Levich Institute Seminar Announcement, 05/06/2008

Tuesday, 05/06/2008 2:00 PM Steinman Hall, Room #312 (Chemical Engineering Conference Room) Professor John Bush Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Mathematics "Surface Tension in Biology"

ABSTRACT We present the results of recent investigations of several biological systems dominated by the influence of surface tension. Particular attention is given to elucidating natural strategies for water-repellency, underwater breathing, fluid transport on a small scale, and walking on water. Examples are primarily taken from the world of insects, but capillary feeding in shorebirds is also highlighted. BRIEF ACADEMIC/EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND: PhD Harvard, 1993 Postdoc at DAMTP, University of Cambridge, 1993-97 MIT Department of Mathematics, 1998-present CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS: Geophysical fluid dynamics, surface tension driven flows. Now actively involved in biological fluids.