Adhesion on rough surfaces and mechanisms of self-cleaning in insect attachment pads
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Zoology
Abstract
Adhesive tapes are made of very soft and tacky materials, allowing them to make contact to moderately rough surfaces. As a result, they are highly susceptible to contamination and can only be used once or twice. By contrast, biological adhesives, as found on the foot pads of insects, allow strong adhesion to rough and contaminated substrates; they can rapidly attach and detach millions of times with no loss of adhesive power. Animal adhesive pads are important models for new 'biomimetic' adhesives, but important aspects of their function are still not fully understood. In this project, we investigate the mechanisms of how insect adhesive pads can cope with surface roughness and contamination. We will use transparent microstructured substrates as a tool to investigate the performance of smooth and hairy adhesive pads of insects. These microstructures consist of micron- and nanometre-sized pillars and ridges and will be fabricated by optical lithography and nanoimprinting. Unlike randomly rough surfaces, these substrates have a well-defined geometry and will allow us to visualize the contact zones of insect pads adhering to them. We will vary the width, height and spacing of the surface structures to explore the detailed parameters of rough surfaces that can be compensated by smooth and hairy adhesive pads of insects. At the same time we will measure what effect roughness has on adhesion and friction forces and we will identify surface conditions that limit insect adhesion. We will study how the pad contact on rough surfaces depends on normal load and shear forces and how it is influenced by time-dependent viscoelastic pad properties. We will also use microstructured substrates to compare two types of foot pads in cockroaches that appear specialized for adhesion and friction (pushing), to test whether they differ in conformability and adhesive strength. We will investigate how natural adhesive pads are able to self-clean by measuring forces after contaminating the pads with standardised particles. We will test three possible mechanisms for self-cleaning, the shedding of particles by alternating pushing and pulling movements, the interlocking of particles when sliding on rough surfaces, and the removal of particles via the secretion of adhesive fluid. Our study of insect adhesion on rough and contaminated surfaces will be important not only for the development of biomimetic adhesives but also for the development of slippery coatings for insect pest control.
Technical Summary
Biological adhesives, as the foot pads of insects, are important models for novel synthetic adhesives, but important aspects of their function are still not understood. They allow strong adhesion to rough and contaminated substrates, where other adhesives fail, and can repeatedly attach and detach without losing adhesive power. In this project, we investigate the mechanisms of how insect adhesive pads can cope with surface roughness and contamination. We will use transparent micro- and nanostructured substrates to study the performance of smooth and hairy adhesive pads of insects. These substrates consist of pillars and ridges fabricated from polymers or inorganic ceramic materials by optical lithography and nanoimprinting. They have a well-defined geometry and will allow us to visualize the contact zones of insect pads adhering to them. By varying width, height and spacing of the structures we will explore the detailed roughness parameters that can be compensated by insects. At the same time we will quantify the effect of roughness on adhesion and friction, thereby identifying conditions that limit insect adhesion. We will study how pad contact on rough surfaces depends on normal and shear forces as well as time-dependent viscoelastic properties. Microstructured substrates will be used to compare proximal vs. distal foot pads, specialised for adhesion and friction, to test whether they differ in conformability and adhesive strength. We will investigate how insect adhesive pads are able to self-clean by measuring forces after contaminating pads with standardised particles. We will test three possible mechanisms for self-cleaning, the shedding of particles by alternating pushing/pulling movements, the interlocking of particles when sliding on rough surfaces, and the removal of particles via adhesive fluid. Our study will be important for the development of biomimetic adhesives and the production of slippery coatings for insect pest control.
