Biomimetic Principles and Design

Calendar and Readings

Textbook

Vogel, Steven. Cats’ Paws and Catapults: Mechanical Worlds of Nature and People. W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. ISBN: 9780393319903.

Ses #	Due Dates	TOPIC AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
1		Introduction. Methods of Biomimetics.
2	Assignment 1 Due	Methods of Biomimetics. Discuss Chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 1: Noncoincident Worlds Chapter 2: Two Schools of Design
3	Assignment 3 Due	Discuss Chapters 3 and 4. Chapter 3: The Matter of Magnitude Chapter 4: Surfaces, Angles, and Corners
4	Assignment 3 Due	Discuss Chapters 5 and 6. Chapter 5: The Stiff and the Soft Chapter 6: Two Routes to Rigidity
5	Assignment 4 Due	Examples
6	Assignment 5 Due	Discuss Chapters 7 and 8. Chapter 7: Pulling versus Pushing Chapter 8: Engines for the Mechanical Worlds
7		Genetic Algorithms (PDF)
8	Assignment 6 Due	Genetic Algorithms and Politics
9	Assignment 7 Due	Discuss Chapters 9 and 10. Chapter 9: Putting Engines to Work Chapter 10: About Pumps, Jets, and Ships
10	Assignment 8 Due	Discuss Chapters 11 and 12. Chapter 11: Making Widgets Chapter 12: Copying, in Retrospect
11		Discuss Chapters 13 and 14. Chapter 13: Copying, Present and Prospective Chapter 14: Contrasts, Convergences, and Consequences Critique of the Textbook