Biomesh: A Digital Resource Collection at the Biology-Engineering Interface

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The University of Massachusetts Amherst is awarded a grant to develop a shared digital resource collection of finite element models of biological systems. Finite element analysis (FEA) is a computer-based technique for predicting the physical behavior of engineered products based on fundamental principles of mechanics. FEA has revolutionized engineering by allowing the design and optimization of high quality, complex products to occur completely within a digital environment. Now biologists are beginning to use FEA to understand the biomechanical behavior of biological organs, tissues and even cells. FEA has the ability to transform the way that biologists approach problems in areas ranging from functional morphology to paleobiology, developmental biology and cellular mechanics. In addition to finite element models, this resource collection will include an integrated set of web-enabled ontologies for sharing finite element modeling metadata, knowledge and mechanical property values of biological materials, interactive software tools for visualizing FEA models and results, FEA utilities supporting the development of biological finite element models, and a threaded discussion. On a broader scale, this project will capitalize on the visual appeal of FEA to inform the public's perception and understanding of the fundamental integration of biological and engineering sciences. This will be accomplished by developing fresh and exciting educational resources for use in the K-12 classroom and by contributing to college-level courses that use computational tools to teach abstract biological concepts.