Blogger Profile: Dena Emmerson
Dena began working for San Diego Zoo Global in the summer of 2010 as a Summer Fellow in the Conservation Education Division at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Her project was to create a learning module on the subject of bioinspiration. Also known as biomimcry, bioinspiration is design inspired by nature: studying biological principles in order to draw analogies for human products or processes. Bio-inspired innovations tend to have significant environmental and conservation benefits, both direct and indirect. After the summer was over, Dena was able to continue on as an intern and continue her work in bioinspiration. She helps out with, among many things, bioinspiration education programs, grant writing, and corporate workshops. Dena maintains the content of the San Diego Zoo bioinspiration website and blogs regularly on the subject.
Zebras: It’s in the Stripes
Turns out, zebras don’t like being bitten by horseflies (who does, really?) The pattern on zebras (the alternating black and white stripes) creates a multi-directional array of polarized light, decreasing the attractiveness to horseflies, which prefer linear polarized light. read more
Cockroach Improves Search-and-Rescue Robots
Of all the species found in nature that are inspiring new engineering designs, one would not immediately think of the cockroach as a particularly inspiring animal. read more
Biomimicry, Biomaterials, Biomimetics
This special evening, sponsored by the City of Murrieta, welcomed David Kisailus, Ph.D., and several of his students from the University of California, Riverside, who work on biomaterials and biomimetics. read more
The Da Vinci Index
“Biomimicry is one of the most promising scientific fields that could transform the way goods and services are designed, produced, transported, and distributed,”… read more
Pandas, Bamboo, and Biomimicry
Starting with the most popular ambassador of China that we have at the Zoo, our giant pandas are quite the anomaly of the Animal Kingdom. read more