Planned Impact
Biomimetic adhesives, mimicking animal adhesive organs, are currently being developed by many research groups worldwide. They may be used for a wide range of applications in production processes, climbing robots and medical applications, and therefore have a high potential economic impact. Efforts towards the development of biomimetic adhesives are limited by the fact that the biological models are still not sufficiently understood. Research on the function of natural adhesive structures is therefore essential. We anticipate that our findings will be important for the manufacture of synthetic, biomimetic adhesives. Given the importance of adhesives in technology, the economic impact of such novel adhesives will be substantial. A second area in which our research on the insect adhesion on rough surfaces will have impact is the development of insect-repellent coatings for pest control. Crawling insects cause a considerable economic loss. A detailed understanding of how surface roughness limits insect adhesion will be essential for the development of such coatings. Durable, non-toxic insect-repellent coatings that take advantage of surface roughness are feasible but still haven't been developed. We will disseminate our results via publications in international scientific journals, talks at conferences and by presenting them to colleagues in our fields, as well as in engineering and materials science. We will communicate our results to potential industrial partners for the development of insect-repellent coatings and biomimetic adhesives. To promote this activity, we are going to prepare information leaflets summarising the main findings of our research for industrial partners. To reach a wider audience outside academia, we will present findings to the general public and in the media. One industrial partner has already agreed to support our research on insect-repellent coatings and to supply us with materials for testing. Both PI and Co-PI have worked with Cambridge Enterprise, a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Cambridge, which provides services to the research groups to file patents, and provide aid in the commercialisation of the registered IP. We therefore have the necessary experience and contact to quickly and effectively secure IP that will emerge from this project.
Organisations
- University of Cambridge (Lead Research Organisation)
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (Collaboration)
- Paris Diderot University (Collaboration)
- University Libre Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles ULB) (Collaboration)
- Leibniz Association (Collaboration)
- RWTH Aachen University (Collaboration)
- National Centre for Biological Science (NCBS) (Collaboration)
- University of Liege (Collaboration)
- University of Massachusetts (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz (Collaboration)
Publications
Hackmann, Alexander
(2015)
How water striders cope with contamination
Labonte D
(2019)
Shear-sensitive adhesion enables size-independent adhesive performance in stick insects.
in Proceedings. Biological sciences
Labonte D
(2021)
Disentangling the role of surface topography and intrinsic wettability in the prey capture mechanism of Nepenthes pitcher plants.
in Acta biomaterialia
Labonte D
(2016)
Biomechanics of shear-sensitive adhesion in climbing animals: peeling, pre-tension and sliding-induced changes in interface strength.
in Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
Description | We have established micro-structured substrates as a powerful tool to study adaptations of natural adhesives and quantify their performance on rough surfaces. We visualized for the first time the ability of insect pads to make contact to rough surfaces, and modeled it quantitatively. Our findings revealed a sharp transition from full to partial contact, explained by the dimensions of the rough surface topography. We showed that the pads' ability to conform to surface roughness increases with shear forces and is age-dependent, revealing novel properties of the insects' specialized adhesive cuticle. |
Exploitation Route | - development of insect-repellent substrates based on surface micro-roughness (already ongoing with AkzoNobel UK) - development of bio-inspired slippery substrates (see http://www.mne.psu.edu/wong/slips.html http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/09/21/flesh-eating-plant-inspires-super-slippery-material-that-repels-everything/#.VtsjWeaO500 - development of bio-inspired adhesives that can cope with rough surfaces (see Rong, Z., Zhou, Y., Chen, B., Robertson, J., Federle, W., Hofmann, S., Steiner, U. & Goldberg-Oppenheimer, P. 2014 Bio-inspired hierarchical polymer fibre-carbon nanotube adhesives. Adv. Mater. 26, 1456-1461. ) |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Agriculture Food and Drink Chemicals Energy Environment Healthcare Transport Other |
Description | Our findings have not only been used by other researchers, but have also led to the development of slippery, insect-repellent substrates in collaboration with AkzoNobel UK. The surfaces are based on a particular level of surface roughness, and they are durable and insecticide-free. Our findings have also led to the development of a new type of biomimetic adhesive that involve carbon nanotubes, and have good performance on rough substrates (Rong, Z., Zhou, Y., Chen, B., Robertson, J., Federle, W., Hofmann, S., Steiner, U. & Goldberg-Oppenheimer, P. 2014 Bio-inspired hierarchical polymer fibre-carbon nanotube adhesives. Adv. Mater. 26, 1456-1461). Our discovery of superhydrophilic pitcher plant surfaces has inspired the group of J. Aizenberg (Harvard University) to develop a highly efficient novel type of slippery and self-cleaning synthetic substrate which has a wide range of applications (Wong et al. 2011, Nature 477, 443), and has resulted in two start-ups in the US ('SLIPS' and 'LiquiGlide') |
First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Construction,Education,Electronics,Environment,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Impact Types | Societal Economic |
Description | Biomechanics of animal adhesion in wet environments |
