We're delighted to announce our newest faculty member of the MCAD's MA in Sustainable Design program. He will be teaching Biomimetic Design in Spring 2025. We are excited to have him share his knowledge and experience as a sustainability and Biomimicry expert with our students. About Jacques Jacques Chirazi is a seasoned sustainability expert with a strong focus on biomimicry and circular economy. His extensive background encompasses design thinking, entrepreneurship, strategic consulting, finance, marketing, public policies, and data visualization. Jacques’ expertise spans, climate change mitigation and adaptation, renewable energy, biofuels, advanced transportation, circular economy, distributed energy systems, smart cities, and machine learning. Jacques serves as the Director of Student Entrepreneurship at the University of California, San Diego. In this role, he oversees the daily operations of the Basement and the Triton Startup Incubator, which includes managing grants, fostering partnerships, and developing entrepreneurial programming. He is also responsible for creating and delivering educational courses and workshops that cultivate entrepreneurial skills among students from various disciplines, facilitating the translation of innovative ideas into market-ready solutions. Through his collaboration with the Biomimicry Institute, Jacques has designed and launched the Biomimicry Launchpad, an accelerator program that supports early-stage entrepreneurs in bringing nature-inspired innovations to market. With a deep passion for the natural world and a vision for its transformative potential in business, Jacques employs a unique biomimicry approach to nurture the next generation of sustainable entrepreneurs and their groundbreaking ventures. Jacques has served on several advisory boards, including the San Diego Green Building Council, Cleantech San Diego, and the International Organization for Standardization. Finally, Jacques is a Certified Energy Manager (C.E.M), and LEED-GA. About Biomimetic DesignIn this course students learn how to abstract functional strategies from nature to apply to the process of innovative design. This project-oriented studio course covers core biological principles, astounds students with the wealth of design solutions available in nature, and provides numerous case studies of innovative designs inspired by natural models. Overall, this course provides powerful metaphors and methods for looking to nature as model, mentor, and to measure in our designs. Categories Biomimicry Sustainability Sustainable Design Nature Inspired Design