An award has been made to Williams College under the direction of Dr. Joan Edwards to acquire a high speed imaging system and associated equipment to film ultra-fast biological movements, such as exploding blooming of bunchberry dogwood flowers, rapid propulsion of pollen out of flowers, the explosive bursts of spores from moss capsules, rapid startle responses of goldfish, swimming of fleeing tadpoles, and beak movements in singing zebra finches. The instrumentation will be used by ecologists, neurobiologists, and physicists to integrate classical mechanics and biomechanics, evolution, and the adaptive significance of rapid movements of living things. The instrument system will advance the research of the faculty and provide hands-on research experiences for undergraduates at the college. The imaging system will be used to provide unique teaching materials in physics and biology. Several existing programs for recruiting underrepresented groups into science will be utilized to attract students from these groups to participate in research projects. Outreach efforts to K-12 schools will also make use of the broad appeal of the visual imagery produced by the instrument system.
