Biom* in the Design Society
Julian Vincent
Abstract:
Why don’t more companies take up biom*. A survey in 2018 gave little hard evidence, though small companies were no more likely to be successful than large ones. After an application to start a Special Interest Group we were invited to give a session in Delft in 2019. The pressure was to convince people that biom* is practical; analysis of DS conference papers suggests there is no clear guideline of how to make biom* work. One imperative is to keep a biologist on the team at all times.
Bio:
Julian Vincent is a zoologist. He took his first degree at Cambridge University and second and third at Sheffield University. In 1968 he started his career at the University of Reading, UK as a zoologist. In 2000 he was invited to the University of Bath, UK, as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He was part time lecturer at the Royal College of Art & Design and Imperial College London until 2010.
He has worked in many interdisciplinary contexts, such as mechanical engineering, materials science, architecture, design, creativity, biology, materials, food physics, food texture. He is, and has been, a member of numerous scientific and advisory boards. He cofounded the Centres of Biomimetics in Reading and Bath and is President of the International Society for Bionic Engineering. He holgs Honorary Professorships at Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, and at the Hochschule Rhein-Waal, Germany, and is an Adjunct Professor in Engineering and Materials at Clemson University, USA.
He is currently developing an ontology of Biomimetics. Ultimately this will make biological design available to engineers without any knowledge of biology being required. It will also be able to interface with autonomous agents in a design environment, automatically solving problems using biomimetics where appropriate.