Hydraulic design of micro-miniature heavy-lift vehicles:
How do insects "wing it" ?
Missed it? Watch the recording here!
Join us May 5th at noon to learn about how insect wing vein structure functions as a hydraulic system, which can be modeled and inspire biomimetic microfluidic devices. A lunchtime virtual talk presented by NSF post-doctorate research fellow Mary Salcedo!
Wings allow an insect to perform a myriad of ecologically important behaviors including predation, migration, and pollination, and also serve as inspirations for insect-size micro-air vehicles. Perhaps surprisingly, insect wings are dynamic, living structures, composed of thin membranes and long tubular veins that provide both mechanical integrity and supply of vital substances. Veins act as conduits, containing oxygen supply (through tracheal tubes), nerves (sensory information in flight), and most importantly, hemolymph (insect blood), providing inspiration for new microfluidic designs. I am interested in how form relates to function in insect wings across the vast diversity of species. After building connections with the US Dept. of Agriculture to ensure a steady supply of live specimens, I conducted much of my PhD research into insect wings on the North American Locust (Schistocerca americana), a pest species that can be sustained in the laboratory with minimal resources, and that provides a unique (beyond Drosophila) and highly relevant model system. In my research, I strive to understand how wing health and function is maintained, and how these are related to insect development, behavior, and interactions within the ecosystem. I investigate internal wing vein structures to build accurate wing models to better understand the insect wing hydraulic system and how it can inspire biomimetic devices. My research program incorporates foundational physiology (wing vein structure, venation pattern, biomimetics), quantitative biomechanics of internal flows produced by insects (during circulation, wing expansion, flapping flight), and determination of how agricultural practices affect insect health.
"Mary Salcedo received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in 2012 with a double major in Applied Computational Mathematical Science & Molecular and Cellular Biology. As an undergraduate, she performed research on the biomechanics of muscle physiology in hawkmoths in Tom Daniel’s Lab.
She then completed a PhD in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University in early 2019, co-advised by Stacey Combes and L. Mahadevan. She was awarded an NSF GRFP to study insect wings. Her PhD focused on several poorly understood aspects of insect wings - including mechanical processes of wing unfolding during emergence and expansion, hemolymph flow patterns within the adult wing and their relationship to accessory pulsatile organic such as wing hearts, and novel quantitative approaches to exploring the diversity of venation patterns and wing shapes across insect orders.
She was awarded a National Science Foundation Post-doctoral Research Fellowship, and is now a postdoctoral research fellow at Virginia Tech in Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics in the Socha Lab - where she is working to understand aspects of fundamental insect physiology by examining insect wing metamorphosis and quantifying dynamics of the coupled circulatory and tracheal systems through high speed microscopy."
https://www.maryksalcedo.com/research
Contact smithbh@corning.com for more information
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