2023-2024 / GBIO0022-1

Biomimicry

Duration

15h Th, 45h Proj.

Number of credits

 Master of Science (MSc) in Biomedical Engineering5 crédits 
 Master of Science (MSc) in Mechanical Engineering (EMSHIP+, Erasmus Mundus)5 crédits 
 Master in biology of organisms and ecology (120 ECTS)5 crédits 

Lecturer

Philippe Compère, Tristan Gilet, Davide Ruffoni

Coordinator

Tristan Gilet

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

All year long, with partial in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

"Those who are inspired by a model other than Nature, a mistress above all masters, are laboring in vain."
Leonardo Da Vinci

In three billion years of evolution, nature had time to invent an incredible variety of mechanisms serving the purposes of life. These mechanisms are especially robust, since the conditions in which they are used are often highly variable. Nature comes with its own technical choices and fabrication recipes that are sometimes strikingly different from our conventional engineering: soft materials, microstructures, differential growth of tissues, self-healing capabilities, etc. In this course, biologists and engineers will unite forces and together carefully observe, deeply understand and attempt to faithfully mimic the designs of Nature. In the first part of the course, several existing examples of biomimetism will be introduced by the lecturers. Various techniques to work at the interface between biology, engineering and physics will also be described. The second part will be dedicated to the course projects.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of this course, students will have an overview of many successful examples of biomimetism. Moreover, they will be able to get inspiration from Nature's designs and transpose them to develop original engineering applications.

More specifically, the students will be able to



  • obtain relevant information on a biological structure, and understand its functions and constraints (both physical and biological);
  • design and study a physical model (experimental or numerical) that replicates the working principle of a biological structure; and
  • report results of this study in a scientific format.
Finally, students will learn to work in a multi-disciplinary team involving both biologists and engineers.


This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, II.2, II.3, III.1, III.2, III.3, III.4, IV.1, IV.2, VI.1, VI.2, VI.3, VI.4, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5 of the MSc in biomedical engineering.


This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, II.2, II.3, III.1, III.2, III.3, III.4, IV.1, IV.2, VI.1, VI.2, VI.3, VI.4, VII.1, VII.2, VII.3, VII.4, VII.5 of the MSc in mechanical engineering.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Pre-requisites: Bachelor in Sciences or Engineering

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course is organized according to the 15+45 scheme (15h theory + 45h project).
Theory and applications are covered in 8 to 10 lectures.
In the course project, the students will investigate a curiosity of the natural world from both biology and engineering points of view. They will first characterize the biological structure as well as its function and constraints (information from the scientific literature and/or personal observations). They will then design a physical model (experimental or numerical) aimed at reproducing a selected biological feature. They will investigate this model and report their results in a scientific format. A list of topics will be proposed at the beginning of the year. Projects will be made in groups of 2 to 5 students. Whenever possible, there will be at least one engineer and one biologist in each group.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face

Recommended or required readings

The course is not based on a unique textbook. It is more a synthesis of many textbooks and recent publications. At the end of each class, several reading suggestions will be given.

Written work / report


Additional information:

Only the project is subject to evaluation. This latter is based on a final presentation and a written report. The criteria and exact date of the evaluation will be communicated to the students in due time. An intermediate presentation (not graded) will be organized at mid-term. The different
requirements and expectations from engineering and biology students will be explained
and discussed during the course.

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Lectures will be given during the Fall term. The time and classroom number will be on CelCAT. Organisational details (including covid19 measures) will be discussed during the first lecture. An electronic version of the course notes and slides will be available.

Contacts

Philippe Compère (B6c - pcompere@uliege.be )

Davide Ruffoni (B52 - druffoni@uliege.be )

Tristan Gilet (B52 - Tristan.Gilet@uliege.be )

Association of one or more MOOCs