Biomimicry attempts to solve human problems by emulating organisms, processes and systems observed in nature. It is used in the sciences, in engineering, product development and design. Its best-known example is the invention of Velcro based on the study of burdock. Applied scientists and engineers use Biomimicry in a convergent, methodical manner. They isolate a problem, search for the corresponding solution in nature and apply it to a product.

In Design Education, we use Biomimicry in an experimental fashion and without aiming for a product. We analyze an object from nature according to its visual, structural, procedural and social properties. Our research is based on analogical thinking comparing the unknown phenomenon to the known one. We look at the object as if it was a building, a machine or an organization. We hope for discovery with design potential and reproduce the observed principle while avoiding an imitation.

The Convergence Initiative, in partnership with the Faculty of Fine Arts of Concordia University, is pleased to introduce Biomimicry; a creativity technique in Design education delivered by professor Erwin Regler. Erwin is a Montreal based artist of German origin. He studied at the University of the Arts in Berlin and at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Apart from his practice in Sculpture, Erwin teaches courses in Biomimicry, Computer Assisted Design and Digital Sculpture at Concordia University.

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The Convergence Sci-Art/Art-Sci Conferences is a series focussed on the crossover of disciplines with science, especially arts and communication. The talks cover subjects like the influence of media on modern science, the public perception of the scientific method, neuroscience popular misconceptions, neuroscience and technology in the medical practice, or science immersed artistic practice.

The Convergence Initiative is an independent nonprofit initiative developed in partnership with the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience (BRaIN) Program of the RI-MUHC, Concordia Faculty of Fine Arts, and Visual Voice Gallery. It is supported by the Canadian Association for Neuroscience, the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, The Integrated Program in Neuroscience of McGill University, and the Montreal General Hospital Foundation.