This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biological Informatics for FY 2005. The fellowship supports research and training at the postdoctoral level at the intersection of biology and the informational, computational, mathematical, and statistical sciences. The goal of the fellowship is to provide training to a young scientist in preparation for a career in biological informatics in which research and education will be integrated. There is an increasing need for training in biological informatics at all occupational levels, and it is expected that Fellows trained through these fellowships will play important roles in training the future workforce.
The research and training plan for this fellowship is entitled "Control theoretic and computational investigation of the flight of the hawkmoth." The goal of this project is to use control theory and computational modeling to study how animals control movement within their environment. Specifically, it examines the hovering, forward and maneuvering flight of the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta, focusing on the inverse control problem of predicting wing movements (kinematics) and muscle activity from an observed flight path.
The training aspect of the project includes experience in the application of control theory to biological systems, especially locomotor biomechanics.
