CAREER: Locomotion Through Particulate Environments by Invertebrates and Vertebrates

职业：无脊椎动物和脊椎动物在颗粒环境中的运动

• 批准号: 1255127
• 负责人: David Hu
• 金额: $ 55.66万
• 依托单位: Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-08-01 至 2019-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1255127&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Locomotion; Through; Particulate; Environments

In this project the PI will elucidate two novel biological mechanisms for living systems to contend with particulate environments. Flying insects must avoid or negotiate droplets in rain and mist. Larger organisms use eyelashes to diver particle-laden flows from delicate organs such as the eyes. In parallel with the research efforts, the PI will use these familiar and highly visual topics to naturally guide an educational program to broaden the scope of biophysics past the traditional cellular level and increase its visibility to all audiences. The PI will study experimentally the interactions of mesoscale objects (mosquitoes and eyelashes) with particulates in a surrounding fluid medium. The following hypotheses based on preliminary work will be tested. (1) Insects survive collisions with raindrops by tumbling their bodies to reduce impact impact force. The universality and limits of this ability will be examined across a range of insect sizes. (2) Using high-speed video, the PI observes that mosquitoes are unable to stabilize their flight in fog. The failure of an otherwise robust system is surprising. The PI hypothesizes that gyroscopic signals from their halteres are overcome by signals created by inertial impact of fog drops and subsequent water accumulation. This hypothesis suggests a novel mechanism for the action of pesticides, and is of interest to his collaborators at the Navy Entomological Center. (3) Investigate how mosquitoes shed dew collected on their bodies using high frequency vibrational energy harvested from their wing flaps. The PI will conduct a parallel study on particle deposition on vertebrate surfaces, hypothesizing that mammalian and avian eyelashes divert incoming flows to reduce particle deposition onto the ocular surface. The PI will recruit undergraduates, high-school students and teachers from underrepresented groups. He will establish a photography internship at GT to increase the use of aesthetic and scientific photography in labs to facilitate scientific communication to the public. He will also teach "Living with particles," a new lab course on biophysics of locomotion. With a 10th-grade teacher, he will develop "Snakes on a Plane," one of a series of educational modules to teach Georgia Physical Standards. The PI will test and disseminate these modules by hosting students and teachers during "Wet Week," a weeklong workshop at our institution.

在这个项目中，首席研究员将阐明生命系统应对颗粒环境的两种新颖的生物机制。飞行昆虫必须避开或避开雨和雾中的水滴。较大的生物体利用睫毛来转移眼睛等脆弱器官中充满颗粒的水流。在开展研究工作的同时，PI 将利用这些熟悉且高度视觉化的主题来自然地指导教育计划，以将生物物理学的范围扩大到传统细胞水平之外，并提高其对所有受众的可见性。 PI 将通过实验研究中尺度物体（蚊子和睫毛）与周围流体介质中颗粒的相互作用。将测试基于前期工作的以下假设。 (1)昆虫通过翻滚身体来减少撞击力，从而在与雨滴的碰撞中幸存。这种能力的普遍性和局限性将在一系列昆虫大小中进行检验。 (2) PI通过高速视频观察到蚊子在雾中无法稳定飞行。一个原本稳健的系统的失败是令人惊讶的。 PI 假设，来自其笼头的陀螺仪信号会被雾滴的惯性影响和随后的水积聚产生的信号所克服。这一假设提出了一种杀虫剂作用的新机制，引起了他在海军昆虫学中心的合作者的兴趣。 (3) 研究蚊子如何利用从其翅膀拍打收集的高频振动能量来散发身上收集的露水。项目负责人将对脊椎动物表面的颗粒沉积进行一项平行研究，假设哺乳动物和鸟类的睫毛会转移流入的水流，以减少颗粒沉积在眼表上。 PI将从代表性不足的群体中招募本科生、高中生和教师。他将在 GT 建立摄影实习项目，以增加美学和科学摄影在实验室的使用，以促进与公众的科学交流。他还将教授“与粒子共存”，这是一门关于运动生物物理学的新实验课程。他将与一名十年级老师一起开发“飞机上的蛇”，这是教授佐治亚州身体标准的一系列教育模块之一。 PI 将在我们机构举办的为期一周的研讨会“湿周”期间接待学生和教师，以测试和传播这些模块。