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Mechanics of Biological Materials and Structures: Nature's Lessons for the Engineer

Biological structures have evolved to fit their purpose and a discussion is given of the materials and engineering reasons for their success. The contrast is made between traditional engineering's extraction of maximum benefit from choice of materials and Nature's extraction of maximum benefit from structural shapes made of indifferent materials. The issue of integration and continuous optimization from the molecular level up to large structural components is highlighted. The relevance of such principles to engineering design is explored. Biological systems are also intelligent and an exciting possibility is that the engineering designer will be able to make use of materials and structures that are capable of preparing themselves for future events, not merely respond to immediate events. This, and ideas of integrating use with function, will require radical changes in design thought processes.