SF Blue Tech
may happy hour 2026
Ocean Biomimicry & SF Living Seawall
may 14
5:30pm – 8:00pm
south beach yacht club
$20
Visiting SF? First timer?
You are welcome to register and join.
When plastic was invented, it solved real problems. Today, our oceans and ecosystems pay the price of that innovation.
Man continues to design things where nature must adapt. What if we
flipped the switch?
Biomimicry is the practice of studying nature’s best ideas—models, systems and processes—and imitating them to solve human challenges sustainably.
Nature is looked upon as a mentor that has spent 3.8 billion years developing solutions that are efficient, regenerative and sustainable. The practice of biomimicry is in use within naval design, architecture, engineering, product design and more.
south beach yacht club
899 2nd street, san francisco
located aside SF Giants stadium
may happy hour 2026 agenda
5:30pm: networking, dinner and drinks
6:30pm: welcome
6:45pm: presentations
7:30pm: Q&A
return to networking
may happy hour 2026 register
step 1: register and pay
optional
step 2: order Build-it-Yourself Potato, Salad, Chips, Dessert
our host venue
Installation of Living Seawall Pilot Project panels along SF city front.
* We regret this is not a reciprocal club free event for members of other clubs. *
PRESENTERS
Mariana Ortiz
Research and Development
stealth mode robotics start up
Mariana believes that brilliance without ecological intention is how we will end up with yet another “plastic” invention.
She tasks every engineer and founder formulating today’s companies and ideas to consider the question: “Does it work?” She urges all to also consider: “Does it belong?”
A mechanical engineer passionate about cleantech and nature-inspired innovation, Mariana is currently working in robotics R&D and studying as a Biomimicry Practitioner. There, she bridges engineering, biology and design to create sustainable solutions.
Her capstone project, a fog-harvesting system inspired by desert beetles, exemplifies her approach: learning from nature’s billions of years of evolutionary progress.
Andrew L. Chang, PhD
Ecologist, Program Leader – SERC West
Marine Invasions Research Lab
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
The SF Living Seawall project is a unique opportunity to collaborate with the SF Port to test ways to increase the diversity of ecological communities around these otherwise relatively low-diversity areas.
We hope results will help the Port design a renovated seawall that achieves engineering goals of protecting against threats from seismic activity and rising sea levels, while also promoting ecological diversity.
Dr. Chang played a key role in the SERC Living Seawall Pilot Project with the Port of San Francisco. The project aims to test new materials and designs for local seawalls that can promote biodiversity, and create a more harmonious relationship between people and bay marine life.