IIT Madras to introduce full semester elective course on Biomimicry

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras will soon be offering a full semester elective course on Biomimicry. It will be an interdisciplinary course that would teach students how to mimic nature to craft solutions for complex problems.

Explaining the scope of the subject, IIT-M said: “Biomimicry is the intersection of biology and engineering. You do not have to be either a biologist or an engineer to learn biomimicry, all you need is curiosity. Curious enough to look at a lotus leaf and ask questions like; how does a lotus leaf remain clean?”

To elaborate on how one can learn from nature and use them as blueprints to craft solutions for mankind, IIT-M used the example of Japan’s ‘Shinkansen, reported The Indian Express. The bullet train was reportedly built by mimicking the kingfisher bird. Similarly, the Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe’s Harare was inspired by a termite mound, the institute said.

IIT-M will become among the first educational institutes in India to offer a full-fledged course on Biomimicry. Lectures will be delivered by Professor MS Sivakumar, Shiva Subramaniam, Professor Satyanarayanan Seshadri, and Professor Srinivasa Chakravarthy of IIT-M.

The institute said it had already created a community of Biomimicry enthusiasts who are working on exploring research opportunities, entrepreneurship, etc. IIT Madras also plans to arrange a Biomimicry challenge to encourage students to come up with sustainable ideas inspired by nature.