact by enabling convergence between the biological and physical sciences, engineering and design. This requires collaboration between practitioners in diverse fields including physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, design, architecture, evolutionary biology and ecology.
The initiative works with a range of research institutes and industry partners to find bioinspired solutions to a broad range of problems in:
- Nano-optics and materials
- Chemical sensors
- Design in architecture.
Our research capability
The initiative brings together researchers from across the University, including:
- Faculty of Science (BioSciences, Chemistry and Physics)
- Melbourne School of Engineering
- Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning.
The initiative has links to the material science research community, including the University’s Materials Characterisation and Fabrication Platform. This combination of infrastructure and expertise can enable rapid materials development—and help commercialise research.
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science is also connected with the initiative. This means associated researchers and partners can access extensive infrastructure for the creation and testing of new materials and devices.
Get involved
The initiative supports a range of activities that enable research and innovation, including workshops, public events and a seed-funding scheme.
Follow us on Twitter @BioInspired_UoM
If you’re outside of University and would like to partner with us, contact Katrina Rankin, katrina.rankin@unimelb.edu.au
If you have questions or comments in relation to the Hallmark Research Initiatives program, contact hallmark-initiatives@unimelb.edu.au
Watch: Design inspired by nature
Advanced materials. Chemical sensors. Acoustic spaces. Solar cells. All can be improved by taking design principles from animal and plant systems.
BioInspiration – it's technology inspired by nature.
Research themes
Bioinspired research is rooted in observations of nature as a source of inspiration. This can be applied to any area of innovation, including the development of new materials, devices, technology, structures and processes.
The initiative has identified three key research themes that leverage existing research strengths.

Bioinspired design in architecture
The search for optimal structural forms, materials and designs inspired by nature originates in the early 20th century. Examples of bioinspired materials, structures and surfaces include:
- Biomimetic self-repairing structural materials
- Bioinspired adaptive adhesion systems
- An adaptive biomimetic facade shading system, Flecton.
Bioinspiration is also an emerging area of research associated with design thinking by analogy in architecture, engineering and industrial design.
Investigators
Professor Mark Elgar, School of BioSciences
Professor Brendon McNiven, Melbourne School of Design
Dr Alberto Pugnale, Melbourne School of Design
Dr Giorgio Marfella, Melbourne School of Design
Dr Chris Jensen, Melbourne School of Design
Bioinspired chemical sensors
Animals have evolved a remarkable diversity of mechanisms that allow them to detect light, sound and odours. these sensors have already inspired numerous innovations in sensor technologies.
Investigators
Dr Wallace Wong, Chemistry
Professor Mark Elgar, BioSciences


Bioinspired nano-optics and materials
Biological structures are increasingly the source of inspiration to solve complex challenges. For example, in photonics and materials science.
Natural structures such as beetle cuticles and butterfly wing scales have inspired the development of materials including:
- Anti-reflection coatings to improve the efficiency of solar cells
- Anti-counterfeiting technologies (such as metallic holograms on credit cards and banknotes)
- Optical devices that focus or polarise light.
Investigators:
- Associate Professor Devi Stuart-Fox, School of BioSciences
- Professor Ann Roberts, School of Physics
- Professor Ken Crozier, School of Physics, and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Dr James Hutchison, School of Chemistry
- Dr Daniel Heath, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Projects
Our seed funding scheme exists to encourage innovation, and the involvement of external organisations in these projects.
Each year of our program, we award $10,000 to each of the top three submissions to our scheme. These projects are currently in progress:

Bioinformed design of bioreceptive building surfaces
This project uses quantitative analysis of naturally occurring surface geometries alongside with artificial-intelligence form-generation to produce innovative bioreceptive cladding for urban structures.
Cities are important sites of biodiversity and have a great potential to do more.
This project identifies on cryptograms as a missing link in urban ecosystem and a high-reward opportunity. Mosses, lichens, and liverworts already live in cities. Their presence provides significant ecosystem services that include pollution monitoring, stormwater management, surface temperature reduction and urban-heat mitigation as well as important contributions to physiological and psychological health of urban populations.
Cities contain large areas of lifeless building and pavement surfaces. Green roofs and walls attempt to use such surfaces as habitats but focus on large vascular plants. These design solutions can be costly to install and maintain. In response, we complement these efforts with bioinformed designs that mimic biological soil crusts (biocrusts) and moss carpets that we generalise as ‘near-surface ecosystems’. Such communities of plants, insects, fungi, and bacteria can persist in harsh climatic conditions on arid, windswept, and sunbeaten urban surfaces.
Coordinating investigator: Dr Stanislav Roudavski (Deep Design Lab)

