BioInspired! So What? Now What!

Manfred Drack is looking for content for an upcoming book.  If you are intrested, his contact information is at https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/fakultaeten/mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche-fakultaet/fachbereiche/biologie/institute/evolution-und-oekologie/lehrbereiche/evolutionary-biology-of-invertebrates/people/dr-manfred-drack/.

 
We are reaching out to invite you to contribute a chapter to a forthcoming book on theoretical perspectives on biomimetics. This book aims to provide a comprehensive and in-depth exploration of the theoretical foundations of biomimetics and is part of our ongoing research project, “Learning from Nature: Epistemological and Ontological Foundations of Biomimetics”. For more information about our project, please visit our website: https://biomimetics.hypotheses.org
 
The book will cover a range of topics, including the epistemic profile, research approaches and methods, and ontological considerations of functions, working principles, and designs in biomimetics. Below is a suggested list of topics for consideration. We welcome your ideas for additional topics that should be included. Your expertise and motivation are critical to the content of the book. Our suggestions are meant to spark your own ideas.

We are seeking contributions from both biomimeticians and philosophers. We are open to innovative collaborations, such as co-authored chapters by a biomimetician and a philosopher, or paired chapters offering different perspectives on the same topic. If you are interested in such collaborations, please let us know.
 
We have already reached out to Stanislav Gorb, editor of the book series Biologically-Inspired Systems (https://www.springer.com/series/8430), who has expressed enthusiasm about our plans for a book on the theoretical or philosophical foundations of biomimetics.
 
If you are interested in contributing a chapter to this book, please let us know until 18 June 2024 with a brief proposal on the topic you would like to address and your approach. Then we can set up the definite structure of the book. We also appreciate hearing from you if you are not interested but know someone who might be.
 
We would hope to receive the chapters in January 2025.
 
Thank you for considering this invitation. We look forward to hearing from you.
 
Best regards,
   Manfred Drack, Ludger Jansen, Dilek Yargan
 
 
Potential topics

• History of biomimetics: When did biomimetics proper start?
• Motives: Why do biomimetics?
• Epistemic profile of biomimetics:
• Object of research: What is biomimetics about?
• Research approach: How does biomimetics proceed?
• Objectives: What is the goal of biomimetics?
• Basic categories of biomimetics: 
• Functions: How are functions conceptualized in biomimetics?
• Working principles: How are working principles conceptualized in biomimetics? 
• Construction and design: What are constructions and design in biomimetics?
• Methods: How is biomimetics conducted? 
• Technical biology — biomimetics — reverse biomimetics
• Biology push — technology pull
• Abstraction and concretization
• Body of knowledge generated: What do biomimeticians know? What does biomimetics know?
• How is scientific knowledge, usage knowledge, application knowledge, etc., integrated?
• Vocabulary — basic terms in biomimetics
• Discovery and justification of biomimetic knowledge: Are there typical ways how biomimetic knowledge is produced?
• Differences to other fields: What features distinguish biomimetics from biotechnology, synthetic biology, bio-hybrid approaches, etc.?
• Various kinds of biomimetic products — a typology: How can biomimetic outcomes be categorized?
• Models: What is the role of models in biomimetics (mental models, computer models, physical models, demonstrators, etc.)?
• Towards an ontology of biomimetics: Existing tools, criteria, how to proceed: How effective are the existing tools in bridging the gap between biological inspiration and technical implementation? 
• How to teach biomimetics: What is unique in teaching biomimetics compared to e.g. biology or engineering?
• On failures: What is the role of failure in biomimetics?