GoingToMeet

The Design and Nature conference is to be reconvened in 2012 following the success of previous meetings, the first of which was held in Udine, Italy in 2002; followed by Rhodes, Greece (2004); the New Forest, UK (2006); the Algarve (2008); and the last one in Pisa (2010).

Throughout history, many leading thinkers have been inspired by the parallels between nature and human design, in mathematics, engineering and other areas. Today, the huge increase in biological knowledge, developments in design engineering systems, together with the growth in computer power and developments in simulation modelling, have all made possible more comprehensive studies of nature.

Scientists and engineers now have at their disposal a vast array of relationships for materials, mechanisms and control. The resulting laws have been painstakingly assembled by observation and analysis and span the cosmic scale of space down to the molecular level of genetics. In particular, they have made us aware of the rich diversity of the natural world around us.