Mussel inspired production of antibacterial composites
Antibiotic resistance is a global health challenge that involves the transfer of bacteria and genes between humans, animals, and the environment. Antibiotic treatment is becoming increasingly ineffective against bacterial infections due to the rise of resistance. Drug-resistant bacteria are expected to cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050, more than cancer and diabetes. The current and foreseeable pipeline of conventional antibiotics is insufficient to meet the rise in antibiotic resistance. Therefore, novel strategies for the design and development of antibacterial agents are urgently needed.
Mussels exhibit excellent underwater adhesion on the rock of the sea floor. Polyphenols were verified as the main source of this strong adhesion, inspired by which we are going to use polyphenols as substrate materials to fabricate antibacterial nanocomposites.
Coordinating investigator: Dr Tao Huang

Develop a method to measure iron concentration to atomic level
Iron is one of the most important metal ions for life. It is necessary for haemoglobin synthesis and bound to a wide range of enzymes for essential metabolic processes. Iron imbalances can overtime cause certain types of cancer, as well as Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease. Iron is also essential for bacteria to grow, and it is required in many of their physiological processes. This project will aim to replicate the way that bacteria absorb iron from the environment and help in iron homeostasis within human body.
Desferrioxamine (DFO) is a bacterial siderophore. Siderophores are produced by bacteria and have high affinity to complex with iron. In biological media, bacteria secrete DFO to sequester iron from an inorganic or biological source then DFO-iron complex return to the parent cell.
We will take advantage of the quantum-based magnetometry, pioneered by our team, to study the iron level in DFO structure. This study assists to develop an accurate and fast method to measure the iron concentration with sensitivity down to atomic level.
Coordinating investigator: Dr Mina Barzegaramiriolya

Pressure-drop and permeability measurements in 3D printed miniature Gyroid geometry
Biological systems in nature consist of cellular materials that have unique topologies and structures at different length scales. Compared with man-made structures, cellular materials demonstrate much higher multifunctionalities such as high stiffness-to-weight ratio, heat dissipation control, and enhanced mechanical energy absorption. In this project we are inspired by the naturally occurring materials, such a butterfly wing and bone structures that combine the properties of high stiffness-to-weight ratio as well as permeability. Researchers have found that special mathematically derived 3D porous structures called Triply-Periodic-Minimal-Surface (TPMS) having zero mean curvature mimic these natural materials. Till now manufacturing these mathematical structures were limited, but recent advances in 3D printing have made it possible to manufacture them in laboratories and at scale. Current focus, however, in on the mechanical strength of these structures, whereas minimal progress has been made in characterizing flow properties (via permeability). The present project focuses on the measurement of permeability at pore scale that are at least an order of magnitude smaller than currently available.
Coordinating investigator: Dr Jimmy Philip
Image courtesy Wevolver.com

A bioinspired device for tear collection
Our team is developing a microlitre tear collection system, as a companion device to a novel, portable tear diagnostic platform: ADMiER (Acoustically-Driven, Microfluidic Extensional Rheometry) that analyses the viscoelasticity (stretchiness) of a small tear droplet to diagnose dry eye disease. Dry eye is a highly prevalent condition, affects one in five adults, and imparts substantial healthcare and societal costs. A major barrier to dry eye sufferers receiving optimal care is the clinical challenge of accurate diagnosis.
Judicious design of a minimally-invasive tear collection system is vital to the success of the ADMiER platform, given that the intimidation experienced by patients from a traditional micropipette used to extract tears can lead to poor patient acceptance, and hence clinical uptake. A ‘non-threatening’, bioinspired microfluidic tear extraction system will advance ADMiER’s development and revolutionise eye-care practice through early, rapid and accurate diagnosis of tear deficiency to inform more precise treatment.
Co-ordinating investigator: Associate Professor Laura Downie
Image: Katrina Rankin

