The proposal utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to study the locomotion of C. elegans and their sensory response to environmental variations. C. elegans is one of the mostly studied model animals in biology due to its genetic tractability, sequenced genome, simple anatomy and body transparency. It is also a superb system to study mobility and sensing. This project will use C. elegans as a simple model system of living organisms to obtain critical physical information for understanding the interplay between sensing, locomotion and environment, incorporate this information into theoretical and computational models of undulatory locomotion.
This is a collaborative research project between a mechanical engineer at Washington University and a mathematical at the New York University.
This research is expected to impact on smart sensing and actuation technology, and the results will serve as building blocks for development of smart devices that can lead to robust design of adaptive systems and structures.
