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Kennedy_Dissertation_040617.pdf (7.31 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

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Biomimicry in Industry: The Philosophical and Empirical Rationale for Reimagining R&D

Kennedy, Emily Barbara
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1491505696395819

Abstract Details

2017, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, Integrated Bioscience.
Biomimicry is innovation through emulation of biological forms, processes, patterns, and systems. What motivates practice is a basic understanding of natural selection as a process that favors high-performance, resource-efficient survival strategies – strategies that can be abstracted to address technical challenges from the molecular to systemic scale. Biomimicry has generated commercial solutions in diverse sectors, but industry practice is limited by a lack of clarity around quantitative / qualitative benefits and best practices. This body of work starts to unveil the different dimensions of value biomimicry can offer business, providing evidence of its potential to enhance creativity, increase rates of intellectual property generation, and inform environmentally sustainable solutions. It also details an iterative five-phase biomimicry process, validated in a corporate context, that can serve as a template for industry implementation. Perhaps most importantly, it describes how biomimicry helps us recall a fundamental truth we managed to forget: humans are a part of rather than apart from nature. Innovating from this point of view, we brighten prospects of a flourishing life on this planet.
Peter Niewiarowski, PhD (Advisor)
John Huss, PhD (Committee Member)
Bob Gray, PhD (Committee Member)
Steve Ash, PhD (Committee Member)
Ven Ochaya, PhD (Committee Member)
212 p.
Biology; Design; Entrepreneurship; Management; Mechanical Engineering; Philosophy; Sustainability
biomimicry; biomimetics; bioinspiration; bioinspired design; innovation; sustainable innovation; environmental sustainability; ecodesign; creativity; design-by-analogy; analogical thinking; hedgehog spines; impact attenuation; flexural properties

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kennedy, E. B. (2017). Biomimicry in Industry: The Philosophical and Empirical Rationale for Reimagining R&D [Doctoral dissertation, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1491505696395819

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kennedy, Emily. Biomimicry in Industry: The Philosophical and Empirical Rationale for Reimagining R&D . 2017. University of Akron, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1491505696395819.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kennedy, Emily. "Biomimicry in Industry: The Philosophical and Empirical Rationale for Reimagining R&D ." Doctoral dissertation, University of Akron, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1491505696395819

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

akron1491505696395819
747
© 2017, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Akron and OhioLINK.
Release 3.2.12