![Green gradient poster with a large, overlapping loop motif in lighter and darker greens. The title "[Copy-Paste] Nature" appears in large purple display lettering, with "Promises and Limits of Biomimicry" in smaller purple text beneath. Dark green text at the top left reads "historical moments" and, at the top right, "'Behind the Science' Conversations 2026–2028." Event details on the lower right read: Nov. 5, 2026, 18:00, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie für Wissenschaften. The bottom row shows logos for the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, and Berlin Science Week, plus a QR code labeled "Visit the event page."](/files-bbaw/_processed_/e/6/csm_Copy-Paste_Nature_-_Promises_and_limits_of_biomimicry_Poster_78e365390a.png)
Spanning artisanal knowledge and craft traditions to biomimicry and bio-based engineering, this event foregrounds how making and knowing intersect in shaping materials of the past and future. Bringing together science, history, and practice, materials scientist Peter Fratzl, historian Pamela H. Smith, and designer Natsai Audrey Chieza, explore the promises and limits of learning from nature. By looking to both past knowledge and emerging bio-based technologies, they trace how biomimicry has shifted from copying natural forms to understanding living processes. Examples include Renaissance manuals for lifecasting animals, modern materials science, and recent use of natural bacterial pigments as alternatives to resource-intensive industrial dyes. This conversation engages with the growing urgency to rethink materials and design in response to climate crisis and limited resources.
This event is organized by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in collaboration with the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (BBAW).