Birds, insects, and fish have some amazing tricks to teach us. Just ask Rajat Mittal, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of GW’s recently launched Center for Biomimetics and Bioinspired Engineering (COBRE).

“Some fish travel at amazing speeds and can also turn virtually on a dime,” he says. “The dragonfly can fly forwards, backwards, and sideways, and can hover in place, all with relative ease. What is it that allows these creatures to accomplish these amazing feats?”

Mittal entered the rapidly growing discipline in 1999 when it was in its infancy and was immediately hooked. “There’s a high ‘wow factor’ to this type of work,” says Mittal, whose first biomimetics project involved using computer simulation to examine how insects fly. “The science of insect flight was just beginning to draw interest from the Department of Defense, and I was in the right place at the right time with the right tool,” he says.

Shortly after coming to GW in 2001, he joined forces with Harvard and MIT researchers on a five-year Navy project to design a biomimetic fish fin capable of propelling autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). “At GW, we built and tested computer models of pectoral fins to analyze their hydrodynamic performance,” says Mittal, explaining that the fins provide AUVs with greater maneuverability and stealth—integral to reconnaissance missions. “That project really established GW as one of the universities in the world with leading-edge research in computational modeling of biological locomotion.”

Next, Mittal switched gears to lead up a three-year research project in collaboration with USA Swimming to improve the stroke techniques of top U.S. competitive swimmers headed to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. “Our goal, along with Professor James Hahn of the Department of Computer Science, was to find the perfect stroke that maximizes thrust and minimizes drag,” says Mittal, whose GW Flow Simulations and Analysis Group focused its research on understanding the fluid dynamics of the “dolphin kick” in humans and dolphins.

The excitement generated by these groundbreaking projects led in large part to the establishment of COBRE as a GW strategic initiative—earmarked to receive substantial funding over the next several years through a special $4.5 million endowment payout. “The center is a natural culmination, given that here at GW we have a core group of very talented faculty members with interest and expertise in biomimetics,” says Mittal, who directs the multidisciplinary center.

Founding members of COBRE include Roger Kaufman, professor of engineering and of anatomy and cell biology; Ryan Vallance, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; David F. Chichka, assistant professor of engineering and applied science; Can E. Korman, chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Thomas J. Manuccia, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

“By getting involved in this exciting field at a relatively early stage, GW has the chance to make a major contribution and become a leader in the area of biomimetics and bioinspired engineering,” says Mittal. “Our work on biological locomotion, coordinated control, and precision metrology is considered leading edge, and with the launch of COBRE, we’re looking forward to building on our expertise and moving to the next level.”

The possibilities are awe inspiring. Take, for example, COBRE’s projects analyzing the flexibility of fish fins and the aerodynamic design of dragonfly wings. According to Mittal, the center’s findings could be integral to the development of autonomous underwater vehicles and micro aerial vehicles—tiny flying machines, that will ultimately be used for surveillance missions, environmental monitoring, and disaster recovery efforts.

“At these small scales, our usual engineering solutions, such as fixed wings, propellers, and turbo jets, do not work well, so we have to turn to nature for solutions,” he explains. “Eventually, every soldier will carry one of these tiny flying surveillance devices that they can launch, almost like a swarm of locusts, into war zones to take photographs without putting themselves in harm’s way.” The minuscule vehicles could also be flown into the rubble of earthquakes to search for survivors.

“Even if we examine just one family of insects, such as dragonflies, we can discover a number of engineering solutions that could potentially be translated to a micro aerial vehicle design,” says Mittal. COBRE has, consequently, set up an insect flight analysis laboratory to observe and analyze flying insects under controlled conditions using high-speed photography and precision metrology. “We will also conduct materials and dynamic testing of insect wing structure and anatomy and evaluate insect aerodynamics through computational fluid dynamics models,” he states.

In a related project, GW researchers will focus on developing precise measurement techniques for biological systems in order to understand the design of the internal systems of living creatures. GW undergraduates are participating in most of these projects through summer research fellowships granted by the center.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Vallance, a mechanical design expert who co-founded COBRE. “The exciting part is where we’re going to go from here.”

Mittal agrees. “The time for bioinspiration as a science has really come,” he says. “The future is going to be incredible.”