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Throughout history, the parallels between nature and human design, in mathematics, engineering and other areas, have inspired many leading thinkers. Today, the huge increase in biological knowledge, developments in design engineering systems, together with the virtual revolution in computer power and simulation modelling, have all made possible more comprehensive studies of nature.Scientists and engineers now have at their disposal a vast array of relationships for materials, mechanisms and control. The resulting laws have been painstakingly assembled by observation and analysis and span the cosmic scale of space down to the molecular level of genetics. In particular, they have made us aware of the rich diversity of the natural world around us. These developments are presented here in the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Comparing Design in Nature with Science and Engineering.The Conference topics include: shape and form in engineering and nature; nature and architectural design; thermodynamics in nature; biomimetics; natural materials in engineering; mechanics in nature; bioengineering; solution from nature; complexity; sustainability studies; education and training.This book should be of interest to researchers and those interested in the study of natural materials, organisms, processes and their significance for design in the world today.