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"Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing." ~Wernher Von Braun
"Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it." ~Albert Einstein
"It takes a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious." ~Alfred North Whitehead
Caudal fin shape modulation and control mechanisms in fishes
My PhD research focuses on the link between morphology and propulsion in different fishes. I am interested in the changes in fish locomotory design that have occurred in evolutionary history. Primarily, I hope to establish a causative link between the comparative anatomy of fishes and the kinematics and hydrodynamics exhibited during different modes of swimming.
(right, a cladogram of the evolutionary relationship of some present day fishes)
Experimental basics:
FAR LEFT: flow tank (to keep fish swimming), high-speed video, and electromyography (EMG) to measure muscle activity;
NEAR LEFT: bluegill sunfish swimming post-surgery with electrodes implanted
NEAR RIGHT: posterior view of a bluegill braking, with dorsal and ventral lobes of caudal fin moving in opposite directions
FAR RIGHT: plot of mean tail height measured in 3D (white) increasing as the mean forward velocity (yellow) decreases during the braking maneuver