CHENNAI: Indian Institute of Technology Madras is all set to offer a full semester, one-of-its-kind elective course under the interdisciplinary stream on biomimicry, according to a statement issued by the institute on Monday.
Biomimicry involves looking at nature as a source of inspiration to solve complex problems. It is an intersectional field of biology and engineering. Millions of organisms have evolved strategies over billions of years of adaptation to our planet, said Shiva Subramaniam, Chief Innovation Officer, Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, adding that one can use these blueprints and recipes from nature to design and build solutions for problems.
"You do not have to be either a biologist or an engineer to learn biomimicry, all you need is curiosity," he told The New Indian Express. Biomimicry is not learning about nature but learning from it. Prof. Satyanarayanan Seshadri, Department of Applied Mechanics and Prof. Srinivasa Chakravarthy, Department of Biotechnology will also teach.
Currently only students from IIT Madras can take part in the course, but the programme may be expanded depending on the response.