Marine mollusc inspired routes to controllable magnetic nanoparticle synthesis
Understanding how biological systems assemble complex hierarchical structures under ambient conditions is of enormous interest in advanced manufacturing. This project will provide a fundamentally new view of biomineralisation, as inspired by the chiton marine mollusc, which mineralise iron to produce a specialised set of teeth for abrasive removal of algae from rocks. Critically, these teeth contain biosynthesised magnetite: the hardest known biomineral.
While chiton have evolved exquisite room temperature methods to biomineralise ultra-hard, morphology-controlled magnetite, synthetic methods at or near room temperature for magnetite nanomaterials offer little to no control of product composition, morphology, or magnetic properties.
Using quantum-based magnetic microscopy, pioneered by our team, we will characterise the iron phase transformations in organic-based platforms that template the controlled nucleation and growth of magnetite. Visualising this will allow us to understand and tune the nucleation and growth of magnetite crystals in aqueous, room-temperature syntheses across different solid precursor phases. We will apply this knowledge to deliver magnetic nanoparticles for critically important applications in solar cell fabrication and biomedicine.
Co-ordinating investigator: Dr Liam Hall

Butterfly-inspired light-matter blends towards new light-based technologies
The lives of Australians are increasingly improved by light driven technologies, whether they be for display and lighting, or cheaper and more carbon neutral energy production. The next generation of optoelectronic devices may contain organic light-absorbing materials (for example, pigments) for flexibility and cost-effectiveness, but also photonic structures – micro/nanostructures that trap and manipulate light – to increase efficiency. A continuing challenge however is to find better ways to combine pigments and photonic structures for integration into future devices.
Nature has engineered its own examples of the close interaction between photonic structures and pigments, wonderful examples of which are found on the surfaces of butterfly wings. These wings feature nanostructured scales which induce iridescence by optical interference effects, so-called structural colour, but also closely associated pigments which further manipulate the appearance of the insect. These structures are thus naturally evolved corollaries to the synthetic pigment/photonic structures that are of so much interest for next-generation optoelectronics.
This project will develop new designs for light-driven technologies via biomimetic reverse engineering of the morphology- and pigment-induced light interactions found on butterfly wings.
Co-ordinating investigator: Dr James Hutchison
Image by James Hutchison: Photographs under natural light (left) and ultraviolet (UV) light (right) of the Cairns birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera euphorion). The yellow fluorescence indicates the distribution of pigment amongst the structural coloration on the wings.

Develop a sustainable building material – using mushrooms
Cladding is used to protect and insulate buildings. Usually, cladding ‘sandwich’ panels are made with aluminium and synthetic materials. This makes them cheap, light and easy to install. But it also means they leave a large carbon footprint.
Mycelium, on the other hand, has the required properties for sandwich panels while being biodegradable. It is porous, hard and lightweight and can be produced in a way that is environmentally sustainable. And it is easy to grow in any size and shape. Mycelium is the network of fibres from which mushrooms flower.
At present, mycelium has been commercialised for use in packaging and for interior building linings and fittings. But it has not been developed into a viable composite system for use in exterior environments. This project will explore the following:
- Can we harness the power of mycelium to devise more sustainable technology for our house cladding?
- Can this technology innovation inspire more sustainable circular economy models in the building industry?
Coordinating Investigator: Associate Professor Janet McGaw

Super-iridescent, strong and beautiful materials inspired by the most successful animal on earth: beetles
Excluding bacteria, almost one-quarter of all living creatures are beetles. They are quite simply the most successful group of animals on the planet. A key contributor to this success is the strong exoskeleton including the shell that protects the beetles’ wings. These shells are also visually striking because they use nanostructured films to manipulate light in diverse ways.
Films with a similar appearance are produced using advanced industrial processes. They’re widely used in a broad range of coatings, security features and sensors. This project aims to understand the optical properties of microscopic twisted features in the shell of scarab beetles. We will also uncover the complex light-matter interactions influencing the appearance of the beetle shell.
The ultimate goal is to create super-iridescent coatings that can be produced using industrially scalable and environmentally sustainable methods – inspired by beetles.
Coordinating Investigator: Professor Ann Roberts

