Topic outline

  • Dear Student


     This course very much relies on your active involvement. The course consists of:

    - Individual tasks which you do at home: pre-tasks before contact sessions (read provided material, find&read a scientific paper etc.) and reflection after the session

    - Group tasks (-> Group Work)

    - Contact sessions.


    Please mark the contact session dates already now into your calendar; they are a crucial part of the course alongside your indivual tasks and group work. If you miss a contact session, you need to make Compensating essays and exercises.

    Contact sessions (Wednesday 10-12, lecture hall Ke3)

    27th February: What is biomimetics?

    6th March: Small Group Discussion with Teachers (NOTE! Only 30 mins/group, no other session)

    13th March: Designing Environments and Biomimetic Materials - A Material Scientist's View (remember to make the pre-task before the session)

    27th March: Material Selection - A Material Engineer's View (NOTE: computer classroom 3 in CHEM building, 10-12) (remember to make the pre-task before the session)

    3rd April: Functionalities I

    17th April: Functionalities II (remember to make the pre-task before the session)

    30th April: Feedback Session (NOTE! Tuesday) (remember to make the pre-task before the session)

    15th May: Group Work Seminar

    Submissions related to Group Work

    Group's Ashby Diagrams: 7th April

    1st Version of Group Work: 25th April

    Presentation plan / slides: 15th May

    Final Group Work: 24th May

    + 3 Group Meeting Summaries (during the course)

    (+ additional Individual submissions)


    The course books: 

    M.F. Ashby, P.J. Ferreira, D.L. Schodek, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnologies and Design - An Introduction for Engineers and Architects, 2009,  Elsevier.

    Elsevier ScienceDirect Books


    A. von Gleich, Potential and trends in biomimetics, 2009 Springer.



    Janek von Bryer, Biological Adhesive Systems, 2010 Springer