This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2011, Intersections of Biology and Mathematical and Physical Sciences. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow at the intersection of biology and engineering. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Jonathan Dyhr is "Multisensory control of insect flight." The host institution for this research is the University of Washington, Seattle with sponsoring scientists Drs. Thomas Daniel and Kristi Morgansen.
Coordinated animal movement requires combining multiple and different types of sensory information whether the movement is on land, in water, or in air through flight. Moving organisms must parallel process many changing and complex sensory signals. Individually, these signals carry limited information about the world and are transmitted with varying latencies and levels of precision. This research applies quantitative techniques and tools from control theory to better understand how the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta, integrates sensory information to orchestrate appropriate behavioral responses during flight. First, the roles of different sensory systems for maintaining flight stability are measured in freely flying moths as they recover from external visual and mechanical perturbations. Second, a control theoretic model of the moth flight control system is used to characterize the sensitivity of the system to different parameters, such as the transmission delay of sensory signals. This research establishes a control theoretic toolbox for studying biological systems.
Experimentally advantageous invertebrate model systems, such as M. sexta, provide key insights into the basic neural processes that underlie motor control and new experimental techniques that are economical. Furthermore, broader impacts include potential applications for treating motor deficits, developing better prosthetic strategies, and designing biologically inspired robots. Specific training objectives for the Fellow include expanding expertise in control theory and biomechanics, gaining teaching experience by designing an undergraduate short course on control systems in biology, gaining experience mentoring high school and undergraduate students, and assisting the Pacific Science Center with new exhibits for communicating science to public audiences.
