Evenings at Whitney December 12

Evenings at Whitney December 12

Published: Friday, November 29, 2024

The University of Florida Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series continues Thursday, December 12, 2024, at 6 p.m. with the program titled “From Jellyfish to Sharks: Ocean Swimmers Provide the Blueprints for Next-Gen Underwater Vehicles”. Dr. Brad Gemmell, Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, will be the speaker.

This free lecture will be presented in person at the UF Whitney Laboratory Lohman Auditorium, 9505 Ocean Shore Boulevard, in St. Augustine. Those interested also have the option of registering to watch via Zoom live the night of the lecture.

Register to watch online:

https://ufl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RoVNLmJKRHyBDuo5pIFklw

Aquatic animals have always been able to move through water with much higher efficiencies than human-made vehicles. This presentation delves into the fascinating world of natural swimmers such as jellyfish, bony fishes, and sharks to explore the secrets behind their efficient locomotion.

Using state-of-the-art techniques, the Gemmell lab has collected data on the unique biomechanics and fluid mechanics of these aquatic animals. The talk also emphasizes how this knowledge is being applied to innovate underwater vehicle designs, creating more efficient, agile, and adaptable systems. By bridging biology and engineering, the study of natural swimmers offers a pathway toward next-generation aquatic technology and expands the potential applications, from environmental monitoring to underwater exploration.

Dr. Gemmell is a marine biologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He is interested in the role of animal-fluid interactions in the marine environment and how these govern important biological factors such as predator-prey interactions, migration as well as large-scale ecosystem processes and evolutionary relationships. His work uses high speed imaging techniques such as particle image velocimetry (2D) and holographic cinematography (3D) to answer ecologically relevant questions regarding animal feeding and locomotion. Closely aligned with his study of animal-fluid interactions is a general interest in understanding biological propulsion for use in bio-inspired design and engineering.