Geoff von Maltzahn was a unique child. He didn’t learn to read until he was eight years old. But he had a deep understanding of the world around him that others began to notice. Geoff excelled at math and had a passion for art which led him to explore the world around him in intricate detail.
By college, he was obsessed with the programmability of living things through the tiny bits of information encoded at a microscopic level. His inquisitiveness led him to raise more than five billion dollars to fund biotech and life science research that sounds more like futurism. Geoff and his colleagues aim to eliminate plant pesticides, create drought tolerant crops, sequester carbon and eliminate disease through the management of microbes and the programming of the DNA of organisms big and small.
Inspired by Geoff von Maltzahn, who looks to nature for innovative ideas, let’s explore how living things can inspire us to solve everyday problems.
- Observe:Think about the amazing abilities of plants and animals. How do they survive in their environments? What unique features do they have? (e.g., a chameleon's camouflage, a bird's ability to fly, a plant's strong roots).
- Brainstorm: List at least three cool things you've observed about living things. Choose one that you find most interesting.
- Design: Design an invention inspired by this observation. Think about:
- What problem does it solve?
- How does it work? (How is it similar to the natural feature you observed?)
- What materials would it be made from?
- Who would benefit from your invention?
- Create Draw a detailed picture of your invention. You can also try to build a simple model using craft supplies or recycled materials. Explain how your
invention uses ""nature's superpowers"" to solve a problem. Upload your drawing.