A holistic framework for developing futuristic bioinspired cellular structures for blast protection
We are developing the world’s first protective bioinspired cellular structure.
Protective structures are needed to keep people, buildings, vehicles and infrastructure safe from explosive and blast damage. Currently, many engineered cellular structures are being investigated for protective applications. But their small set of design parameters produce simple structures with limited performance.
Using solutions from nature – such a bone structure – we will develop protective structures that perform better than existing products. This will produce real-world benefits for the building and defence industries.
Coordinating investigator: Dr Abdallah Ghazlan
Image: David Gregory & Debbie Marshall (CC BY 4.0)

Bioinspired bactericidal ‘nano-knife’ coatings for orthopaedic implants
We are developing coatings for prosthetic joints to protect against common bacterial infections.
Joint replacement surgery helps to improve the quality of life for millions of people around the world each year. Yet around 2 per cent of patients experience complications as a result of bacterial infection during surgery. Bacteria can form biofilms on the surfaces of a prosthetic joint, which shields them from antibiotics.
But nature has developed another way to kill bacteria – using knife-like nanostructures called chitin nanopillar arrays. These nanostructures are found on cicada and dragonfly wings. They evolved as waterproofing and anti-fouling agents and can mechanically rupture and kill bacterial cells.
Inspired by the size, shape and arrangement of these nanostructure arrays, we will optimise the coatings of prosthetic joints to protect against common bacterial pathogens. We will also design ways to add the coatings to prosthetic joints before surgery. This will provide a chemical-free way to prevent infection at the implant site.
Coordinating Investigator: Dr Sacha Pidot

Bamboo-inspired production of 3D-printed hierarchical porous bio-ceramic tissue scaffolds
We are developing a scaffold for bone tissue engineering that takes inspiration from bamboo.
Surgeons treating bone tissue defects use these scaffolds to encourage the growth of new bone. To work properly, tissue scaffolds need to have particular biological and mechanical properties. For example, they have to interact with living tissue without triggering the immune system to attack. They need to be porous yet strong. And they have to be biodegradable.
Bamboo has a high stiffness-to-density ratio. Using bioresorbable and bioactive ceramics, the team will produce a scaffold that mimics the microstructure of bamboo. We will also investigate the relationships between formulation, processing, structure, and performance.
Our aim is to produce an easily manufactured 3D-printed tissue scaffold that mimics the microstructure of bamboo.
Coordinating investigator: Dr Daniel Heath

