ASU researchers look to nature to solve societal challenges

In his latest column for The Arizona Republic, Sethuraman "Panch" Panchanathan discusses biomimicry, or the process and study of using nature to inspire practical solutions to everyday problems. Panchanathan is the senior vice president for ASU's Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development.

In his article, Panchanathan describes the research Arizona State University engineers, biologists, and computer scientists are doing with biomimicry.

"Researchers in ASU’s Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis are studying nature’s original clean-energy solution — photosynthesis," says Panchanathan. "The ASU scientists are analyzing the biochemistry of photosynthesis in order to design new systems for harvesting solar energy and converting light into fuel."