Living Machines III: the 3rd Intl Conf on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems (July 2014, Milan Italy)

Dates: 30 July – 1 August 2014
Location: Museo Nazionale Della Scienza E Della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy
Website: http://csnetwork.eu/livingmachines
Deadline for submissions: UPDATED 28 March 2014

Accepted papers will be published in Springer Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence.

The development of future real-world technologies will depend strongly on our understanding and harnessing of the principles underlying living systems and the flow of communication signals between living and artificial systems.

ASME Journal of Mechanical Design Special Issue: Biologically-inspired design (Jan 2014)

Website: http://asmejmd.org/
Deadline for submissions: UPDATED 24 January 2014 (or possibly later)

[Blog Editor’s note: I’m gratified to see a journal as prestigious as JMD finally recognize the significance of Bio-inspired design within engineering, even though other limbs of the ASME have, in the past, promulgated climate-change denialism.  –Fil Salustri]

Biologically-inspired design (BID) (or biomimicry) is an emerging research area at the intersection of design, computer science and biology that seeks to systematically mine biological knowledge to solve design problems. BID research is active across many disciplines and has had important and significant results. Of particular research interest to society is how can we mine biology for solutions to problems for which we have no good “engineered” solution (e.g., think of how Velcro changed the world as a means of easy, reusable attachments – it was inspired by the common cocklebur’s hooked spines that easily grab other objects). Consequently, the Journal of Mechanical Design calls for submissions for a special issue on Biologically-Inspired Design.

Design & Nature 2014 (July 2014, Croatia)

Dates: 9-11 July 2014
Location: Opatija, Croatia
Website: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/14-conferences/design-and-nature-2014.html
Deadline for submission of abstracts: ASAP

The Design and Nature conference is to be reconvened in 2014 following the success of previous meetings, the first of which was held in Udine, in 2002; followed by Rhodes, (2004); the New Forest, home of the Wessex Institute of Technology (2006); the Algarve (2008); Pisa (2010) and La Coruna (2012).

Scientists and engineers now have at their disposal a vast array of relationships for materials, mechanisms and control. The resulting laws have been painstakingly assembled by observation and analysis and span the cosmic scale of space down to the molecular level of genetics. In particular, they have made us aware of the rich diversity of the natural world around us.

These developments have prompted the reconvening of the Design and Nature Conference which attracts researchers from around the world working on a variety of studies involving nature and their significance for modern scientific thought and design. The success of the series is in great part due to the interdisciplinary character of the conference, which brings together a wide variety of specialists such as physical scientists, engineers, biologists, medical experts as well as those involved in humanities and arts.

Delegates attending Design and Nature 2014 will be invited to submit an extended version of their paper for possible publication in the International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics, one of the Journals edited by the Wessex Institute.

See the website for more information.

2nd Intl Conf on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems (July 2013, London UK)

Dates: 29 July – 2 August 2013
Location: Natural History Museum, London, UK
Website: http://csnetwork.eu/livingmachines/conf2013
Deadline for submissions: UPDATED 29 March 2013

The development of future real-world technologies will depend strongly on our understanding and harnessing of the principles underlying living systems and the flow of communication signals between living and artificial systems.

BioTRIZ Workshop (March 2013, Bath UK)

Dates: 6-8 March 2013
Location: Bath, UK
Website: http://biotriz.com
Deadline for expression of interest: ASAP

We invite you at the workshop, which will take place in Bath (UK) 6-8 March 2013: “Theory of invention and Bio-inspired design”. THIS IS A SEMI-CONSULTANCY WORKSHOP: ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE WELCOME TO BRING THEIR PROJECTS AND COME BACK WITH FEASIBLE RESULTS.

You can find the  workshop schedule at: http://biotriz.com/sites/default/files/BioTRIZ_TRIZ%20workshop_three_day_modular_2013.pdf

You can have a look at the feedback from the last workshop  to get the impression of what it looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5rhcu8zKIA  and about our recent project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma-618g9Fj8

Participants of the workshop get the comprehensive course materials in electronic form, DVD with animations and videos, workbook and certificate of attendance.

The price includes lunches, hot and cold drinks. Price: £330+VAT per day (you can choose the days to attend). There is a 50% discount for PhD and Masters students and 20% discount for academics in case they choose to attend all three days. There is also a discount for a group of representatives from the same company/organisation (please contact us to discuss).

Please contact the organizers via http://biotriz.com ASAP in case you are interested as we are finalizing the list of the participants.

Design & Nature 2012 (June 2012, Spain)

Dates: 11-13 June, 2012
Location: A Coruña, Spain
Website: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/design2012rem1.html
Deadline for submission of abstracts: ASAP
Organised by: Wessex Institute of Technology, UK, University of A Coruña, Spain
Sponsored by: WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment and The International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics

Throughout history, many leading thinkers have been inspired by the parallels between nature and human design, in mathematics, engineering and other areas. Today, the huge increase in biological knowledge, developments in design engineering systems, together with the growth in computer power and developments in simulation modelling, have all made possible more comprehensive studies of nature.

Scientists and engineers now have at their disposal a vast array of relationships for materials, mechanisms and control. The resulting laws have been painstakingly assembled by observation and analysis and span the cosmic scale of space down to the molecular level of genetics. In particular, they have made us aware of the rich diversity of the natural world around us.

It is these developments which have prompted the reconvening of this international conference on Design and Nature. It is intended that the meeting will bring together researchers from around the world working on a variety of studies involving nature and their significance for modern scientific thought and design.

Design & Nature 2010 (June 2010, Pisa Italy)

The Fifth International Conference on Comparing Design in Nature with Science and Engineering.
Organised By: Wessex Institute of Technology, UK
Sponsored By: International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics

View the conference website, which has full details about the conference objectives, topics and submission requirements at: http://www.wessex.ac.uk/design2010rem3.html

Design and Nature 2010 includes a Special Seminar on Constructal Law organised by Prof Adrian Bejan from Duke University, USA

Registration for Design and Nature 2010 is now open online via the conference website.

Participants who opt to have their paper permanently and openly accessible on the WIT Press eLibrary will receive a USB Flash Drive containing all the papers presented at previous conferences in the Urban Transport series.

DN2010: 5th Intl Conf on Comparing Design in Nature with Science and Engineering

Papers are published in the Transactions of the Wessex Institute of Technology and distributed throughout the world. In addition, they are archived in the Wessex Institute eLibrary where they are permanently and easily accessible to the international community.  Delegates attending Design and Nature 2010 will be invited to submit an extended version of their paper for publication in the International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics, associated with the Wessex Institute of Technology.