"Finding Answers in Nature"... National Institute of Ecology Reveals Biomimicry Contest Winners

'National Institute of Ecology Biomimicry Research Idea Contest' Grand Prize Winning Work

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The National Institute of Ecology is unveiling the winners of the "1st Biomimicry Research Idea Contest" and will hold an online awards ceremony on the 3rd. Biomimicry refers to technologies developed for sustainable development by applying the basic structures and principles of ecosystems or biological resources.

The contest was organized to discover biomimicry research ideas and raise interest in biomimicry, running from May 18 to July 10. A total of 122 participants applied, including 35 elementary, middle, and high school students nationwide, 68 university (graduate) students, and 19 general public participants.

The National Institute of Ecology selected 16 winning entries (1 Grand Prize, 1 Gold Prize, 3 Silver Prizes, 5 Bronze Prizes, and 6 Encouragement Awards) through expert evaluation. Among them, high school participants were also included (1 team each for Bronze and Encouragement Awards).

The Grand Prize was awarded to Seongryong Shin and Hyunho Song for their "Marine Microplastic Capture Buoy Inspired by Sponges." This idea draws on the sponge’s feeding method using flagellar movement and mucous feather structures to capture microplastics in seawater inside a buoy through electrostatic generation and adsorption principles.

The Gold Prize went to Yeonjin Kim for "Finding an Efficient Composite of Jellyfish Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) for Food Waste Bags," an idea aimed at reducing leachate generated from food waste.

Other winning ideas were inspired by woodpeckers, water spiders, ants, and more, offering practical applications for everyday life.

The winning entries were highly evaluated based on ▲relevance to the theme ▲creativity ▲necessity ▲feasibility. The Grand Prize winner receives the Minister of Environment Award along with a prize of 3 million KRW. Gold Prize (1.5 million KRW), Silver Prize (500,000 KRW), Bronze Prize (300,000 KRW), and Encouragement Award (100,000 KRW) winners receive the National Institute of Ecology Director’s Award and respective prize money.

The online awards ceremony for these winners will be available on the National Institute of Ecology website from 6 p.m. on the 3rd. Since 2016, the Institute has been conducting biomimicry research, including developing a drilling tool inspired by the large jaw structure of the acorn weevil.

Park Yong-mok, Director of the National Institute of Ecology, stated, "This contest has significantly increased public interest in biomimicry. We plan to expand the target species for research using the winning ideas and promote productization of excellent ideas by building connections with the industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.