Squid-inspired lighting: the functional bio-bulb
We are creating the world’s first “functional bio-bulb” – a light that works using bioluminescence.
Bioluminescence – the production of light by a living organism – has inspired human imagination since ancient times. The Kombumerri people of south-east Queensland believe that bioluminescent fungi are the spirits of their ancestors. Ancient Greeks were captivated by the “cold light” of the sea, which was produced by marine creatures.
Bioluminescence has attracted significant interest as a light source. It is efficient, has low environmental impact, and produces soft light in unique colours. But developing a working light using bioluminescence faces some challenges.
They include:
- Developing a way to switch the light on and off
- Dealing with waste produced by the bioluminescent organism
- Modulating the intensity of the light.
Using mathematical models, synthetic biology and design, we will create the world’s first “functional bio-bulb”.
Coordinating Investigator: Dr Matt Faria
Image: Chris Frazee and Margaret McFall-Ngai
People
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Co-chairs
Professor Devi Stuart-Fox, School of BioSciences
d.stuart-fox@unimelb.edu.auDevi’s research group focuses on animal coloration, including pigments, structural coloration, and near-infrared properties. She is interested in the adaptive value of animal coloration and its diverse applications.
Professor Mark Elgar, School of BioSciences
m.elgar@unimelb.edu.auMark’s research group focuses on chemical communication in insects from the perspective of both signaller and receiver. They use CFD simulations to understand how insect antennal morphology helps capture pheromones.
Watch Professor Mark Elgar talk about his bioinspired research.
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External relations
Katrina Rankin, Manager (School of BioSciences)
katrina.rankin@unimelb.edu.auKatrina is an evolutionary ecologist in Professor Stuart-Fox’s group. Katrina’s research focuses on animal visual systems, and pigmentary and structural colouration.
Dr Fernando Jativa, Academic Convenor
jativaf@unimelb.edu.auFernando is a Senior Tutor in the Melbourne School of Design, and holds a PhD in the self-assembly of three-dimensional biopolymers and biosystems.
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Steering committee
Professor Kenneth Crozier, School. of Physics, and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Ken’s research interests are in nano and micro-optics, with an emphasis on plasmonics for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy and optical forces, optofluidics and semiconducting nanowires.
Dr James Hutchison, School of Chemistry
James works closely with members of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science. His research focuses on polariton-mediated light and heat energy transfer in molecular systems, to improve the efficiency of solar cells and chemical catalysis.
Watch Dr James Hutchison talk about his bioinspired research.
Dr Chris Jensen, Architecture, Building and Planning
Chris’ research interests are focused on the passive performance of buildings and the influence of both architecture and construction, often with reference to European trends and systems. He has extensive experience as a sustainability consultant on a wide range of projects, from commercial greenstar-rated office buildings, to energy modelling in Antarctica.
Professor Brendon McNiven, Architecture, Building and Planning
Brendon has 30 years' industry experience in architectural engineering. He has worked in lead roles on internationally notable projects, including The Millennium Wheel in the UK, The Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, and the Melbourne Star in Melbourne.
Dr Alberto Pugnale, Architecture, Building and Planning
Alberto is an architect with a range of research interests in the fields of computational and structural design. He is interested in further developing computational design tools based on algorithms developed to describe biological processes.
Watch Dr Alberto Pugnale talk about his bioinspired research.
Professor Ann Roberts, School of Physics
Ann is an optical physicist with diverse interests including development of nanophotonic and plasmonic devices, metamaterials, nanoscale antennas, and nanostructured films for optical document security. Her research group also develops novel microscopic and imaging techniques for non-destructive examination of specimens such as live cells, photonic devices and cultural materials.
Watch Professor Ann Robert talk about her bioinspired research.
Dr Wallace Wong, School of Chemistry
Wallace is a chief investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science. His research focuses on functional organic materials with applications in solar energy harvesting, biological imaging and chemical sensing.
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Affiliated researchers
Dr Joe Berry, Department of Chemical Engineering
Joe’s research group focuses on development and application of numerical models to solve complex, multidisciplinary problems including droplet coalescence and breakup, drag reduction in turbulent flows and chemical flow dynamics. Many of these problems are common to both biological and artificial chemical sensors.
Mr Dingwen ‘Nic’ Bao, RMIT University
Nic is a PhD candidate in architectural engineering. He is a registered architect in Australia who completed his Master of Architecture at the University of Melbourne and Bachelor of Architecture at RMIT University. Over the past six years, his research work, teaching and architectural practice have explored the design methods that established a complementary relationship between nature, design, structural optimisation and digital fabrication techniques.
Professor Ray Dagastine, Department of Chemical Engineering
