Biologically inspired engineering is a new scientific discipline that applies biological principles to develop new engineering solutions for medicine, industry, the environment, and many other fields that have previously not been influenced by the field of biology. The emergence of this new discipline unifies the life sciences with engineering and the physical sciences. Biologically inspired engineering involves exploration into the way that living cells, tissues, and organisms build, control, manufacture, recycle, and adapt to their environment. Bioinspired engineers leverage this knowledge to develop new technologies and translate them into products that meet real world challenges.
Biologically inspired engineering is an interdisciplinary field encompassing many specialty areas in biology (molecular cell biology, genetic engineering, developmental biology, organismal biology, clinical medicine), engineering (biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics), and the physical sciences (chemistry, physics, materials science, and nanotechnology). Integrated research programs in this area span many of these disciplines and include biomimicry, as well as analysis of the way that living systems form and function using self-assembling nanomaterials, complex dynamic networks, non-linear dynamical control, self-organizing behavior, evolution, and natural selection.