ME C217
Biomimetic Engineering -- Engineering from Biology.
[3 units]
ONLINE RESOURCES: Course website
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Study of nature's solutions to specific problems with the aim of determining appropriate engineering analogs. Morphology, scaling, and design in organisms applied to engineering structures. Mechanical principles in nature and their application to engineering devices. Mechanical behavior of biological materials as governed by underlying microstructure, with the potential for synthesis into engineered materials. Trade-offs between redundancy and efficiency. Students will work in teams on projects where they will take examples of designs, concepts, and models from biology and determine their potential in specific engineering applications. Also listed as Integrative Biology C217 and Bioengineering C217.
COURSE PREREQUISITES
Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
TEXTBOOK(S) AND/OR OTHER
REQUIRED MATERIAL
Reader containing selections from the following books:
Animal Locomotion (Oxford Animal Biology Series) - Andrew A. Biewener
Principles of Animal Locomotion - R. McNeill Alexander
Comparative Biomechanics: Life's Physical World - Steven Vogel
Optima for Animals - R. McNeill Alexander
Life in Moving Fluids - Steven Vogel
Prime Mover: A Natural History of Muscle - Steven Vogel
Cats' Paws and Catapults: Mechanical Worlds of
Nature and People - Steven Vogel
Mechanical Design in Organisms - Stephen A. Wainwright
Life's Devices - Steven Vogel
A Practical Guide to Vertebrate Mechanics - Christopher McGowan
Scaling : Why Is Animal Size so Important? - Knut Schmidt-Nielsen
Structural Biomaterials : (Revised Edition) - Julian F.V. Vincent
Deployable Structures (CISM Lecture Series) - S. Pellegrino
Biomimetic Materials Chemistry - Stephen Mann (Editor)
Whole Organ Approaches to Cellular Metabolism:
Permeation, Cellular Uptake, and Product
Formation - James B. Bassingthwaighte, C. A.
Goresky, John Linehan
Human Bones : A Scientific and Pictorial
Investigation - R. McNeill Alexander
Skeletal Muscle Structure, Function, and
Plasticity: The Physiological Basis of
Rehabilitation - Richard L. Lieber
Wood: The Internal Optimization of
Trees - C. Mattheck, Hans Kubler
Plant Allometry : The Scaling of Form and
Process - Karl J. Niklas
Plant Biomechanics : An Engineering Approach
to Plant Form and Function - Karl J. Niklas
Design in Nature: Learning from Trees - C. Mattheck
Trees: Mechanical Design - C. Mattheck
COURSE OBJECTIVES
TOPICS COVERED
CLASS/LABORATORY SCHEDULE
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT PROGRESS TOWARD COURSE OBJECTIVES
PERSON(S) WHO PREPARED THIS DESCRIPTION:
Professor
Hari Dharan
