VDI Presents International Bionic Award
Young researchers at RWTH Aachen University have developed structures for the transportation of fluids, using the Texan horned lizard as a model.
This year’s International Bionic Award, presented by the Schauenburg Foundation and VDI, the Association of German Engineers, was awarded to an interdisciplinary team from the universities of Aachen and Linz for their outstanding research work.
The research prize, worth 10,000 Euros, was awarded to Dr. Philipp Comanns from RWTH Aachen University, Kai Winands and Mario Pothen from the Fraunhofer Institute of Production Technology IPT, and Gerda Buchberger from Johannes Kepler University Linz.
After investigating the geometry of channels on the skin of the moisture-harvesting Texan horned lizard, the research team succeeded in developing metal and plastic surface structures that enable the passive and energy-neutral transportation of fluids in one direction.
The award ceremony took place during the "Patents from Nature" bionics conference in Bremen last week.