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3.A24 Freshman Seminar: The Engineering of Trees, Spring 2003

Woodland in South Carolina.
A woodland in South Carolina. (Image courtesy of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.)

Highlights of this Course

This course features sample student projects and related background documentation they received in class.

Course Description

Why are things in nature shaped the way they are? Why can't trees grow taller than they are? Why is grass skinny and hollow? Why are some leaves full of holes? These are the types of questions Dr. Lorna Gibson's& freshman seminar at MIT has been investigating. We invite you to explore with us.

Questions such as these are the subject of biomimetic research. When engineers copy the shapes found in nature we call it Biomimetics. The word biomimic comes from bio, as in biology and mimetic, which means to copy.

 

Staff

Instructor:
Prof. Lorna Gibson

Course Meeting Times

Lectures:
One session / week
2 hours / session

Level

Undergraduate

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