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Spring 2012 Newsletter

In this quarterly edition, we are pleased to announce the Biomimicry Europe Innovation and Finance Summit 2012, share how natural stimulus can connect with design challenges, highlight unique natural insights for biotechnology and pharmaceutical professionals, announce the winner of the first ever San Diego Zoo Global bioinspired design challenge, and feature inspiration from a horticultural perspective.

Biomimicry Europe 
Innovation and Finance Summit 2012

Since 2008, San Diego Zoo Global has convened industry leaders for its annual bioinspiration conference. This year, San Diego Zoo Global is pleased to support the Biomimicry Europe Innovation and Finance Summit 2012 in Zurich, to build international collaborations in the area of bioinspiration and increase the awareness of the financial opportunities for novel technologies that are nature-inspired and environmentally friendly.

For more information and to register, visit www.ffgs.org.

Please mark your calendars for the 2013 San Diego Zoo Global Bioinspiration Conference, Bridging Nature and Design, to be held Fall 2013 in San Diego, California. Join innovation and R&D leaders as we present the paths and pitfalls of bio-inspired innovation, as well as tools to help translate nature’s adaptations to industry design challenges.  Enjoy interactive case studies, working sessions and a design competition, all within the surroundings of the world’s largest and most diverse collection of plants and animals. Additional information regarding the conference will be provided on our website, www.sandiegozoo.org/biomimicry.

Invention Stimulus Inspired by Nature

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is celebrating 40 years of adventure and conservation. Founded in 1972, the Safari Park is an expansive wildlife sanctuary and protected native species habitat. Since then, San Diego Zoo Global has continued to innovate in areas such as exhibitry, animal care practices, and applied conservation research. Through our corporate bioinspiration services, we leverage this historical expertise to translate how nature has come to evolve, solving diverse challenges in an efficient and elegant manner. Workshops and other corporate services combine a world-famous facility experience with subject matter experts who present nature as a stimulus for invention. To learn more about our services and upcoming informational webinars, please contact us.

Celebrating Earth Day
With Qualcomm and Janssen Labs

Nature continues to inspire novel inventions in diverse industries, from consumer products to technologies (see: Biomimicry in Action). At San Diego Zoo Global, we provide outreach services to corporate and academic groups interested in learning about natural adaptations and existing product examples for a given industry. This Earth Day 2012, we participated in celebrations at Qualcomm and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Labs. Accompanied by species including a three-banded armadillo, a double yellow headed Amazon parrot, and a woma python, San Diego Zoo Global staff brought bioinspiration to life for Qualcomm and Janssen employees and their families.

On April 28, the Sino-American Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Professionals Association (SABPA) hosted the 7th Annual Biomedical Forum at UC Irvine featuring a San Diego Zoo Global speaker on the implication of bioinspiration to biotech and pharmaceutical professionals.  Specific case studies included the extreme hypoxia tolerance of naked mole rat neurons, artificial muscles inspired by the Venus flytrap, and biocompatible surgical glue inspired by the secretions of the crucifix frog. The talk was followed by a case study of Sharklet Technologies, a company producing surface solutions inspired by the microbe-resistant properties of shark skin.

Announcing: Middle School
Bioinspired Design Contest Winner

In January, San Diego Zoo Global launched a new classroom education program for middle school students. The program, “Bioinspiration: Nature’s Best Ideas,” was raffled off to ten San Diego County teachers who worked with San Diego Zoo Educators to instruct students about bioinspiration. The 400 students formed teams to develop their own inventions inspired by nature. 

After careful consideration of all the great submissions we received, we are pleased to announce the winner of the bioinspired design contest is Emily Canizalez from Patti Evans’ class at Challenger Middle School for her invention of a zebra-inspired pest-deterring blanket for dogs. Read more about Emily's invention.

We want to extend a special thank you to Laurie Owen, Patti Evans, Jodie Takei, Martin Reisert, and all the students in their classes that participated in this pilot program and design challenge. Stay tuned for further expansion of our biomimicry education programs. To learn more about existing programs, contact us.

Biomimicry in Action

Pop Quiz: What’s invisible, odorless, an unlimited natural resource and sometimes taken for granted-even cursed upon? Here is a clue: We are now using this renewable resource to produce about 4% of our electricity needs in the United States and that number is rapidly growing. If you guessed the wind, you’re correct! The almighty wind, a constant, reliable key to our planet’s ecosystem, so common and present we tend to not even think about it. Now that we are starting to realize its potential, it might be a good idea to look closer at how plants have learned to live with and use it, and perhaps, learn a thing or two. Read more.