Nature's Nanotechnology

This article presents an overview of the emerging field of biomimetics. Biomimetics is highly interdisciplinary and is gaining a foothold in the scientific and technical arena. Biomimetics involves the understanding of biological functions, structures, and principles of various objects found in nature by biologists, physicists, chemists, and material scientists, and the design and fabrication of various materials and devices of commercial interest from bioinspiration. Today, biomimetic materials are moving out of the laboratory and into industrial applications. Significant advancements in nanofabrication allow engineers to replicate structures of interest in biomimetics using smart materials. The commercial applications include nanomaterials, nanodevices, and processes that may enable self-cleaning surfaces or pads that hang pictures without hooks or wires. Some of these applications may at first seem magical, but they simply are the result of applying science and engineering to uncovering the secrets of nature.