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My research sits at the interface of biology and engineering. I use biomechanics as a tool to investigate evolutionary biology and, specifically, how the physical environment determines the morphology and control systems of flying animals. Following the biomimetic principle, I use a comparative approach to examine extant solutions to particular ecological strategies, unravelling design criteria from historical constraint to ultimately inform wing design and flight control in modern unmanned air systems.

Much of my research to date has involved using wind tunnels and high-speed video cameras to film insects and birds. As the insects fly through smoke trails the patterns shed into the wake can be reconstructed to describe the flow topology (for example the flow can be attached like a regular aircraft, or separated like the type of flows utilised by Concorde and other delta wing aircraft) and unconventional aerodynamic mechanisms to generate extra lift. Using this smoke visualisation technique as well as quantitative methods (time-resolved, stereo and tomographic Particle Image Velocimetry; PIV) I have gone some way to unravelling the mysteries of insect flight including the so-called 'bumblebee paradox' - that insect wings are too small to support the weight of the insect if they use conventional aerodynamics alone.

I have worked on animal architecture and the mechanical linkages which allow insects to fly and jump. I have an active interest in the neurobiological mechanisms that insects use to stay aloft, including flow-sensing and load-sensing, and the phenomenon of optic flow and how it can be used to control flight. My research uses several pieces of unique or state-of-the-art equipment including volumetric PIV, paired cameras for high-speed trajectory tracking, and a virtual reality chamber for flies and hawkmoths, which provides a range of optical stimuli for tethered insects in an attempt to determine how steering is affected by cues from the compound eyes. I also have an interest in internal flows and the haemodynamics of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Below: Lily the Barn Owl revealing her wake as she glides through a field of bubbles. (Lily comes courtesy of )

 

 

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Nila, A., et al., Optical measurements of fluid-structure interactions for the description of nature-inspired wing dynamics, in 2016 RAeS Applied Aerodynamics Conference. (2016), Royal Aeronautical Society: Bristol, UK.

Stevens, R.J., Babinsky, H., Manar, F., Mancini, P., Jones, A.R., Granlund, K.O., Ol, M.V., Nakata, T., Phillips, N., Bomphrey, R.J., et al. (2016) Low Reynolds Number Acceleration of Flat Plate Wings at High Incidence (Invited). In 54th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Jones, A., Manar, F., Phillips, N., Nakata, T., Bomphrey, R.J., Ringuette, M.J., Percin, M., van Oudheusden, B.W. & Palmer, J. (2016) Leading Edge Vortex Evolution and Lift Production on Rotating Wings (Invited). In 54th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

selected pre-2014

I lead the Comparative Animal Locomotion third-year BSc module, contributing to The Moving Animal module for first year undergraduates, supervising research projects and mentoring graduate students.

Science festivals including the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, Cheltenham Science Festival, the Oxford Science Festival, the BBSRC Great British Bioscience Festival and the Gravity Fields Festival in celebration of Isaac Newton. Talks, lectures and seminars including to schools, UCL's bio-inspired robotics summer school, the Institute of Physics and the Royal Aeronautical Society. Wellcome Trust New Scientist popular science writing prize. TV documentary profiles and consultancy including the BBC (Life in the Air, Wonders of Life, Animal Camera, Invisible Worlds), SKY (Conquest of the Skies 3D, MicroMonsters 3D), Discovery Channel (Daily Planet). Daily Telegraph STEM hero of the month for highlighting and promoting career paths in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects.

• Bird wings act as a suspension system that rejects gusts

  

  Scientists from the ÐÂÔÂÖ±²¥ (RVC) and the University of Bristol have discovered how birds are able to fly in gusty conditions – findings that could inform the development of bio-inspired small-scale aircraft.

  We thought there might be something birds can teach us about coping with turbulence, so we invited Lily the barn owl, Sasha the tawny eagle, Ellie the goshawk and some of their friends to fly through gusts we made in our laboratory.

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• High aerodynamic lift from the tail reduces drag in gliding raptors

  

  Scientists from the RVC and the University of Bristol have discovered how birds are able to fly in gusty conditions – findings that could inform the development of bio-inspired small-scale aircraft.

  Birds and planes must obey the very same laws of physics, and a wing is a pretty good way to create the aerodynamic force known as Lift which balances the Weight of the animal, or aeroplane, due to the relentless pull of gravity. However, there are several notable differences between the two fliers. Flapping is a way to reorient the wings and the aerodynamic force they produce to propel animals forwards in order to balance drag.

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• How Mosquitos Avoid Obstacles in the Dark

  

  Nocturnal mosquitoes navigate in the dark without crashing into surfaces. When they land on humans or other animals to feed, they do it very gently in order to remain stealthy – being noticed could spell disaster. Since these nocturnal mosquitoes cannot see what they are doing with their eyes, they use a different sensory mode – mechanosensing.

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