The Shark’s Paintbrush: Biomimicry and How Nature Is Inspiring Innovation

Summary

Why does the bumblebee have better aerodynamicsthan a 747? What structural design is shared by a tornado and a blood vessel?

Sincethe Industrial Revolution, manufacturers have built things by a process knownas “heat, beat, and treat.” They use enormous amounts of energy to heat rawmaterial, shape it with heavy machinery, and maintain its design, strength, anddurability with toxic chemicals. Now, in a world of depleted natural resources,entrepreneurs and scientists are turning to nature to inspire future productsthat are more energy and cost efficient. Biomimicry, the science of employingnature to advance sustainable technology, is arguably one of the hottest newbusiness concepts. At the center of this growing movement has beenaward-winning inventor and biomimetic entrepreneur Jay Harman.

In The Shark’sPaintbrush, Harmanintroduces us to pioneering engineers in a wide array of businesses who areuncovering and copying nature’s hidden marvels. He shows business leaders andaspiring entrepreneurs how we can reconcile creating more powerful, lucrativetechnologies with maximizing sustainability. He injects a whole new vocabularyand way of thinking into the business sphere that speaks to both smallstart-ups and corporate giants.