Shilpa Naik is a Master student in the poly-PEDAL Lab.

Elena Chiridnick is a former M.Sc. student from the ITECH Program at the University of Stuttgart.

Elena will show us her research on the mechanisms involved in the tail of the spring beetle and how this compliant motion principle can be translated into architectural constructions.

Dr. Simon Poppinga (Plant Biomechanics Group, University of Freiburg)

“How plants move, and how the motion principles can inspire new technologies”
From very slow growth processes to ultrafast spore cannons: plant motion speed spans at least seven orders of magnitude, and the diversity of motions and of the principles of actuation has fascinated scientists as well as engineers for centuries. I will briefly explain how plants can generate movement, and how the underlying principles can be used for biomimetic technical applications. Examples to be described in detail are: the slow hygroscopic motions of false indusia in ferns and of pine cones; the fast snap trap action in the carnivorous Venus flytrap and of the catapult-flypaper trap in sundews; the ultrafast prey capture via suction in bladderworts and by snapping in the waterwheel plant; as well as the ultrafast spore catapults in ferns. By presenting several cases of highly specialized pollination mechanisms I will also show how completely passive yet complex motion can be achieved, which is free of metabolic ‘costs’ (in terms of energy). Attendees will get up-to-date insights into current research projects concerning the physics of plant motion, its abstraction and technical implementation.

Monday, September 26 at 2 pm in room 104 Wurster Hall
(please note the different room and I kindly ask you to be on time)

website:https://www.botanischer-garten.uni-freiburg.de/