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Ultimate Engineering: An Engineer Investigates the Biomechanics of the Human Body
Who first invented fiber optic cables? Or camera shutters? Or truss structures? Or double wishbone suspensions? Or block-style Roman arches? What about laser beams? As award-winning British engineer and designer Stuart Burgess reveals, the original inventor of these and countless other ingenious devices was no human inventor. Instead, the “first to market” was the designing force behind the living world.
Evolutionary theory predicts a living world crowded with substandard designs. But as Burgess shows in Ultimate Engineering, the latest science has discovered just the opposite—designs so advanced they are at the limit of the possible, precisely as proponents of the theory of intelligent design anticipated. As Burgess also details, he and other researchers are taking the discovery of these advanced designs and using them to inspire fresh technological breakthroughs—a revolution known as biomimetics.
Evolutionary theory predicts a living world crowded with substandard designs. But as Burgess shows in Ultimate Engineering, the latest science has discovered just the opposite—designs so advanced they are at the limit of the possible, precisely as proponents of the theory of intelligent design anticipated. As Burgess also details, he and other researchers are taking the discovery of these advanced designs and using them to inspire fresh technological breakthroughs—a revolution known as biomimetics.
- GenresScience
450 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 12, 2026
About the author
Stuart Burgess
12 books17 followersDr Stuart Burgess, BSc, PhD, CEng, MIMechE, is a Reader in Engineering Design at Bristol University. His research areas include the study of design in nature. He previously worked in industry, designing rocket and satellite systems for the European Space Agency. He is winner of the Worshipful Company of Turners Gold Medal for the design of the solar array deployment system on the 1.4 billion ENVISAT earth observation satellite.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 22, 2026
As a biologist and Christian who grew up in a family of engineers, I found this book to be fascinating and delightful. I wish a book like this had existed during my undergraduate and graduate studies, both as an apologetic aid for many spirited conversations with classmates and professors with opposing worldviews, but also for my own wonder and delight.
This would be an incredible companion to any Human Anatomy and Physiology course, bringing the joints and musculature to life in a way that rote memorization of lists cannot do. Over and over throughout this book, I found myself rotating a wrist or ankle joint in different directions or marveling at elements of my body in ways that never happened in my Anatomy courses. Morning runs are filled with much more appreciation and wonder at each stride. And as a mother of three, the chapter on birth biomechanics was particularly delightful.
This book has enough technical language that it would probably be inaccessible (or at least a bit of a slog) for a non-science major, but any biology or engineering student would probably find it fascinating. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone in those fields.
This would be an incredible companion to any Human Anatomy and Physiology course, bringing the joints and musculature to life in a way that rote memorization of lists cannot do. Over and over throughout this book, I found myself rotating a wrist or ankle joint in different directions or marveling at elements of my body in ways that never happened in my Anatomy courses. Morning runs are filled with much more appreciation and wonder at each stride. And as a mother of three, the chapter on birth biomechanics was particularly delightful.
This book has enough technical language that it would probably be inaccessible (or at least a bit of a slog) for a non-science major, but any biology or engineering student would probably find it fascinating. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone in those fields.
June 10, 2026
Whether you are a biologist (I'm not) or an engineer (I am), you will find this to be a worthwhile read. Designing a good system can be difficult for any engineer, taking much thought, planning and coordination of sub-systems. These don't just come together on their own. With his background in biomechanics, Stuart Burgess takes his readers into the complex engineering of the human body. Everything from the wrists to the heart to the nervous system to the eye to the digestive system, Burgess explains how these feats of engineering are so well suited to their function that human engineering can't come close to replicating it.
In each chapter, Burgess uses layman's terms to describe the biological system. He then discusses the evolutionary literature on that system, which typically involves an author complaining that the system is a poor design. But Burgess knows both biology and engineering, and he expertly handles those criticisms showing the flaws in their thinking and the brilliance of the engineering of the system in question. In many cases, he is able to point to human engineering breakthroughs that were inspired by the engineering already in place in the human body, demonstrating the greater efficiency and versatility of these systems.
Ultimately, the complex design of these systems points to an Intelligent Designer and point away from an unguided process such as evolution.
In each chapter, Burgess uses layman's terms to describe the biological system. He then discusses the evolutionary literature on that system, which typically involves an author complaining that the system is a poor design. But Burgess knows both biology and engineering, and he expertly handles those criticisms showing the flaws in their thinking and the brilliance of the engineering of the system in question. In many cases, he is able to point to human engineering breakthroughs that were inspired by the engineering already in place in the human body, demonstrating the greater efficiency and versatility of these systems.
Ultimately, the complex design of these systems points to an Intelligent Designer and point away from an unguided process such as evolution.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews