Recommended Readings

Last updated January 4, 2008

Architecture
Animal Architecture. Jennifer Owings Dewey. 1991. Examines how creatures like arthropods, vertebrates, birds, and rodents build their homes. Animal Architecture. Karl von Frisch. 1974. Examines how creatures like arthropods, vertebrates, birds, and rodents build their homes. Design and ature !!. "d #. $. %ollins et. Al. &''4. Contains proceedings of 2nd international conference on design and nature. Brings together researchers around the world on a variety of studies involving nature s significance for modern scientific thought and design. $onders of Animal Architecture. (igmund A. )avine. 19*4. Examines how creatures like arthropods, vertebrates, birds, and rodents build their homes.

+iogra,hy
+uc-minster Fuller.s /niverse. )loyd (ieden. 1909. Explores !uller s examination of significant underlying principles in nature.

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+iology
%olor in ature. 1enelo,e Farrant. 1999. Explores color in nature, including astronomy, botany, geology, physics and #oology. Design and ature !!. "d #. $. %ollins et. Al. &''4. Contains proceedings of 2nd international conference on design and nature. Brings together researchers around the world on a variety of studies involving nature s significance for modern scientific thought and design. )ife !tself2 "3,loring the 4ealm of the )iving %ell. +oyce 4ens5erger. 1990. $ digest of everything currently known about the mechanisms by which living cells perform their myriad of tasks. atural "arth6 )iving "arth. #iranda (mith and (teve 1ar-er. 199*. !ull%color photography shows how living things interact with the functions and conditions of the earth. 7he $or- of ature2 8ow the Diversity of )ife (ustains /s. 9vonne +as-in6 et al. 1997. Baskin examines the threats posed to humans by the loss of biodiversity. Biodiversity is much more than number of species %% it includes the complexity, richness, and abundance of nature at all levels.

+iology :;eneral<
+iomimicry2 !nnovation !ns,ired 5y ature. Janine +enyus. 1997. &emonstrates how nature's solutions to survival needs have been the creative (umping%off points for individuals seeking solutions to human challenges, developing, or simply revitali#ing processes or products. "3,loring the $ay )ife $or-s2 7he (cience of +iology. #ahlon +. 8oagland.6 et. Al. 2))". Comprehensive overview of the natural world from patterns in life to energy and evolution. &evoted to the wonder and unity of the natural world. 7he 8idden 1owers of Animals. %arl 1. . (hu-er. &''1. $ fascinating look at the astonishing behavior and super%human abilities of animals, from kings of the (ungle to household pets. *his book reveals incredible truths about animals and their remarkable sensitivities, skills and strengths. 7he $ay ature $or-s. "d. Jill +ailey. 199&.

&rawing on a series of +uestions that children might ask, a team of scientists proposes answers in this manual for adult readers. *hey address large issues such as atmospheric phenomena, ecosystem relationships, and animal communication with brief essays, each well illustrated with charts, diagrams, and photographs. $eird ature. John Downer. Firefly +oo-s. &''&. ,ome of the most fantastic behaviors of real animals are explored in this beautifully illustrated companion volume to a BBC-&iscovery Channel series.

%hemistry
+iominerali=ation. (te,hen #ann. &''&. &escribes a new type of chemistry that brings together soft and hard material for the design of functionali#ed inorganic%organic materials. ;reen %hemistry2 7heory and 1ractice. 1aul 7. Anastas6 John %harles $arner. &'''. .verview of the design, development, and evaluation process central to green chemistry. Explores alternative solvents and catalysts, benign syntheses and biomimetic principles, among many other topics.

%hildren.s +oo-s
Animal Architecture. Jennifer Dewey. 1991. Examines how creatures like arthropods, vertebrates, birds, and rodents build their homes. atural "arth6 )iving "arth. #iranda (mith and (teve 1ar-er. 199*. !ull%color photography shows how living things interact with the functions and conditions of the earth.

Design
+iologic2 "nvironmental 1rotection 5y Design. David $ann. 199'. /uide to designing our way out of the environmental conundrum we are in by taking a system s view of technology 0 asking, 1how does it fit in23 +iomimicry2 !nnovation !ns,ired 5y ature. Janine +enyus. 1997. &emonstrates how nature's solutions to survival needs have been the creative (umping%off points for individuals seeking solutions to human challenges, developing, or simply revitali#ing processes or products.

%at.s 1aws and %ata,ults2 #echanical $orld of ature and 1eo,le. (teven >ogel. 1990. 5nvestigates whether nature or human design is superior and why the two technologies have diverged so much. Dee, Design2 1athways to a liva5le Future. David $ann. 199*. $ new way of thinking about design by asking6 17hat is our ultimate goal23 *he idea is to produce designs that are sensitive to living systems. Design and ature !!. "d #. $. %ollins et. Al. &''4. Contains proceedings of 2nd international conference on design and nature. Brings together researcher around the world on a variety of studies involving nature s significance for modern scientific thought and design. Design for the 4eal $orld6 8uman "cology and (ocial %hange. >ictor 1a,ane-. 1904. .ne of the world s most widely read books on design. $uthor provides a blueprint for sensible, responsible design. Design in ature2 )earning from 7rees. %laus #atthec-. &''4. &escribes and verifies external shape laws in nature. $lso explores self healing. 8any optimi#ation examples. Design )essons from ature. +en?amin De +rie 7aylor. 1974. &escribes strategies in the plant kingdom with some suggestions on their relationship to human designs.. Design with ature. !an ). #c8arg. 19*9. $ blend of philosophy and science, author shows how humans can copy nature s examples to design and build better structures.

"conomics@+usiness
atural %a,italism2 %reating the e3t !ndustrial 4evolution. 1aul 8aw-en6 Amory 9ovins, 9.:unter 9ovins. 2))). *hree top strategists show how leading%edge companies are practicing ;a new type of industrialism; that is more efficient and profitable while saving the environment and creating (obs. ature of "conomies. Jane Jaco5s. &'''. &issects relationships between economics and ecology through a multilayered discourse around the fundamental premise that ;human beings exist wholly within nature as part of a natural order.; 7he )iving %om,any. Arie de ;eus. 1997. *he author writes that ;companies die because their managers focus on the economic activity of producing goods and services, and they forget that their organi#ations' true nature is that of a community of humans.; :e <

summari#es the components of the long%lived company as sensitivity to the environment, cohesion and identity, tolerance and decentrali#ation, and conservative financing.

"ngineering
+iomimetics2 +iologically !ns,ired 7echnologies. "d. 9ose,h +arA %ohen. &''B. Explores biological models useful to engineering and the challenges awaiting future research. #echanical Design in Organisms. (te,hen A. $ainwright. 190&. ,urveys the mechanics of living systems and components of living systems. 5nterface between mechanical engineering and biology. Design 8omology. David Offner. 199B. $ mechanical engineering textbook that contrasts human designs with nature s designs. ature and Design. "d #. $. %ollins6 et. Al. &''4. Comprehensive introduction to common scientific laws of both the natural world and engineered worlds. !eatures mathematics, physics, chemistry, thermodynamics, biomimicry, mechanical engineering and history of science.

"volution
On ;rowth and Form2 7he %om,lete 4evised "dition. D.Arcy $entworth 7hom,son. 199&. Classic work of biology and modern science sets forth seminal ;theory of transformation;=that one species evolves into another not by successive minor changes in individual body parts but by large%scale transformations involving the body as a whole. (urvival (trategies2 %oo,eration and %onflict in Animal (ocieties. 4aghavendra /adagkar. ">>?. 7hy creatures great and small behave in such fascinating and seemingly perplexing ways is explained in this delightful account of the evolutionary foundations of animal social behavior.

;eneral (cience
+asic ature. Andrew (cott. &''&. !undamental concepts of modern science.

ature and Design. "d #. $. %ollins6 et. Al. &''4. Comprehensive introduction to common scientific laws of both the natural world and engineered worlds. !eatures mathematics, physics, chemistry, thermodynamics, biomimicry, mechanical engineering and history of science. A (hort 8istory of early "verything. +ill +ryson. &''4. Covers everything from 1primordial nothingness3 to 1ascendancy of :omo sapiens.3

!nnovation
+iomimicry2 !nnovation !ns,ired 5y ature. Janine +enyus. 1997. &emonstrates how nature's solutions to survival needs have been the creative (umping%off points for individuals seeking solutions to human challenges, developing, or simply revitali#ing processes or products. !nvention 5y Design. 8enry 1etros-i. 199*. Ahilosophical and cultural study of the process of invention. !ull of case studies in easy writing. ature2 #other of !nvention. Feli3 1aturi. 197*. *he book provides an overview of bio%inspiration, noting that scientists can learn from natural structures of all si#es and put their knowledge to use in a number of way, often by studying nature at the nanolevel, where the distinction between nature and human technology is blurred. 7he ;ec-o.s Foot2 +ioAins,iration6 "ngineering ew #aterials and Devices from ature. 1eter For5es. &''B. Aresents technologists' pure research into nano%anatomy, followed by their applied and, as many entrepreneurs hope, commercial mimicry of nature's ingenuity.

