International Workshop on Bio-Inspired Geotechnics; Pacific Grove, California; May 19-22, 2019

该奖项为岩土工程一般领域的生物启发技术研讨会提供资金。该研讨会将于2019年5月19日至22日在加利福尼亚州太平洋格罗夫举行。生物岩土技术这一迅速兴起的学科由生物介导和生物启发技术组成。生物介导技术，如微生物诱导方解石沉淀（MICP）到水泥砂，在过去的十年里一直是主要的焦点，并取得了指数级的增长。该领域的活跃研究目前在超过15个国家存在，公司已经成立，国家研究中心已经建立。一个新的劳动力队伍已经创建，毕业生在生物岩土工程领域的工作和工业。生物启发岩土技术，生物岩土技术的互补方面，然而，还处于起步阶段。这一领域正处于关键的形成阶段。该领域的基本定义和范围正在确定中。正在确定具有特殊研究前景的特定领域。理解和过滤生物启发工程和设计（或仿生学）的更广泛领域，这本身在很大程度上是在过去十年才建立起来的，正在进行中。与岩土工程行业有关实际可行的对话才刚刚开始。生物岩土工程领域正处于一个国际跨学科研讨会可以加速发展并确定未来方向的时代。因此，研讨会的目标是开始建立跨学科合作，确定研究重点和可能的资金来源，与行业就可实施性进行接触，并确定和解决进入该领域的研究人员和进入劳动力市场的工程师的教育需求。本次研讨会将汇集大约55名来自学术界和工业界的专家，他们在技术和人口统计学上都是不同的，并共同涵盖了从岩土工程到生物学到软机器人等领域的专业知识。研讨会参与者将包括资深研究员、助理教授和未被充分代表的研究生。讲习班将在一个包容各方的会议设施举行，为期三天，这将促进持续规划的正式讲习班活动以及非正式互动。研讨会的结构经过精心设计，将从建立相互理解的学科基础，到分享当前的研究和集思广益的新机会，再到确定必要的“行动项目”或使该领域成熟所需的发展步骤，来支撑或逐步建立。促进讨论、头脑风暴、自由分享想法和发展协作关系的非正式环境已被纳入研讨会议程。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award funds a workshop on Bio-inspired technologies in the general field of geotechnical engineering. The workshop will be held in Pacific Grove, California, on May 19-22, 2019. The rapidly emerging discipline of biogeotechnics is comprised of both bio-mediated and bio-inspired technologies. Bio-mediated technologies, such as microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) to cement sands, have been the primary focus over the past decade and have seen exponential growth. Active research in the field now exists in more than 15 countries, companies have been founded, and national research centers have been established. A new workforce has been created, with graduates working in the biogeotechnics field in both and industry. Bio-inspired geotechnics, the complimentary aspect of biogeotechnics, however, is in its infancy. This field is at a critical, formative stage. The basal definition and scope of the field is being defined. Specific areas that hold exceptional promise for research are being identified. Understanding and filtering through the broader field of bio-inspired engineering and design (or biomimicry), which itself has largely become established in only the last decade, is underway. Conversations with the geotechnical industry regarding what might be practically possible are just beginning. The bio-inspired geotechnics field is at a time when an international, interdisciplinary workshop could accelerate growth and define future directions. Therefore, the objectives of the workshop are to begin building interdisciplinary collaborations, identify research priorities and possible funding sources, engage with industry regarding implementability, and identify and address the educational needs of researchers entering the field and engineers entering the workforce. This workshop will bring together approximately 55 individual experts from academia and industry who are technically and demographically diverse, and collectively cover expertise in fields from geotechnical engineering to biology to soft robotics. The workshop participants will include established senior investigators through assistant professors and underrepresented graduate students. The workshop will be held over a period of three days at an inclusive meeting facility that will facilitate continuous planned formal workshop activities as well as informal interactions. The workshop has been carefully designed in a structure that will scaffold, or gradually build, from developing a mutual foundation of discipline understanding, to sharing current research and brainstorming new opportunities, to identifying the necessary "action items" or developmental steps required to mature this field. An informal environment that fosters discussion, brainstorming, free sharing of ideas, and development of collaboration relationships has been incorporated into the workshop agenda.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.