Who mimics nature? Disciplinary asymmetry in biomimetic and bioinspired research teams

Zhang, Jindong;Baeckens, Simon;Van Damme, Raoul;Wommer, Kirsten;Wanieck, Kristina
(2026) Journal of the Royal Society Interface — Vol. 23, n° 243, p. 20260324 (2026)

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Authors
  • Zhang, JindongWorking Group Biomimetics and Innovation, Faculty of Applied Informatics, Campus Freyung, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Freyung, Bayern, Germany
    Author
  • Baeckens, SimonUCLouvain
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  • Van Damme, RaoulDepartment of Biology, Laboratory of Functional Morphology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium
    Author
  • Wommer, KirstenWorking Group Biomimetics and Innovation, Faculty of Applied Informatics, Campus Freyung, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Freyung, Bayern, Germany
    Author
  • Wanieck, KristinaWorking Group Biomimetics and Innovation, Faculty of Applied Informatics, Campus Freyung, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Freyung, Bayern, Germany
    Author
Abstract
Biomimetics is generally viewed as inherently interdisciplinary, yet the disciplinary composition of biomimetic research teams has not been systematically quantified. We analysed 74 407 biomimetics-related publications from the past two decades and classified 436 010 author-paper affiliation records by biological or technical expertise to reconstruct team composition. Our analysis reveals an asymmetric disciplinary landscape: technical authors outnumber biological researchers by roughly two to one. Team organization is more balanced-while purely technical teams still represent the largest share of publications, interdisciplinary Bio-Tech teams have expanded over 20-fold since 2004 and now nearly match purely technical teams in annual output. Pathways to interdisciplinarity vary geographically: countries achieve Bio-Tech collaboration through distinct organizational models, from domestic multi-institutional networks to international partnerships. Interdisciplinary teams also achieve higher citation performance than teams composed exclusively of biological or technical researchers. Team composition is further associated with biological models used for inspiration: purely biological teams draw on a broader range of taxa, whereas studies involving technical researchers rely more often on a narrower set of conventional organisms and typically report their biological models with lower taxonomic specificity. These findings map the team architecture of biomimetics and support more targeted approaches to interdisciplinary collaboration.
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Zhang, J., Baeckens, S., Van Damme, R., Wommer, K., & Wanieck, K. (2026). Who mimics nature? Disciplinary asymmetry in biomimetic and bioinspired research teams. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 23(243), 20260324. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9 (Original work published 2026)