Our success with applying bio-inspired design approaches to human engineered systems has made us interested in how to best support engineers in the use of bio-inspired design approaches for other problems. We’re looking to understand how biological information can be made more accessible for both inspiring novel engineering ideas and translation into technical functions.

Our findings include:

• General references were commented as being the most useful in terms of language, helping grasp high-level explanations of biological concepts with more clarity and simplicity than the technical references, but still at a basic enough level to allow for easier interpretation and integration of ideas
• Case studies in references may inadvertently hindered ideation, creating fixation that resulted in low variety and quantity of ideas
• Technical references were important for a clear understanding of biological inspiration
• Basic references are the most effective for increasing both quantity and diversity of ideas
• Basic references encouraged more open and expansive thinking, before technical aspects are needed, likely providing more accessible concepts that are easily retained and recalled in the early stages of ideation and fostering a broader initial idea development

Publications thus far:

(2025) *Hassan, H. and A. Layton. “Improving Cross-Disciplinary Knowledge Transfer for Bio-Inspired Engineering Design.” Integrative & Comparative Biology. DOI: 10.1093/icb/icaf119

(2023) *Hassan, H.; *Rodriguez, L.; *Chatterjee, A.; Layton, A. “Ensuring Bio-Inspired Engineering Design Success: The Impact of Information Representation in Interdisciplinary Design.” ASEE 2023 Conference & Exposition, Baltimore, MD. DOI: 10.18260/1-2–42697