'Engineering to biology' and 'biology to engineering': The bi-directional connection between engineering and biology in biological engineering design

Abstract

Biological Engineering, the engineering discipline that connects engineering and biology, encompasses both `connecting engineering to biology' and `connecting biology to engineering' in its engineering design process. The first directional case of `connecting engineering to biology' pertains to the application of the engineering design process to regulate and manipulate a given biological system for the purpose of achieving a desired end. The second directional case of `connecting biology to engineering' pertains to employing the knowledge of the attributes of biological systems to inform or guide the engineering design of a physical system for the purpose of achieving a desired end. For `connecting engineering to biology,' the object of the design process is a biological system and its design factors are limited by physicochemical principles. Contrastively, for `connecting biology to engineering,' the object of the design process is a physical system and its design factors are limited by biological attributes. The first case of `connecting engineering to biology' addresses the design of: (1) protocol for biological system; (2) structure for biological system; and (3) model for biological system. The second case of `connecting biology to engineering' addresses the design of: (4) material based on biological system; (5) machine/device based on biological system; and (6) instrument based on biological system.