Have you ever wondered how a penguin swims or why a maple seed spins to the ground? Can a flea jump as high as a kangaroo? Is spider silk really stronger than steel? This class will offer answers to these and other questions related to the mechanical design of plants and animals. The course will provide a basic introduction to how engineering principles from the fields of solid and fluid mechanics may be applied to the study of biological systems. The course emphasizes the organismal level of complexity, although topics will also connect phenomenology at the molecular, cellular, and tissue-level scales. Topics include the physical properties of biological materials, viscoelasticity, biological pumps, muscle mechanics, neural control, and animal locomotion. May be taken pass/fail if taken in the first-year student's first year. Limited enrollment.