A (Alessio) Gerola MSc

Alessio Gerola is a PhD candidate in Ethics of Technology at the Philosophy Group of Wageningen University. He explores the potential and limitations of biomimicry as sustainable design principle. Biomimetic technologies consist in the imitation or integration of natural design to solve technical problems, such as natural ventilation systems inspired by termite nests. As nature evolved very efficient solutions during 3.8 billion years of natural selection, bio-inspired and bio-integrated technologies promise to provide more sustainable and effective design solutions. As nature and technology become more and more integrated, the challenge is understanding how our relations to nature change along with our ability to control it. The project is part of the NWO Gravitation programme Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies (ESDiT) of the four technical universities in the Netherlands.

Alessio is also interested in intercultural perspectives in philosophy, ethics and technology. As part of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy (ENOJP), he explores how East-Asian thinkers and concepts can help broaden our perspectives on technology, nature and society.

Alessio has a background in philosophy at the University of Trento and in philosophy and ethics of technology at the University of Twente.