1930’s bioengineering in North Carolina. Live willow brushlayer lifts support a road.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bioengineering is a term used to describe several modern disciplines.\u00a0 However, its oldest usage by far has been to describe an ancient technology that in its purest form employs structures built of living plants whose primary purpose is to stabilize and revegetate damaged stream and river corridors and other landscape areas such as gullies and landslides where soil is being removed more rapidly than the natural systems can by themselves return the area to equilibrium.<\/p>\n

Dr. Hugo Schiechtl, the great 20^{th<\/sup> century bioengineer, who chronicled and modernized the works of the bioengineers that preceded\u00a0 him has said, \u201cOn this earth there are only a few places where man has not altered the vegetation, where the natural cycles of growth, destruction, and regeneration remain unchanged. Man must learn to protect himself and his environment by calling in nature as his working partner<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n}

Evan Engber, BioEngineering Associate\u2019s Chief Bioengineer and President, adheres to this approach. He believes that the natural world is our great teacher.<\/p>\n

One in a lineage of practitioners who have mastered this technology, Mr. Engber has added to it, adapting its techniques to current conditions.\u00a0Through improvements in the design of past techniques and in the use of new technical materials and mechanized equipment, he has pioneered the use of these techniques into the 21^{st<\/sup> century.\u00a0 It is especially important in this era as the status of recently listed endangered species requires limitations on invasive technology.<\/p>\n}

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