Unsteady hydrodynamics in bio-inspired propulsion

Dr. John Dabiri

TUESDAY: November 3, 2009 2:00 P.M. in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium

Abstract

Jellyfish are the oldest, simplest, and arguably most successful species of swimming animal in the world. Yet they are primarily considered a nuisance on beaches or, at best, an attraction for aquarium-goers. I will describe how a biology-inspired approach to engineering has placed jellyfish at the center of efforts to build next-generation underwater vehicles. In particular, physical principles of unsteady vortex dynamics are extracted from laboratory and SCUBA studies of jellyfish, and are subsequently applied to the design of a propeller-driven, unmanned underwater vehicle. Improvements in hydrodynamic efficiency of up to 50 percent are achieved in experiments, demonstrating the potential of bio-inspired approaches to propulsion.

Speaker

John Dabiri is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Aeronautical Laboratories and the Option of Bioengineering at Caltech. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.S.E. degree summa cum laude in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in June 2001. In September 2001, he came to Caltech as a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow, Betty and Gordon Moore Fellow, and Y.C. Fung Fellow in Bioengineering. Under the supervision of Professor Morteza Gharib, he earned an M.S. degree in Aeronautics in June 2003, followed by a Ph.D. in Bioengineering with a minor in Aeronautics in April 2005. He joined the Caltech faculty in May 2005. In 2008, he was selected as an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator for research in bio-inspired propulsion, and Popular Science magazine named him one of its "Brilliant 10" scientists. He was selected for a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2009.