仿生學(xué)高級(jí)研發(fā)工程師——3M公司

????當(dāng)初瓦薩?薩尼博士告訴媽媽自己的博士論文主要研究蜘蛛和壁虎時(shí)，他媽媽嚇壞了。他其實(shí)并不喜歡這兩種動(dòng)物，但他要從它們身上獲得啟發(fā)，研究有實(shí)際用途的產(chǎn)品——這就是所謂的仿生學(xué)研究。比如，壁虎單腿就能支撐重量為自己體重100倍到1000倍的重物，能附著在又濕又臟的表面，還能一眨眼就拔出腳來。

????生產(chǎn)便利貼的3M公司在薩尼還在攻讀博士學(xué)位時(shí)就聘用了他。當(dāng)時(shí)他正在研究黑寡婦蜘蛛和普通花園蜘蛛的網(wǎng)，還有上圖所示的這種蜘蛛。現(xiàn)在他正用自己的研究成果制造用于牙齒矯正術(shù)、皮膚和傷口護(hù)理及懸掛液晶電視和繪畫這類物體的粘合劑。

Senior Research Engineer, Biomimicry - 3M

????Dr. Vasav Sahni’s mom freaked out when he told her he’d be studying spiders and geckos for his PhD. He’s not a big fan of the creatures either, but Sahni uses them as inspiration to make products that have real-world applications--a field called biomimicry. Geckos, for example, can hold 100 to 1,000 times their weight on one leg, stick to surfaces that are dirty and wet, and unstick themselves in a fraction of a second.

????Post-it maker 3M hired Sahni while he was still pursuing his PhD, studying the webs of black widow and common garden spiders, including the spider pictured above. Now he’s using his research to make adhesives used in orthodontia, skin and wound care, and systems to hang items as heavy as LCD TVs and paintings.