08 August 2009

The week in comments

The reception for this past wave of talks from TED Global 2009 centers around the theme of accountability. People seemed especially moved by Emmanuel Jal's music on his life as a war child and Michael Pritchard's revolutionary water filter. We even got a TEDGlobal speaker sparking a discussion on one of these highlighted talks (in addition to his own). Here are the motivated comments:

On Emmanuel Jal's talk: The music of a war child:
I'm on a soap box today and this link is on it! -- Angie via Facebook

What a beautiful way to stir us out of complacency and to turn hard times to good ends. Wonderful, Inspiring, Moving & Worthwhile! -- Tom

This is a moving talk. It calls for great courage to renounce hatred and violence despite growing amidst them and being a victim of these. Hats off! The call for education to counteract exploitation is a message worth spreading. -- Srini

On Janine Benyus' talk: Biomimicry in action:
This presentation warms my heart.. it seems there might be a future for us on this planet after all. -- ehhhhhhhhhh via YouTube

fantastic talk. I hope that people like Janine Benyus are ushering in a way of living on the earth that will be the salvation of at least a few human beings. -- Billie via Facebook

On Michael Pritchard's talk: Turning filthy water drinkable:
Fabulous!! Is anyone thirsty? TED Michael Pritchard Invents Water Filter... -- tokendesigners via twitter

lets see how fast world's governments act to get this technology and help their people........ Now they don't have any excuses..... -- Syed via Facebook

On Willard Wigan's talk: Hold your breath for micro-sculpture:
I'm often amazed by the people I encounter on TED. Willard's talent and perhaps even more, his sheer patience is simply astonishing. He is truly an artist. "Don't sweat the small things", has never really had a place in my lexicon and Willard just put's a fork, I mean pin in it. :-) -- Eric via YouTube

Do anyone of you TEDsters or any one out there in the TED community know of any surgeons. We need to hook Willard up with them. Surgeons are constantly battling with sewing together very small arteries, veins, ligaments etc and these are very difficult to do. They are also constantly cutting things at the micro level. Willard's talents could be imparted to any types of surgeons, eye, heart, key-hole, transplant etc etc. ... -- Michael Pritchard

Don't forget that you can influence our next interview by asking Sir Ken Robinson absolutely anything on Reddit. So go grab a Reddit account and start voting for questions or posing one of your own.

Posted by Mischa Nachtigal | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

06 August 2009

Biomimicry in action: Janine Benyus on TED.com

Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first. There you'll find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered and more. Here she reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 17:42)

Twitter URL: http://on.ted.com/2E

Watch Janine Benyus' talk at TEDGlobal 2009 on TED.com where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 475+ TEDTalks.

Get TED delivered:
Subscribe to the TEDTalks video podcast via RSS >>
Subscribe to the iTunes video podcast
Subscribe to the iTunes audio podcast
Get updates via Twitter >>
Join our Facebook fan page >>

Subscribe to the TED Blog >>

Posted by Shanna Carpenter | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

22 July 2009

Janine Benyus at TEDGlobal 2009: Running notes from Session 4

This is Janine Benyus' second appearance on a TED stage and for those who have seen her first talk, expectations are high. She is a science writer and innovator who fervently believes in the field of biomimicry.

She begins her talk by painting a picture for us of her 7-year-old neighbor, a boy who spends hours on his back studying nature and constantly comes to her with his questions. One day he asks about the large wasps' nest on her back porch, wanting to know, "Who built it?" Benyus explains that she was taken aback at his assumption that because it was beautiful and complex, it was built by a human. It's an assumption she thinks many of us hold.

We constantly forget, Benyus points out, that we were not the first to build and to construct. "If you think it's hard to plan TED, try planning spring," she tells us. From there she walks us through project after project inspired by nature's designs -- project's that employ biomimicry. She shows slides of a train streamlined to resemble the beak of kingfisher to minimize air resistance, how new surfaces are mimicking shark skin to repel bacteria for use in hospitals and many many more.

To encourage more designs like these, Benyus has begun a new website called asknature.org, in cooperation with the Encyclopedia of Life. She dreams that one day designers and inventors everywhere will consult the site when beginning projects, to ask the question, "What would nature do?"

