Philip Emeagwali Quotes

Biomimicry is basically taking a design challenge and then finding an ecosystem that's already solved that challenge, and literally trying to emulate what you learn.

What if, every time I started to invent something, I asked, 'How would nature solve this?'

Biomimicry is innovation inspired by nature. In a society accustomed to dominating or 'improving' nature, this respectful imitation is a radically new approach, a revolution really. Unlike the Industrial Revolution, the Biomimicry Revolution introduces an era based not on what we can extract from nature, but on what we can learn from her.

Leopard is an animal design, and my designs come from nature.

Nothing is invented that has not appeared in nature first.

What we're looking at is God's design, nature's template, and using that as a pattern to cut around and lay it down on a domestic model to duplicate that pattern that we see in nature.

Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems.

Per capita, I would say that Australia has more biomimetic projects going than many other countries I've been to.

It is smarter to borrow from nature than to reinvent the wheels.

What's interesting about architects is, we always have tried to justify beauty by looking to nature, and arguably, beautiful architecture has always been looking at a model of nature.

The best work for creative folks on the team is when the problem is big and the solution escapes everyone.

Creativity is not just for artists. It's for businesspeople looking for a new way to close a sale; it's for engineers trying to solve a problem; it's for parents who want their children to see the world in more than one way.

When you have an employee who's innovative in your organization, what are they thinking about in the shower? If they're working in an exciting place, they're not thinking what they're going to do over the weekend. They're thinking: 'How do I solve that problem?'

Entrepreneurs, by their nature, see not only problems but solutions and opportunities.

Part of the process is always, 'Is there a better way?' We try to think through if there's something we can do better creatively or technically, or just is more efficient.

I came up with the Enveloper when I was 20 and it took my dad and me several months to develop the initial concept into a working model.

I think of what I do as copying nature's design process.

Sometimes, disaster can inspire ingenuity.

Innovation comes from, one, acknowledging yourself; two, studying and understanding the problem; and three, finding a solution.

My imagination ran 24/7, and to me, every problem was a challenge to solve and new product to create. It wasn't until I started teaching that I realized that not everyone's head worked the same way.

Diverse groups do best at complex problems and innovation when the facts aren't clear: each individual's perspective allows him or her to tackle challenges differently and, when stuck, rely on others' differing points of views to progress.

Rather than just mimic processes in nature, I think we can harness the powers of nature itself and allow it to help us create. That, in a way is what the 'Dune' project is all about.

There is no better designer then nature

Give yourself an impossible task and solve it - then you've got a really good story.

The human body is a magazine of inventions, the patent office, where are the models from which every hint is taken. All the tools and engines on earth are only extensions of its limbs and senses.