Amount | £178,502 (GBP) |
Funding ID | PFZA/028 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Department | Horizon 2020 |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 09/2015 |
End | 09/2019 |
Description | Characterization of Biological Adhesion using Surface-Energy-Patterned Substrates |
Amount | £29,638 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RG 79135 |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Isaac Newton Trust |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2015 |
End | 01/2016 |
Description | Insect adhesion and properties of insect repellant surfaces |
Amount | £67,735 (GBP) |
Organisation | AkzoNobel |
Department | AkzoNobel UK |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2011 |
End | 03/2014 |
Description | Insect adhesion and properties of insect repellant surfaces |
Amount | £13,726 (GBP) |
Organisation | AkzoNobel |
Department | AkzoNobel UK |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2014 |
End | 03/2015 |
Description | Insect-repellent surfaces |
Amount | £1,440 (GBP) |
Organisation | AkzoNobel |
Department | AkzoNobel UK |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2012 |
End | 09/2012 |
Description | Insecticide effects of microparticles |
Amount | £17,524 (GBP) |
Organisation | AkzoNobel |
Department | AkzoNobel UK |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2014 |
End | 05/2015 |
Description | Micro-rheology of animal adhesive secretions |
Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RG76577 |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2015 |
End | 12/2015 |
Description | The role of subsurface structure in biological adhesion: insects to lizards |
Amount | £191,766 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RGP0034/2012 |
Organisation | Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | France |
Start | 07/2012 |
End | 12/2015 |
Title | Method for studying adhesion on rough surfaces using transparent microstructured substrates |
Description | We have developed a new method for investigating the contact of natural adhesives on rough surfaces. The technique involves transparent microstructured substrates; it allows us not only to standardise and vary surface roughness parameters but also to visualize the contact of adhesive pads and measure force, contact area and shear stress. This has led to a further grant funded by BBSRC (BB/I008667/1) to clarify the interaction of insect adhesives with surface roughness. |
Type Of Material | Physiological assessment or outcome measure |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Method has been used to study tree frogs (group of Dr WJP Barnes) |
Title | New principle by which surfaces can be made slippery for insects |
Description | We discovered a new principle by which surfaces can be made slippery for insects. The key property is the ability of surfaces to absorb water. Such substrates can selectively remove the aqueous component of the two-phasic adhesive emulsion, which results in a loss of friction forces and slipping. The advantage of this principle is that it will allow insect-repellent coatings which are more durable and environment-friendly than existing coatings. We have filed a patent application with Cambridge |
Type Of Material | Physiological assessment or outcome measure |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | Insect-repellent coatings and surfaces, as a non-toxic alternative to insecticides |
Title | Dryad digital repository |
Description | Data for the following papers have been made available Zhou, Y., Robinson, A., Steiner, U. and Federle, W. (2014). Insect adhesion on rough surfaces: analysis of adhesive contact of smooth and hairy pads on transparent micro-structured substrates. Journal of The Royal Society Interface 11, 20140499. (http://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k8d1f) Labonte, D., Williams, J. A. and Federle, W. (2014). Surface contact and design of fibrillar 'friction pads' in stick insects (Carausius morosus): mechanisms for large friction coefficients and negligible adhesion. Journal of The Royal Society Interface 11, 20140034. (http://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.jj0kj) Endlein, T. & Federle, W. 2015 On heels and toes: how ants climb with adhesive pads and tarsal friction hair arrays. PLoS ONE 10, e0141269. (http://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vg446) Hackmann, A., Delacave, H., Robinson, A., Labonte, D. & Federle, W. 2015 Functional morphology and efficiency of the antenna cleaner in Camponotus rufifemur ants. R. Soc. open sci. 2, 150129. (http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.88q18) |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Raw data publicly available |
Description | Berengere Abou, Microrheology of adhesive secretions |
Organisation | Paris Diderot University |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Expertise in insect biomechanics. Organizing research meeting with Dr Berengere Abou in 2014. Writing of research proposal for International Exchange, submitted to Royal Society. |
Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in active and passive micro-rheology |
Impact | Awarded Royal Society grant over 5000 GBP for travel between labs |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Beverley Glover (University of Cambridge) |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Department of Plant Sciences |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Collaboration on plant surface properties, joint supervision of a PhD student |
Collaborator Contribution | Collaboration on plant surface properties, joint supervision of a PhD student |
Impact | joint supervision of a PhD student |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Duncan Irschick, Al Crosby (UMass Amherst, USA) |
Organisation | University of Massachusetts |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Collaboration for theoretical and experimental work on animal adhesion. |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Eduard Arzt (INM Saarbrücken) |
Organisation | Leibniz Association |
Department | Leibniz-Institute for Molecular Pharmacology |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Research collaboration on bio-adhesion on rough substrates |
