�Driven to Discover�: Nature the Final Frontier (2025-03-28)

Abstract

Nature is the ultimate innovator, refining materials, structures, and systems over billions of years to solve challenges with efficiency and elegance. Biomimicry, the practice of translating biological strategies into human design, offers a roadmap for developing advanced materials, sustainable technologies, and cutting-edge engineering solutions. But to truly harness nature�s ingenuity, we need more than inspiration, we need biological insight. In this talk, we will examine biomimicry through the lens of a materials scientist and microscopist, from planetary ecosystems to the intricate architectures of evolved biological structures. Understanding function requires zooming in and out, shifting perspectives between microscopic details and the broader environmental and evolutionary picture. Nanostructures responsible for butterfly wing structural-color to superhydrophobic behavior in Big Tooth Aspen leaves, reveal design principles that applied in human contexts, drive breakthroughs in materials science, biomedical engineering, and sustainability. For biomimicry to reach its full potential, biologists must be at the design table. Functional taxonomic research, understanding not just what nature builds, but how and why bridges the gap between biological discovery and applied innovation. Join me as we explore nature as the final frontier, from the operating systems of planet earth to the hidden wonders of the microscopic world where nature�s smallest structures hold the key to our biggest challenges.