Conceptualization of Biomimicry in Engineering Context among Undergraduate and High School Students: An International Interdisciplinary Exploration

Abstract

Biomimicry is an interdisciplinary design approach that provides solutions to engineering problems by taking inspiration from nature. Given the established importance of biomimicry for building a sustainable world, there is a need to develop effective curricula on this topic. In this study, a workshop was conducted twice in Singapore: once with 14 students from a local high school in Singapore, and once with 11 undergraduate students in engineering from the United States. The workshop aimed to better understand how students conceptualize biomimicry following the bottom-up and top-down biomimetic methods. The workshop contained a lecture and laboratory session, and data were collected via questionnaires, field observation, and participant presentations at the end of the laboratory session. A qualitative analysis revealed that the top-down biomimetic approach was initially understood using vague and generic terms. In contrast, the students described the bottom-up approach using precise and technical vocabulary. By naming the themes highlighting the students’ conceptualizations, it was concluded that strengthening the principle that makes the natural object unique and increasing interdisciplinary knowledge are needed to help them perform the top-down approach. The results from this work should be confirmed with a more significant number of participants, and they could help develop a curriculum to teach the two approaches effectively by providing tools to help the students generalize their ideas and abstract meaning from systems.

Creating Sustainable Competencies in Engineering Through Biomimetics Courses

“…In other studies, it has been found that the biomimicry class stimulates curiosity and motivation, making learning an active and enjoyable experience. On the other hand, research has shown that students often make unnecessary connections and struggle to involve all participants [58].…”

Biomimicry Industry and Patent Trends

“…Biomimicry has the potential to transform the majority of domestic and international economies, making it possible to achieve both economic growth and environmental goals simultaneously [ 2 , 3 ]. Although the commercial application of biomimicry is still irregular, several well-known achievements, such as Shinkansen and Velcro, demonstrate the potential of biomimicry [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The public’s awareness of patents related to bio-inspired and biomimetics likely arose when it was revealed that the roof design of the Crystal Palace in London, United Kingdom, was bio-inspired by the functionality of the leaf of a water lily, specifically its ability to support substantial weight in water [ 7 , 8 ].…”

Studying the Development of Design Thinking of Undergraduate Engineering Students in Singapore: Qualitative Reflection Analysis (Research)

“…In this projectbased learning, the student's competencies and skills were significantly enhanced, which was thought to benefit them in their future careers. Furthermore, a study about biomimicry, an interdisciplinary design thinking approach that answers engineering issues by taking inspiration from nature, explored the understanding and perceptions of biomimicry among undergraduate and high school students from different countries [40]. The findings revealed that students had limited knowledge of its applications in engineering and required more assistance in developing their ideas into prototypes using a top-down approach, also referred to as problem-driven method or indirect biomimicry that involves using biological systems as a model to design new prototypes, which reflects the pertinence of DT in education.…”