The University of Minnesota’s College of Design is pleased to announce that biologist, innovation consultant, and author Janine Benyus will be the featured speaker for this year’s Kusske Lecture & Dialogue on Wednesday, November 1.
In her landmark book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Benyus named an emerging discipline that emulates nature’s structures and processes to create a healthier, more sustainable planet. Since the book’s release, she has evolved the practice of biomimicry, introducing designers to 3.8 billion years of brilliant, time-tested solutions.
Benyus is the co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8, the world’s leading firm promoting nature-inspired innovation and education, bringing nature’s sustainable designs to 250+ clients including BNIM Architects, Herman Miller, HOK architects, IDEO, Interface, Kohler, Levi’s, Nike, and General Mills.
She is also co-founder of The Biomimicry Institute, a non-profit that empowers people to create nature-inspired solutions for a healthy planet. She has received awards including the United Nations Environment Programme’s Champion of the Earth for Science and Technology, the Rachel Carson Environmental Ethics Award, and the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Mind Award.
The Kusske Lecture & Dialogue features renowned design practitioners and thought leaders whose work models ways of addressing humanity’s most pressing issues and generating solutions for our radically changing world. Benyus will discuss the value of biomimicry as a strategy for designers seeking more sustainable, resilient, and regenerative solutions. In conversation with University of Minnesota faculty, she will discuss methods of observation, selection, and translation for creating novel designs that emulate the elegance of naturally occurring forms and functions.
Following the keynote, Benyus will participate in a discussion with incoming College of Design Dean Prasad Boradkar, UMN Vice President for Research Shashank Priya, and Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Emilie Snell-Rood from the College of Biological Sciences. An audience Q&A will follow.
The Kusske Lecture & Dialogue Series is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Attendees can register at z.umn.edu/designlecture.
The University of Minnesota’s College of Design is pleased to announce that fashion designer and urban gardening advocate Ron Finley will be the featured speaker for this year’s Kusske Lecture & Dialogue on Thursday, December 1.
The University of Minnesota’s College of Design is pleased to announce that internationally acclaimed architect, Frank Owen Gehry, CC, FAIA, will be the inaugural speaker for the new Kusske Lecture & Dialogue Series on Tuesday, November 16.
A generous commitment from Manitou Fund to the University of Minnesota’s College of Design will honor the memory of distinguished alumnus Christopher Arthur Kusske (BLA ‘78).
