Biological systems are influenced by fluid mechanics at nearly all spatiotemporal scales. Ongoing research can be broadly categorized as focusing on the function of naturally occurring biological systems; or using biological function to inspire new engineering technologies. Current examples of the former include studies animal swimming and flying; cardiovascular fluid dynamics and hemodynamics; role of Marangoni and capillary forces in organelle transport, eye tear film flows and alveolar dynamics; and biological oceanography. Applications in bioinspired engineering include next-generation wind and wave energy, morphing/active deformable surfaces for flow control, biomimetic soft robotics, and biomedical devices.