#aterial (cience
+iomimetic #aterials %hemistry. (te,hen #ann :"ditor<. 199B. Arovides a unified, up%to date approach to the applications of biological concepts, products and processes in material research. +iominerali=ation. (te,hen #ann. &''&. &escribes a new type of chemistry that brings together soft and hard material for the design of functionali#ed inorganic%organic materials. +iomolecular #aterials. "d. %hristo,her >iney et al. #aterials 4esearch (ociety. >olume &9&. 199&. &esign of material synthesis, assembly, processing and physical optimi#ation strategies based on examples from nature. B

Design and ature !!. "d #. $. %ollins et. Al. &''4. Contains proceedings of 2nd international conference on design and nature. Brings together researcher around the world on a variety of studies involving nature s significance for modern scientific thought and design. (tructural +iomaterials2 :4evised "dition<. Julian F.>. >incent. 199'. *he book presents a biologist's analysis of the structural materials of organisms, using molecular biology as a starting point. 5t is an excellent introduction to the field which attempts to stimulate interest in biomaterials.

#athematics
)ife.s Other (ecret2 7he ew #athematics of the )iving $orld. !an (tewart. 1999. ,hows how mathematics can be used to describe the symmetry of the living world. $uthor argues that 1life is a partnership between genes and mathematics.3 7he (i=esaurus2 From 8ectares to Deci5els to calories6 a $itty %om,endium of #easurements. (te,hen (trauss. 199B. &efines and explains all sorts of common and uncommon measures and scales, with lots of tables, illustrations and interesting examples, especially from nature.

#echanics
"3,loring +iomechanics2 Animals in #otion. 4. #c eill Ale3ander. 199&. Explores a multitude of animals movement and how they ve evolved mechanisms for efficiency. )ife.s Devices2 7he 1hysical $orld of Animals and 1lants. (teven >ogel6 4osemary %alvert. 1900. *his is an entertaining and informative book that describes how living things bump up against non%biological reality. )ife in #oving Fluids. (teven >ogel. 199*. *his book is for biologists who want to come to the beginning of a +uantitative understanding of a wide variety of adaptations, and for general readers who want to see how fluid mechanics work in a varied and often surprising context. (tructural +iomaterials2 :4evised "dition<. Julian F.>. >incent. 199'. *he book presents a biologist's analysis of the structural materials of organisms, using molecular biology as a starting point. 5t is an excellent introduction to the field which attempts to stimulate interest in biomaterials. ?

(tructure6 Form6 #ovement. 8einrich 8ertel. 19*C. Explores various means in which nature manifests structure, form, and movement. 7he +iomechanics of !nsect Flight. 4o5ert Dudley. &''&. Explores insect physiology, functional morphology, paleontology, aerodynamics, behavior and ecology. *he book excels as a synthesis of all these fields, and as a uni+ue source of information on the sub(ect of insect flight as a whole.

1atterns
7he %urves of )ife. 7heodore A. %oo-. 1979 $ well%thought%out examination of the function of the spiral, or helix, in both nature and art. &emonstrates how the spiral is fundamental to the structure of shells, leaves, horns, human body, drawings of 9eonardo, 9eaning *ower of Aisa, and more. 7he 1ower of )imits2 1ro,ortional 8armonies in ature6 Art and Architecture. ;yorgy Doc=i. 1901. The Power of Limits was inspired by the continuity of natural patterns. *he book explores how certain proportions occur over and over and are also repeated in how things grow and are made. 7he (elfA#ade ta,estry2 1attern Formation in ature. 1hili, +all. &''1. *his deep, beautiful exploration of the recurring patterns that we find both in the living and inanimate worlds will change how one thinks about everything from evolution to earth+uakes. 7he (ha,e of )ife. ancy +urnett. &''&. Based on the Cational /eographic % ,ea ,tudios !oundation series seen on AB,. Every animal that ever lived fits into one of only eight basic body plans. *hose basic forms have given rise to billions of species of animals and continue to define the shape of life on Earth.

(ystems (cience
+uc-minster Fuller.s /niverse. )loyd (teven (ieden. 1909. Explores !uller s examination of significant underlying principles in nature. "mergence2 7he %onnected )ives of Ants +rains6 %ities6 and (oftware. (teven Johnson. &''1. &etails the development of increasingly complex and familiar behavior among simple components. D

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