学术报告

Ant Rafts, Wet-dog Shaking and Urination: A Tutorial on Scaling Principles for Biologists

邀请人：朱朝东 研究员

报告人：Dr. David HU

    Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biology

    Adjunct Associate Professor of Physics

    The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

报告时间：2014年7月18日，上午10：00-12：00

报告地点：中国科学院动物研究所E112

欢迎各位老师同学参加！

附：相关信息：

Abstract

We present a 1.5-hourtutorial on modeling tools used in a series of PNAS papers (2011, 2012, 2014) onbiological systems. In the first part, we use probability theory anddifferential equations to model how ants link their bodies together to buildrafts and towers.  In the second part, weuse fluid mechanics and scaling principles predict the flow rate of the bladderacross a range of animal sizes.  Scaling principles in particular can be learned across disciplines, from biologists to engineers.  The audience will learn howto iterate between simple table-top experiments and theoretical analyses untila consistent physical picture emerges.  Several in-class exercises will train students to apply these principles in their own scientific work.  

Biography     Dr. David Hu is a mechanical engineer who studies the movementof animals. He has studied how snakes slither, how insects walk on water, andhow small insects fly through rain. His laboratory has invented new animal-like robots such as Robostrider which walks on water and Scalybot, which moves by virtue of its belly scales.  He lives in Atlanta, Georgia USA with his wife Jia and children, Harry and Heidi.

Hu is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biology and Adjunct Professor of Physics at Georgia Institute of Technology.  His degrees are in mechanical engineering and mathematics at M.I.T. and his postdoctoral work was at NYU.  He has published in Nature, PNAS, Physics Today and American Scientist, and his work been featured in The Economist, The New YorkTimes, The Washington Post, USAToday, National Geographic, Popular Mechanics, Audobon, Smithsonian, Scholastic,and others.  He has been invited guest on Good Morning America, Discovery Channel,National Public Radio, and in the film Fire Ants 3D: The Invincible Army, available on NetFlix. These videos and more may be found at his website, Hoogleat http://hu.gatech.edu

References:

(1)  Yang,P.J., Pham, J., Choo, J., Hu, D.L. (2014) Duration of urination does not change with body size. Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences, USA.  

(2)  Dickerson,A., Shankles, P., Madhaven, N., Hu, D. L. (2012) Mosquitoes survive raindrop collisions by virtue of their low mass. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.109 (25) 9822-9827.

(3) Mlot,N., Tovey, C. & Hu, D.L. (2011) Fire ants self-assemble into waterproof rafts to survive floods.  Proceedings of the National Academy ofSciences, USA. 108: 7669-7673.