1. Wind Turbines
Owl wings cut down on the noise of air moving over them, called turbulence. The leading edges of an owl's primary feathers are serrated, which breaks up air turbulence into smaller currents that cause less noise. A similar comblike design could help eliminate the whooshing sounds of wind turbines.
Owls have flexible and porous feathers along the trailing edge of the wing that appear to mute the sound of airflow off the back of the wing, the same place where much of an aircraft's noise is generated. Models have suggested that a flexible and porous trailing edge made of Mylar could reduce the roar off an aircraft's wing tenfold.
The barbed fibers of an owl's down interlock with other feathers, creating a dampening buffer between the rough surface and the air flowing over it. Jaworski is working with the Office of Naval Research to apply similarly smooth, porous surfaces to submarine hulls to try to cut down noise without creating drag.