Collaborator Contribution | Research collaboration on bio-adhesion on rough substrates - fabrication technology. Joint grant application on 3D microstructured substrates and adhesion |
Impact | Work on joint grant application |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Florian Menzel (University of Mainz) |
Organisation | Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz |
Department | Department of Evolutionary Biology |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Micro-rheology of insect cuticular hydrcarbons and adhesive secretions |
Collaborator Contribution | Chemical analysis of insect cuticular hydrcarbons |
Impact | Joint publication in preparation, planned co-supervision of MPhil student, planned joint grant application |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Pierre Lambert (Univ. Bruxelles, Belgium) |
Organisation | University Libre Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles ULB) |
Country | Belgium |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Collaboration for theoretical and experimental work on capillary adhesion. |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Robert Style (University of Oxford) |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Research collaboration on mechanics of soft materials, and emulsions |
Collaborator Contribution | Expertise on mechanics of soft materials, cell motility on soft substrates |
Impact | joint grant application |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Roger Sauer (RWTH Aachen Germany) |
Organisation | RWTH Aachen University |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Collaboration for theoretical modelling of adhesion on rough surfaces |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Sanjay Sane - NCBS Bangalore |
Organisation | National Centre for Biological Science (NCBS) |
Country | India |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Joint project on take-off and landing mechanisms in flying, jumping and falling insects |
Collaborator Contribution | Joint supervision of a postdoctoral fellow funded by NCBS-inStem-Cambridge scheme |
Impact | Publications in preparation |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Susan Perkin (University of Oxford) |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Department | Department of Chemistry |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Research seminar in Oxford, work on joint grant application |
Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in the Surface Force Balance method |
Impact | Joint grant application in preparation |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Tristan Gilet (Liège, Belgium) |
Organisation | University of Liege |
Country | Belgium |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Collaboration for theoretical and experimental work on adhesion, microfabrication of substrates |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | 2016 JSPS UK-Japan Workshop on Bio-Inspired Soft Robotics in Cambridge |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Research seminar |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | BP-ICAM & DRL Surface Science Network Workshop, 'Designer Surfaces' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Joint BP-ICAM & DRL Surface Science Network Workshop, 'Designer Surfaces' - Imperial College London - September 2015 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Cambridge Cafe Synthetique |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation about insect biomechanics + biomimetics at the Cambridge Café Synthetique, a monthly meetup for the Cambridge synthetic biology community with informal talks, discussion and pub snacks |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://www.synbio.cam.ac.uk/events/cafe-synthetique |
Description | Co-organization of Royal Society scientific meeting "Cell Adhesion Century: Culture Breakthrough" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interdisciplinary meeting on adhesion, including cell biologists, animal biologists and engineers As a result of the meeting, I was invited to contribute to two publication projects, and received one seminar invitation |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | https://royalsociety.org/events/2014/cell-adhesion/ |
Description | Departmental Seminar at the Institute of ecology and environmental sciences - Paris |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research seminar |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Departmental seminar Animal Ecology, University of Bayreuth (Germany) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Departmental Seminar talk "Kletterkünstler auf Pflanzenoberflächen: Biomechanik und Ökologie von Insekten-Pflanzen-Interaktionen" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | International workshop 'Insect bio-inspired microtechnology' in Tours (France) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | presentations + discussion in preparation of possible EU grant application |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.univ-tours.fr/recherche/actualite-scientifique/workshop-insect-bio-inspired-microtechnol... |
Description | Invited plenary talk at ESPCI Paris-Tech and Michelin workhop: 'Flow, Fracture, and Interfacial properties of Dispersed Materials' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Workhop included academics from biology, engineering and physics, and partners from industry. Talk triggered a lot of positive feedback. Several discussions on the meeting have led to interesting new collaborations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Invited plenary talk at ICTP Conference on 'Friction and Energy Dissipation in Man-made and Biological Systems', Trieste, Italy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked discussions Discussions with potential collaborators on the modelling of friction on rough surfaces |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Invited talk at nCam2012 (Cambridge NanoScience Conference 2012) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | nCam2012 (Cambridge NanoScience Conference 2012) no actual impacts realised to date |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Invited talk at the High Polymer Research Group meeting, Pott Shrigley UK |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | The 58th High Polymer Research Group meeting 2018 took place from 29 April to 3 May 2018 at Pott Shrigley UK. The Group is a charity whose objective is to ensure that leading edge developments in polymer science and engineering are made available and fully discussed by industrial and academic researchers engaged in the field. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://highpolymer.org.uk/past_programmes/2018.php |
