Bio-inspiration (biomimetics)
provided by EOL authors
Mrs. Nic's advanced middle schoolers have learned about how the humpback whale's flipper has inspired innovative design of wind turbine blades and industrial fan blades. In Noah's study, he explained that WhalePower Corporation's tubercle technology(the bumps on the leading edge) "produce energy more efficiently and make less demand on the generators, even at slow wind speed." In Mrs. Nic's workshops for bio-engineering, students have built the basic Boston Museum of Science windmill and tested it with blades of humpback-inspired design. Design Squad students have taken the initiative to study the air and water dynamics of whales. Noah and Mrs. Nicolson are following the results of blade testing in Canada.
