NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015

这一行动为2015财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，扩大了参与范围。该奖学金支持该研究员在东道主实验室的研究和培训计划，以及扩大科学界代表性不足群体的参与计划。玛格丽特·拜伦的这项研究计划的标题是《梳状水母如何在海洋湍流中游泳和导航》。该奖学金的主办机构是加州大学欧文分校，斯坦福大学将提供辅助支持；赞助科学家是马修·J·麦克亨利(UCI)和约翰·O·达比里(斯坦福)。鞭毛虫，俗称梳状水母，广泛存在于地球的海洋中，在海洋食物链中扮演着重要的角色。它们也是最大的利用纤毛游泳的有机体，纤毛是一种通常为较小的生物和动物保留的运动方式，在淡水和咸水中都是如此。鞭毛虫只有几厘米大小，生活在一个复杂而动荡的环境中，充满了阵风和漩涡，使它们的体型相形见绌。尽管它们的推进系统相对简单，但鞭毛虫非常敏捷和灵活，在这些混乱的环境中保持着对它们的方向和位置的令人印象深刻的控制。这项研究使用高速摄像机和流动可视化技术来研究毛虫如何在湍流阵风中移动，展示它们如何使自己的行为适应周围的流动。这将为它们偏爱的栖息地、种群动态和生态角色提供线索。除了获得运动的基本知识外，更好地理解纤毛运动的原理有助于改进小型水下机器人的运动和导航，这是在水环境中进行探索和发现的重要平台。这项生物学和工程学交界处的研究为这位研究员提供了一个机会，通过在这两个领域进行生物培训和职业发展机会来增强她的工程学背景。联合赞助和跨学科设置为流体动力学和水生动物运动交叉的最终独立研究计划奠定了基础。教育外展包括监督和指导从服务于代表不足的少数族裔的项目招聘的本科生研究助理。学生们深入参与了这个项目，包括实验、分析以及结果的展示和发布。蒙特利湾水族馆正在为这项研究提供动物和实验设施，并将其纳入面向普通公众和学校团体的项目和教育展示中。作为进一步让公众参与生物学、海洋科学、流体动力学和生物力学研究的进一步努力，该研究员正在策划一个研究成果和其他相关工作的在线存储库，并通过社交媒体和其他基于网络的工具吸引公众。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Broadening Participation. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow and a plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Margaret Byron is "How comb jellyfish swim and navigate in ocean turbulence." The host institution for this fellowship is the University of California Irvine, with secondary support to be provided by Stanford University; the sponsoring scientists are Matthew J. McHenry (UCI) and John O. Dabiri (Stanford). Ctenophores, commonly called comb jellyfish, are widespread in the earth's oceans and play an important role in the marine food chain. They are also the largest organisms that swim using cilia, a type of locomotion which is normally reserved for much smaller organisms and animals, in both fresh and salt water. Only a few centimeters in size, ctenophores live in a complex and turbulent environment, full of gusts and eddies that dwarf them in size. Despite their relatively simple propulsion system, ctenophores are very agile and maneuverable, retaining impressive control over their orientation and position in the midst of these chaotic surroundings. This research uses high-speed cameras and flow visualization techniques to study how ctenophores move in response to turbulent gusts, showing how they adapt their behavior to the surrounding flow. This will provide clues to their preferred habitats, population dynamics, and ecological roles. In addition to the basic knowledge of locomotion being gained, a better understanding of the principles of ciliated locomotion promises to aid improvements in locomotion and navigation in small underwater robots, important platforms for exploration and discovery in the aquatic environment. This research at the interface of biology and engineering affords the Fellow the opportunity to enhance her background in engineering with training in biology and career advancement opportunties in both fields. The joint sponsorship and interdisciplinary setting provide a foundation for an eventual independent research program at the intersection of fluid dynamics and aquatic animal locomotion. Educational outreach includes supervising and mentoring undergraduate research assistants recruited from programs serving underrepresented minorities. The students are deeply involved in the project, including experiments, analysis, and the presentation and publication of results. The results are being made available to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which provides animals and experimental facilities for the research, and are being incorporated into programs and educational displays for the general public and school groups. As a further effort to engage the public with biology, ocean science, fluid dynamics, and biomechanics research in general, the Fellow is curating an online repository of research results and other relevant work as well as engaging the public via social media and other web-based tools.