Eaton joins growing list of companies pioneering biomimicry in Northeast Ohio

Four more companies are joining the ranks of trailblazing organizations that are looking to nature for innovation and design secrets, further elevating Northeast Ohio as a global leader in biomimicry.  

Eaton, PolyOne, Tremco Commercial Sealants & Waterproofing, and US Endoscopy are the newest sponsors of the Biomimicry Fellowship Program, run in partnership by The University of Akron and Cleveland-based Great Lakes Biomimicry (GLB). Students from all over the world apply for these coveted industrial assistantships, which are awarded to students admitted to UA's Integrated Bioscience or Polymer Science Ph.D. Programs. Biomimicry Fellows spend five years working part-time to advance biomimicry initiatives in their sponsoring organizations.

Opportunities for students

Two of the new companies – PolyOne and US Endoscopy – are actively searching for students to apply for their openings.

PolyOne Corporation is a $3 billion world-class, global provider of polymer solutions with its materials used in everyday products ranging from sports equipment to medical devices to electronics and more. The PolyOne Biomimicry Fellow will work in new product design and development, done virtually and via intermittent travel to PolyOne’s Avon Lake, Ohio location. The Fellow Profile and contact information is here.  

US Endoscopy, a division of STERIS, is a world leader in endoscopy device design and manufacturing, serving the U.S. and International gastrointestinal endoscopy markets. The US Endoscopy Biomimicry Fellow will work to incorporate biomimicry principles into the company’s design and development process within the Research and Development department located at the US Endoscopy Tech Center in Mentor, Ohio. The Fellow Profile and contact information is online.

The other two companies – Tremco and Eaton – have completed recruitment efforts. Tremco is preparing to extend an offer and Eaton's Fellow started in January 2019.

Tremco Commercial Sealants & Waterproofing (CS&W) is North America’s foremost supplier of sealant, weatherproofing, and passive fire control solutions for commercial and residential construction and industrial applications. Tremco’s Fellow will interact across a broad spectrum of functional areas at their Beachwood, Ohio location including Research and Development, Product Line Management, Sales, and Innovation.

Eaton is a power management company which provides energy-efficient solutions that help customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. Eaton’s Fellow, Adrian Tween, from Mexico, is studying organic materials to gather insights that could inspire advanced structures, and will be collaborating with Eaton employees in Southfield, Michigan and Pune, India.

Bio-inspired solutions

Swami Subramanian, senior engineering specialist in Eaton’s Michigan office, is very excited to explore biomimicry.

“We strongly believe that this joint effort with The University of Akron and Great Lakes Biomimicry team will help us come up with a new evolution of bio-inspired solutions and products to support our customers,” Subramanian said.

The Biomimicry Fellowship Program was launched in 2012 by UA’s Biomimicry Research and Innovation Center in collaboration with Great Lakes Biomimicry. The mission of the program is to provide interdisciplinary training in biology, design, engineering and business to next-gen innovation leaders. The vision is for biomimicry to become a driver for economic development in Northeast Ohio and beyond. 

Other current and past sponsors of the Biomimicry Fellowship Program include:

• Avon Lake Regional Water
• Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, LLC
• Biohabitats
• Cleveland Zoological Society
• Cleveland Water Alliance
• GOJO Industries, Inc.
• The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
• The J.M. Smucker Company
• Kimberly-Clark Corp.
• The Lubrizol Corp.
• NASA Glenn Research Center
• Nottingham Spirk
• Ohio Department of Natural Resources
• Parker Hannifin Corp.
• Ross Environmental Services, Inc.
• The Sherwin-Williams Co.
• Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM

Media contact: Lisa Craig, 330-972-7429 or lmc91@uakron.edu.