Ray’s research interests are in the areas of particulate and droplet interfacial phenomena, emulsion stability and deformable surfaces. He is developing experimental methods and theoretical analytical tools to study interaction forces between deformable liquid-liquid interfaces using both optical techniques and atomic force microscopy.
Associate Professor Adrian Dyer, RMIT University
Adrian is a visual ecologist who studies how vision has evolved in complex environments. His primary research has been on bee and flower (pollinator-plant) interactions. Modelling of these 'bee-inspired' rules provides novel solutions for artificial intelligence, and can help us to efficiently use bees as pollinators in natural, agricultural and urban environments.
Dr Amanda Franklin, School of BioSciences
Amanda researches the evolution of animal visual systems and structural colouration. Currently, she is working with beetles to understand how they perceive different types of light and the mechanisms they use to produce a huge diversity of colour patterns. She is interested in the broader applications to sensor design or colour production
Dr Daniel Heath, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Daniel’s research focuses on developing next-generation biomaterials. He has a specific interest in developing biomaterials with improved blood-material interactions to reduce failure of medical devices such as vascular grafts and stents.
Dr Natasha Heil, Ecole Nationale Supérieure D'architecture de La Villette, Paris, France
Natasha is an architect and researcher in biomimetics for architectural design and innovation. Her main research interests are: understanding cognitive design process of bioinspired architecture, developing methods and tools to facilitate biomimetic approach in architectural design and, most recently, bioinspired/biomimetic materials for sustainable architecture and construction.
Dr Giorgio Marfella, Architecture, Building and Planning
Giorgio is an expert in tall building and facade construction technology. He has over a decade of industry experience in those fields as a practicing architect. He’s studying the development of materials and building systems that can change the construction industry in the field of sky-scraper façade design including glass, concrete and engineered wood products.
Associate Professor Janet McGaw, Architecture, Building and Planning
Janet is an Associate Professor in Architectural Design. Her research work, teaching and creative practice investigates ways to make urban space more equitable and sustainable. Over the past four years, she has experimented with a variety of biological materials including mycelium, kelp and flax.
Dr Peter Sherrell, Department of Chemical Engineering
Peter’s research interests include chemical engineering and assembly of 2D-materials (graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides), designing new electrode geometries for energy conversion and electrochemical energy storage devices. He is currently focusing on enhancing the light absorbance of photo-catalyst assemblies drawing from natural and synthetic inspirations.
Dr Jonathan Phuong Tran, RMIT University, and honorary fellow, University of Melbourne
His research interests focus at the interface between solid mechanics and materials engineering with the aim to develop novel a bioinspired materials and structures that exhibit paradigm-shifting properties that can impact the general field of infrastructure and lightweight structural materials. Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn and YouTube.
Dr Casey Visintin, School of BioSciences
Casey is trained as both an architect and wildlife conservationist. His research explores impacts of the built environment on ecological systems. He develops quantitative models to perform risk assessment and support environmental decision-making. His work draws from several areas of expertise including species distribution modelling, transportation modelling, risk theory, data science and wildlife management and conservation planning.
Watch: Meet our BioInspired Researcher - Professor Mark Elgar
News and events
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Annual Seed Funding Competition awards announced
January 2023 - The Bioinspiration Hallmark's fourth annual Seed Funding Competion awards have been announced with three submissions awarded $10,000, and a fourth team being awarded $5,000, to support a promising project. Details under the “Projects” tab.
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Lecture on Next-generation materials inspired from marine organisms
December 2022 - The Bioinspiration Hallmark Research Initiative public lecture on next-generation materials inspired from marine organisms was delivered by Professor Ali Miserez.
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Bio-informed Advanced Materials
9-10 June 2022: A two-day workshop to cultivate inter-disciplinary connections among Australasian researchers with a shared interest in bio-informed advanced materials and to identify research opportunities and potential for collaborative initiatives.
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Watch: Bioinspired soft robotics and its applications
Professor Cecilia Laschi, National University of Singapore and Professor Bill Sellers, University of Manchester discuss their research on soft robotics, humanoid robotics, neurorobotics and locomotor biomechanics. Part of the BioInspiration conversation series.
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Watch: Efficient technology inspired by butterfly wings
Professor Naomi Pierce, Harvard University and Professor Nanfang Yu discuss their research on energy efficient technologies inspired by butterfly wings. Part of the BioInspiration conversation series.
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Evolution nailed it: 2022 seed funding competition