Posted by Shanna Carpenter | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

22 July 2009

Twitter Snapshot: Janine Benyus observes how nature influences design

In her talk today, biomimicrist Janine Benyus made the case that we can learn a lot from nature. In keeping with this idea, here's what TEDsters on Twitter learned from her:

Janine benyus: Nature is a selfcoordinating genius with no top down commander.. -- lucadebiase

"Imagine designing spring" biomimicry expert Janine Banyus. "Whenever you want to invent something, start with nature." -- Idit

Janine Benyus: To solve a design problem, ask "What would nature do?" -- DanielPink

Benyus shows us images of wind turbines that mimic whale flippers to reduce drag by 30% and can turn in very slow winds. -- frogdesign

Benyus: Look to nature for engineering inspiration. "We´re not the first ones to build houses for our young" -- TEDxCambridge

Posted by Mischa Nachtigal | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

10 July 2009

Watch TEDTalks from speakers at the upcoming TEDGlobal 2009

From TEDGlobal's speaker list of more than 90 -- including 18-minute talks, demos and TED U courses -- 13 of our scheduled speakers already have TEDTalks online from previous TEDs and partners. To find them, check out our new theme, Speaking at TEDGlobal 2009, and watch archive gems from these returning speakers. All of these speakers are bringing something new to TEDGlobal 2009, exploring the theme of the conference, "The Substance of Things Not Seen."

Browse the new theme Speaking at TEDGlobal 2009 >>

See the full conference schedule for TEDGlobal 2009, July 21-24 in Oxford >>

Posted by Emily McManus | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

08 March 2009

4 great talks for International Women's Day

To celebrate March 8, International Women's Day, we suggest these four TEDTalks gems from some amazing speakers -- artists, scientists and economists who think deeply about the role of women.

Author and activist Isabel Allende discusses women, creativity, feminism -- and the power of passionate thinkers and doers:

The former Finance Minister of Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, talks about one key opportunity to grow African economies -- by investing in women and the businesses they start:

(For more, watch Jacqueline Novogratz >>)

Scientist Nalini Nadkarni explores the world of the forest canopy -- and shares her findings with the world below, through dance, art and bold partnerships. She's working to inspire the next generation of women scientists:

The wonderful Nellie McKay sings "Mother of Pearl" (with the immortal first line "Feminists don't have a sense of humor") and "If I Had You" from her sparkling set at TED2008:

Find these four and many more astonishing women (including the legendary primatologist Jane Goodall, oceanographers Sylvia Earle and Tierney Thys, games theorist Brenda Laurel, Zipcar inventor Robin Chase ... ) on TED.com >>

Posted by Emily McManus | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

27 July 2008

Bio-inspired body armor from a tough old fish

Via LiveScience.com: Researchers at MIT have found valuable insight into body armor by studying the African fish Polypterus senegalus. A living fossil, the fish is largely unchanged since the Cretaceous period -- when its ancestors faced an ocean full of large, toothy predators. In its defense, it developed a bite-resistant "armored" skin, whose scales are built up from layers of different materials.

In a study sponsored by the US Army, the MIT engineers studied how each layer of these scales reacts to stress in a different way, combining to blunt the effect of a biting attack. Using experimental and computational research, the team "reveals the materials design principles" behind this tough old survivor -- principles that can inform the design of new kinds of armor.

Their paper is the cover story in the new issue of Nature Materials. Read the paper, and meet Ben the Polypterus senegalus, on the website of the Ortiz Laboratory.

For more biomimicry in action, check out Janine Benyus' TEDTalk -- where she discusses the many insights we can gain from studying nature in this way.

Above: The armored fish Polypterus senegalus hides insights into new materials -- and clever combinations of materials -- for human armor. Photo / Donna Coveney.

Posted by Emily McManus | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

11 April 2008

Biomimicry in National Geographic and on TED.com

This month's National Geographic has a great story on biomimetics, or biomimicry, the art of studying nature's engineering. If you're inspired by this story, check out these TEDTalks for more on biomimicry. Clicking on a name (or an image above) will launch the TEDTalks player >>

+ Scientist Robert Full (whose work with geckos is explored in the National Geographic story) shares his obsession with animal feet

+ Biologist Sheila Patek plays high-speed video that captures some extreme engineering from nature -- the superefficient structures that allows a tiny shrimp to move at hyperspeed

+ Journalist Janine Benyus shares her top 12 designs that we can steal from nature, from self-assembly to self-smoothing paint

+ Oceanographer David Gallo shares some amazing animal abilities that we humans might someday want (couldn't you use a little bioluminescence?)

Posted by TED Staff | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

20 April 2007

Janine Benyus on TED.com

In this inspiring talk about recent developments in biomimicry, Janine Benyus provides heartening examples of ways in which nature is already influencing the products and systems we build.

Posted by TED Staff | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)