The International Bionic Award has been endowed by the Schauenburg-Foundation. The foundation mainly endorses academic projects in the area of engineering, economics and social sciences, as well as supporting young people in their vocational training. Deadline for the application is March 30th, 2023. >>Website

Vom 17. – 19. März 2023 findet an der Clara-Grundwald Schule in Freiburg die Faltik 2023 statt. Die Kurse befassen sich mit spezifischen, didaktischen Aspekten des Faltens. Sie sind empfohlen für Erzieher, Lehrer, Therapeuten und andere, die das Falten in ihren Berufen anwenden. >> Website

Within the DFG-funded project “Learning from Nature: Epistemological and Ontological Foundations of Biomimetics”, affiliated with the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Rostock (Prof. Dr. Ludger Jansen), we are looking for a researcher for the following role:

Postdoctoral Researcher (“Wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in”, m/f/d)
EG 13 TV-L, full-time, 40 h/week, temporary project position

We look forward to receiving your online application with complete, informative documents (cover letter, CV, diploma with indication of final grade, writing sample and name of references) by 15.02.2023 at the latest. Only applications received via our application portal and containing all requested documents will be considered: >>website

Anja Geitmann (Canada Research Chair in Biomechanics of Plant Development, McGill University) is  looking for a PhD student interested in a project at the intersection between plant development and biomechanics.

Candidates should have some experience with the following:

• Plant cell biology & molecular biology
• Arabidopsis: mutants, transformation, genotyping

Ideal but not required are the following additional skills:

• Fluorescence microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy
• Live cell imaging using GFP et al
• Immunohistochemistry
• Electron microscopy (transmission, scanning)

The application deadline for international graduate students for the fall intake is January 15, 2023.

>> More information

livMatS JRG Program Bioinspired Materials Concepts

The Cluster of Excellence Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS) at the University of Freiburg, Germany, is issuing a call for a Junior Research Group in the area of Bioinspired Materials Concepts.

The intended focus of this Junior Research Group is in research and development within the following fields:

• Bioinspired materials and surfaces
• Bioinspired soft machines and soft robots
• Bioinspired systems research
• Bioinspired sensing and actuation
• Bioinspired energy harvesting, storage and conversion

Funding within the program is up to 950.000 € for the duration of five years. The funding can be used for the candidate’s position and the establishment of a Junior Research Group. The candidate will be employed at the University of Freiburg. The position is a full-time position (100%) for a period of five years. The salary will be determined in accordance with TV-L E 14. The funding includes a position for a doctoral researcher (48 months, 65%, TV-L 13), a position for a lab technician (50%, up to TV-L E9), consumables, and an initial investment package of 80,000 €.

The call targets researchers within two to six years of their postdoctoral experience in the ar-eas of biology/biomimetics, materials research, physics, engineering, soft matter chemistry or physics.

Applications need to be submitted by February 28th, 2023, to positions@livmats.uni-freiburg.de. The use of the livMatS Junior Research Group Leader Program template is man-datory and a formal prerequisite for the submission of your application.

>>More information

Im Rahmen der zweiten Ausschreibungsrunde zur „Biologisierung der Technik: Bioinspirierte Material- und Werkstoffforschung“ werden dreijährige Forschungs-, Entwicklungs- und Innovationsprojekte zu den  Themenfeldern „superhydrophobe Oberflächen und hierarchische Strukturierung“ und „selbstregulierende Materialien/Self-X-Materialien“ gefördert. >> mehr

Die erste Boeing 777 ist mit einer Oberfläche nach dem Vorbild der Haifischhaut gestartet. Die Oberfläche der Aero-Shark-Folie ist mit 50 Mikrometer großen Riblets ausgestattet, die zu einer Verringerung des Reibungswiderstands führen. >> mehr

Von der Natur lernen – wie geht das? PD Dr. Ludger Jansen (Universität Rostock) und Dr. Manfred Drack (Universität Tübingen) forschen zur Philosophie der Bionik. >> mehr

Vincent Gerbaud et al. haben eine Metastudie zur Bionik publiziert:

Gerbaud, V., Leiser, H., Beaugrand, J., Cathala, B., Molina-Jouve, C., & Gue, A. M. (2022). Bibliometric survey and network analysis of biomimetics and nature inspiration in engineering science. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 17(3), 031001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/ac4f2e

Prof. Anja Geitmann is looking for a candidate to apply for a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship to work in her lab at McGill University in Montreal (Canada). Information on this prestigious fellowship are available here: http://banting.fellowships-bourses.gc.ca/en/home-accueil.html

Eligibility criteria:

• Excellent academic track record (multiple published papers, at least one as first author)
• PhD obtained between September 15, 2019 and September 30, 2023

Candidates must be experts in one or, ideally, several of the following:

• Plant cell biology, plant structure-function, plant development
• Confocal microscopy and/or electron microscopy, live cell imaging
• Biomechanical modeling