Two Industrial Design Teams Among Eight Finalists in the 2018 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge
Congratulations to our two Industrial Design teams among the eight finalists in the 2018 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge.
The Biomimicry Institute’s Biomimicry Global Design Challenge invites innovators to learn how to use biomimicry—the process of looking to nature for design inspiration—to develop solutions to climate change. Winning teams receive cash prizes and an invitation to the 2018-19 Biomimicry Launchpad, an accelerator that supports the path to commercialization and the potential to win the $100,000 Ray C. Anderson Foundation Ray of Hope Prize®.
Our CSULB teams are:
Gen-Rail (Team: Ryan Genena, Chris Sagui, Matt White, Benjamin Dadacay, Roman Wiant. Advisor: David Teubner)
Genrail harnesses wind generated on urban freeways and converts it into energy. The team replicated the compressible elasticity of the cockroach to create safe impact zones, mimicked the California condor’s wing shape to help create energy harnessing fans, and gathered inspiration from the structure of the desert snail shell to create a system of vacuums aided by the venturi effect propelling the wind forward and providing extra power for the city.
See their entry here: https://challenge.biomimicry.org/en/custom/gallery/view/29064?step=0
Phalanx Insulation (Team: Eric Askeland, Albert Gonzalez, Tim Enslow, Oscar Guerra, Jesus Mateo. Advisor: Steve Boyer)
This team developed a biomimicry-inspired insulation grid meant to be applied to exterior walls of existing buildings. Intended to be used in urban coastal regions like Southern California, this system is designed to reduce interior temperatures of buildings passively without the need for electricity by emulating cacti, Saharan silver ants, cathedral termites, and more.
See their entry here: https://challenge.biomimicry.org/en/custom/gallery/view/29031?step=0