1 May 2022 – Three awards of A$10 000 are available to support creative, nature-inspired solutions to global, practical, human technological and design challenges. Apps close 31 July 2022.
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Listen: Bio Inspiration – How nature influences design
Honeycomb, butterfly wings, the Kingfisher beak. These natural phenomenon have inspired some of the greatest design solutions. Join Professor Mark Elgar and ABC Radio Hobart's Mel Bush as they discuss the benefits of collaboration and inspiration between biologists and designers.
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Call for submissions: Biologically-informed approaches to design processes and applications
Do you work in biomimetic design, engineering, sensors, materials, AI or robotics? Submissions are open for original articles for a new bioinspired Frontiers research topic – edited by the Bioinspiration Hallmark Research Initiative. Abstracts due 31 May 2021.
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Bioinspiration webinar series: BioInspired concepts – the first step towards solutions
22 Oct 2020 – Watch the sixth webinar in the series, showcasing our 2020 seed funded projects. From squid-inspired lighting to blast proof materials inspired by bone.
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Bioinspiration webinar series: Mycelium matters
25 Sep 2020 – Watch the fifth webinar in our Bioinspiration series, on mycelium and architectural materials inspired by nature.
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Bioinspiration webinar series: BioInspired robotics and structural engineering
25 Sep 2020 – Watch the fourth webinar in our Bioinspiration series, on collective construction, social insects’ swarm intelligence and robotics.
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PhD opportunity: Simulation of bio-inspired aerofoil noise reduction techniques
21 Sep 2020 – Join researchers using novel simulation capabilities to study the noise reduction potential of aerofoil modifications – inspired by flying vertebrates like owls and bats.
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BioInspiration webinar series: Medical devices
13 Aug 2020 – Watch the third webinar in our BioInspiration series, about biomimicry in next-generation medical applications.
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BioInspiration webinar series: Architectural design inspired by nature
13 Aug 2020 – The second conversation in our BioInspiration webinar series is on the theme of architectural design inspired by nature.
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BioInspiration webinar series: Sustainable materials inspired by nature
13 Aug 2020 – Watch the first webinar in our Bioinspiration series, on sustainable materials inspired by nature.
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Evolution nailed it: 2020 seed funding competition
5 May 2020 – The competition is designed for teams to develop creative, nature-inspired solutions to global, practical, human technological and design challenges.
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New dimension in colour
10 Dec 2019 – Animals like beetles and birds are teaching us new ways of understanding colour at a nanoscale, which could change the way we manufacture it.
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Workshop: BioInspired advanced materials
9 Nov 2019 – This was our second innovation workshop, this time around the theme of bioInspired advanced materials.
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Public lecture by Dr Silvia Vignolini: Making colours with your five a day
8 Nov 2019 – How we can learn from nature to produce the next generation of bioinspired, eco-friendly colorants in materials?
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Science winter twilight cocktail reception
3 Aug 2019 – With a spotlight on interdisciplinary collaboration, BioInspiration was showcased in a special floor talk by Associate Professor Devi Stuart-Fox, Co-Chair of the initiative, at the Dean’s Winter Reception.
Funding and opportunities
PhD opportunity
Project: Simulation of bio-inspired aerofoil noise reduction techniques
Aerofoil noise is a major contributor to environmental noise pollution. The World Health Organisation has identified it as a global public health problem.
Join researchers using novel simulation capabilities to study the noise reduction potential of aerofoil modifications – inspired by flying vertebrates like owls and bats.
Connect
Connect with us
Whether you’re a researcher, external organisation or member of the public, you can engage with the initiative in a number of ways:
- By participating in research projects – see Funding for more information
- Through workshops and public events
- By becoming an affiliated researcher.
Follow us on Twitter @BioInspired_UoM
Affiliated researchers
Affiliated researchers have research interests and experience aligned with the initiative’s research themes. And can both support and benefit from the initiative. They can capitalise on the growing network of interdisciplinary researchers, collaborators and industry, as well as contribute to these areas.
For more information on becoming an affiliated researcher, contact Katrina Rankin at katrina.rankin@unimelb.edu.au
Keep informed
Keep up to date with news, events and research. Subscribers receive email updates about the initiative and invitations to upcoming events.
For more information, or to subscribe, contact Katrina Rankin at katrina.rankin@unimelb.edu.au
General enquiries about Hallmark Research Initiatives
If you have questions or comments in relation to the Hallmark Research Initiatives program, contact hallmark-initiatives@unimelb.edu.au
Images: Unsplash, Flickr, Pixabay.
First published on 9 May 2022.
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