Science Building Windows To Receive Bird-friendly Biomimetic Glass

The new Integrated Sciences Complex will soon receive bird-friendly glass for some of its windows. Ornilux, made by Arnold glass, is an insulated glass sheeting that reduces bird collisions with buildings. The glass has a UV coating that is visible to birds but virtually transparent to humans. The glass was designed using biomimicry, a new applied science for discovering sustainable solutions from nature. In this case, the design mimics the UV reflective patterns some spiders weave into their webs to reduce the incidence of tearing by birds and other larger animals. The bird-friendly glass will be installed in the middle of the building on both sides of the atrium.

Anamarija Frankic, director of the Green Harbors Project (GHP) here at UMass Boston, is also a biomimicry fellow.  This spring, she will serve as one of the faculty members for the new LivingLab - Nantucket semester, a residential research and field program where 18 UMass Boston students will have the opportunity to study biomimicry and other environmental science topics on Nantucket Island. The biomimicry course she teaches has been approved to meet the science distribution requirement for UMass Boston undergraduates.