Murrieta Seeks to Woo Emerging Biomimicry Industry

Beckoning prospective industry, the City of Murrieta recently participated at a biomimicry workshop at the San Diego Zoo.

Biomimicry is a new field of bioscience which takes its inspiration from nature’s designs and process and then creates commercial products to solve human problems.

The event was attended by a large number of San Diego bioscience and biomimicry businesses. Murrieta City Manager Rick Dudley, Bruce Coleman, the city’s economic development director, and Councilman Rick Gibbs attended the evening meeting, according to a news release.

Gibbs provided a presentation on Murrieta and described the importance of biomimicry and bioscience to the growth of new businesses in the United States and the region, the news release stated.

His remarks included a description of why Murrieta and the Murrieta/Temecula Twin Cities area is an excellent location for the growth of San Diego’s bioscience industry, Coleman said.

"Biomimicry will be an economic game-changer," Coleman said.

The San Diego Zoo is one of the world’s leading centers for biomimicry research and development, with the San Diego area becoming a major center for new biomimicry companies.

According to the San Diego Zoo Global Institute and Point Loma Nazarene University, in 15 years, biomimicry could generate $300 billion in U.S. gross domestic product and can help the U.S. to keep its lead in scientific research and commercial innovation in a very competitive world economy.

Biomimicry companies have created technologies to convert ocean power into a renewable source of energy and to develop collision-avoidance sensors based on the study of locust behavior, Coleman said.

Other examples include a company that created a glue-free, yet, sticky tape by imitating a gecko, he said.

The event included a presentation by Dr. David Kisailus from the University of California, Riverside. Kisailus shared how his laboratory looks to nature in designing the next generation of engineering products and materials, Coleman said.

Murrieta was the only city to showcase itself as a community that welcomes business at the event, according to Coleman.

"Murrieta serves as an extension of the Greater San Diego region which has become a leading center for American innovation," Coleman said.

Murrieta--with a population of over 104,000 and an educated workforce--is an active partner with CONNECT (San Diego’s leading advocate for regional business growth), the San Diego Zoo Global and other business organizations and works actively to encourage business growth in the Murrieta/Twin Cities/San Diego mega-region, according to Coleman.

"Particularly in these difficult economic times, the City of Murrieta is very focused on marketing our community to targeted businesses in San Diego/Orange County and Los Angeles," Coleman said.

"We use these many networking opportunities to inform companies about the many benefits of our community and about the technology companies that are already located in Murrieta.

"Our current focus is  to encourage businesses to become more aware of Murrieta as a community that welcomes additional bioscience/medical device, advanced manufacturing, cleantech and other companies and to encourage additional companies to consider growth opportunities here."