Collaborations
Flight of the Smallest Insects
Arvind Santhanakrishnan, Ty Hedrick, Boyce Griffith
This project is focused on the understanding of the phenomena involved when bristled wings, like those of small insects generate lift. Although the aerodynamic principles of insect flight at the scale of fruit flies and above are reasonably well understood, the fluid dynamic mechanisms that enable very tiny insects to generate lift or thrust remain unclear. Funded by NSF CBET 1511427.
Immersed Boundary for Swimming, Flying and Pumping
We work to develop, to maintain, and to distribute general-purpose software tools for computer modeling and simulation that serve as key research infrastructure for a growing number of independent research projects, not limited to cardiovascular applications.
Fluid Dynamics and Neuromechanics of Heart Development
Jiandong Liu, Boyce Griffith, Lindsay Waldrop
The broad goal of this proposal is to create mathematical models of the electrophysiology and neuromechanics of an organ and organism whose dynamics rely on environmental cues and electrical activation through the action of pacemaker cells. Recent advancements in computational fluid dynamics have enabled researchers to efficiently explore problems that involve moving elastic boundaries immersed in fluids for problems such as cardiac fluid dynamics, fish swimming, and the movement of bacteria. These advances have also made modeling the interaction between a fluid and a neuromechanical model of an elastic organ or organism feasible. This work is funded by NSF DMS 1151478.
Glaire Anderson, Jan Chambers, Julie Kimbell
A Medieval ‘First in Flight’ is an interdisciplinary project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It focuses on ‘Abbas Ibn Firnas (d. 887 CE), a celebrated polymath of Córdoba, the capital of early Islamic Spain. ‘Abbas Ibn Firnas is best known for conducting an early experiment in human flight.
Fluid Physics of Pulsing Corals
Shilpa Khatri, Uri Shavit, Roi Holzman
The soft coral of the family Xeniidae actively pulse, and this energetically expensive behavior has been shown to enhance photosynthesis rates by an order of magnitude. The central goal of this proposal is to describe how these active movements might give soft coral a competitive advantage through augmented photosynthetic rates under certain environmental conditions. The broad focus of this project is to determine how active movements of flexible organisms enhance particle capture and nutrient exchange. This work is funded by NSF POLS 1505061.
Physical Biology of Organisms (PBO) is a consortium composed of scientists, mathematicians and engineers located at five universities – Duke University, NC Central University, NC State University, Virginia Tech and UNC Chapel Hill - who examine whole organisms in the context of their biomechanics and physical environment.
Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI)
The Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI), was established in 2002. SAMSI is a partnership of Duke University, North Carolina State University (NCSU), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS). Our lab has been involved in a couple of workshops including the Fluid Physics of Long Distance Dispersal and the Neuromechanics of Animal Locomotion.
Flow through Insect Hearts, Guts, and Trachea
Jake Socha, Jon Harrison, Hodjat Pendar
This project proposes that the tenebrionid beetle Zophobas morio, and perhaps many insect species, utilizes a linked abdominal pump and "gut piston" to drive the majority of air and blood flow. A new hypothesis posits that 1) the abdominal pump raises hemolymph pressure and displaces a large amount of body volume, inducing airflows and hemolymph flows, and 2) a synchronous "gut piston" pressurizes the thoracic and head compartments, compressing tracheae within them, and thereby further augments pressures that drive air and blood flow within these regions. This project is funded by NSF IOS 1558052.