Description | Joint MRC-BBSRC-HFSPO Scientific Conference, Royal Society |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Research talk, and interview |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Keynote talk at 2017 Annual Meeting of the Adhesion Society, St. Petersburg, FL |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited keynote talk 'Running with sticky feet: biomechanics of insect adhesion' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Organisation of Symposium 'Mechanisms of Arthropod Locomotion' at Society of Experimental Biology Meeting in Prague 2015 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Symposium on 'Mechanisms of Arthropod Locomotion' with an international group of scientists at the Society of Experimental Biology Meeting in Prague 2015 Publication of results planned |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015 |
Description | Organised Joint ENBA - BioSmartTrainee Networking Event, Jesus College Cambridge |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | I organized a network meeting between the BioSmart Trainee international training network, and the European Network for Bioadhesion COST Action, to be held in Jesus College, Cambridge, UK from 18 to 20 March 2019. There will be 60 participants from 14 countries. We secured industrial support for the event from BASF (Germany), AkzoNobel (UK) and URGO (France). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://biosmarttrainee.eu/ |
Description | Outreach course for Cambridge University at Madingley Hall 'Inspired by nature: wildlife in the arts' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | promoted understanding of biomimetics positive feedback |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Plenary speaker at the Annual Retreat of the Graduate Program of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB914) at Reisensburg Castle, Germany |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
Results and Impact | Stimulated collaboration with colleagues studying cell adhesion High level of interest of participating students and professors |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Presentation at Student Taster Day, Jesus College Cambridge |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Presentation for school children and potential university applicants on "Learning from Nature and biomimetics" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Presentation at Training School of the BioSmartTrainee EU Network at IPF Dresden |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop presentation 'Biomechanics of animal adhesion in wet environments' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://biosmarttrainee.eu/ |
Description | Press release: Close-up film shows for the first time how ants use 'combs' and 'brushes' to keep their antennae clean |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Press release about our paper was followed by multiple radio and TV interviews, as well as internet and newspaper coverage e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/33988164 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/science/how-ants-keep-clean-and-safe.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3177636/Ants-like-look-best-Insects-use-combs-brushes-groom-antenna.html https://worldindustrialreporter.com/ants-cleaning-methods-to-inspire-advancements-in-nanotechnology/ |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/close-up-film-shows-for-the-first-time-how-ants-use-combs-and-bru... |
Description | Press release: How stick insects honed friction to grip without sticking |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Press release about our paper was followed by multiple radio and TV interviews, as well as internet and newspaper coverage |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/how-stick-insects-honed-friction-to-grip-without-sticking |
Description | Press release: How the stick insect sticks (and unsticks) itself |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Press release about our paper was followed by multiple radio and TV interviews, as well as internet and newspaper coverage |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/how-the-stick-insect-sticks-and-unsticks-itself |
Description | Press release: Why Spider-Man can't exist: Geckos are 'size limit' for sticking to walls |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Press release about our paper was followed by multiple radio and TV interviews, as well as internet and newspaper coverage e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-35351033 http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/interviews/interview/1001652/ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160118184359.htm |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/why-spider-man-cant-exist-geckos-are-size-limit-for-sticking-to-w... |
Description | Symposium 'Design of Feet in relation to Locomotion', World Congress of Biomechanics, Boston (USA) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Symposium 'Design of Feet in relation to Locomotion', World Congress of Biomechanics, Boston (USA) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | The CamFM Science Show SpiderMan CAN EXIST; Biological adhesives with Drs Labonte and Federle |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Radio interview relating to PNAS paper about the scaling of adhesive organs in animals |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://soundcloud.com/user-639947375/biological-adhesives |