John W.M. Bush, Department of Mathematics, MIT
Walking on Water: Biolocomotion at the Interface
Abstract:
Walking on water is one of the most striking feats in the natural world.
We present the results of a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the dynamics of water-walking creatures. We enumerate the many styles of hydrodynamic propulsion at the free surface, and the resulting distinctions form the basis of a dynamic classification of all water-walkers.
We consider creatures spanning a broad range of scales, from millimetric insects reliant on surface tension, to tail-walking dolphins. Accompanying adventures in biomimetics are described.
John Bush graduated from University of Toronto in physics, then completed his doctorate at Harvard in Geophysics. He was at DAMTP in Cambridge as a postdoctoral fellow before joining the faculty in the Department of Mathematics at MIT
8 years ago. His early research was on the subject of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics; subsequently, he focused on surface-tension driven phenomena. He is presently interested in biological fluid mechanics, specifically, biological systems dominated by the influence of surface tension.
For more information please contact Parviz Moin moin@stanfor.d.edu