YLEM Forum: "Biomimicry"

Wednesday, July 19, 8 pm
doors open 7:30 pm

RX Gallery and Bar
(No one under 21 allowed)
132 Eddy St., San Francisco, CA 94102

Suggested donation sliding scale $5-10
Open to the public and wheelchair accessible

Sponsored by YLEM: Artists Using Science and Technology
Main office: PO Box 31923, San Francisco, CA 94131

Contact: Trudy Myrrh Reagan, forum@ylem.org
650-856-9593

Biomimicry, a term first coined in 1997 by biologist Janine Benyus, is a term that applies to many inventive new industries. It is the art and science of learning and using the "designs" which we see all around us, about copying what Nature seems to do very well. Think spider silk stronger than steel! What is important for a world rapidly depleting its resources, Biomimicry is about using nature’s “manufacturing ideas” to be more efficient with materials and energy. An engineer, Onno Koelman of Pax Scientific, and a teacher of product design, Sue Redding of CCA, present some elegantly practical applications of Biomimicry.

PROGRAM

Onno Koelman is a design engineer at PAX Scientific and has seen the company grow from its five original employees to over twenty-one strong. Since the very beginning he has been fascinated by the PAX story and the simplicity and elegance of natural design. He has had the opportunity to work on numerous products during his tenure. In this presentation he will review PAX's story from its earliest beginnings,and bring the story up to date by following two industries in which PAX is now poised to launch efficient, elegant, and cost-effective solutions - all inspired by Nature.

Sue Redding is a Bay Area Designer and Associate Professor of Industrial Design at California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco. At CCA, Sue teaches sustainable design to Graphic and Industrial Designers. A former zookeeper, Sue developed a biology curriculum called: “Applied Biology for Designers and Artists.” In this class designers are taught basic biological principles and how to use nature as inspiration in art and design. Redding will present Biomimicry examples and show how she presents the information to students to help them draw the link between design and biology. Sue will also show recent student and faculty work and show how the “New Organic Design” is taking hold in the design world.

Records of Previous Forums:

MAY 2006: What's Hidden in the Molecules
MARCH 2006: Animate!
JANUARY 2006: Multimedia Fandago
SEPTEMBER 2005: Show/Play!
AUGUST 2005: Art, Activism and Technology
JULY 2005: Patterns in Nature
MAY 2005: ARCHIMEDIA from Australia
MARCH 2005: Art Enlivening Biology
JANUARY 2005
NOVEMBER 2004: LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!

 
(previous forums not on site. We have been hosting forums for over 25 years!)