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  • ENH Seminar Series

    Mon, Feb 07, 2011 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM

    Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering

    Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars


    Speaker: Dr. Jane Wang, Professor Cornell University

    Talk Title: How do insects fly and turn

    Abstract: Insects' aerial acrobatics result from the concerted efforts of their brains, flight muscles, and flapping wings. To understand insect flight, we started from the outer scale, analyzing the unsteady aerodynamics of flapping flight, and are gradually working toward the inner scale, deducing control algorithms. In this approach, the dynamics of flight informs us about the internal control scheme for a specific behavior. I will first describe the aerodynamic tricks that dragonflies employ to hover and fly efficiently. I will then discuss how fruit flies recover from aerial stumbles, and how they make subtle wing movements to induce sharp turns in tens of wing beats, or 40-80ms. The observed yaw maneuver can be explained by a quantitative mechanical model that connects a single control variable to the body dynamics.

    Host: Francisco Valero-Cuevas

    More Info: http://bbdl.usc.edu/ENH-Schedule_1011.php

    Location: Hedco Neurosciences Building (HNB) - 100

    Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

    Contact: Adriana Cisneros

    Event Link: http://bbdl.usc.edu/ENH-Schedule_1011.php


    This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.


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