Math Modeling Seminar: Elephant Olfaction and a Wombat's Cubic Feces

Elephant Olfaction and a Wombat's Cubic Feces

Dr. David Hu
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biology
Adjunct Professor of Physics
Georgia Institute of Technology

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Abstract:
Elephants eat 200 kg of food per day, equating to 200 grams every minute. To locate food quickly, they have more olfactory genes than any other animal, and they also employ periodic sniffs with their trunk. In this talk, I'll show how the frequency of sniffing changes with body size. We will apply the fluid mechanics of cardiovascular flows to calculate the time for odors to diffuse to the elephant's receptors. We visualize flows using experiments with GROMIT, a bellows-driven device that inhales air at the sniffing frequencies of animals, and was awarded third place in a cheese-sniffing machine olfaction competition in Montreal. Lastly, we will present our experiments and modeling of a wombat's cubic feces. The flat faces are created through a drying process analogous to the formation of columnar joints in Giant's Causeway, Ireland; the corners are sculpted by non-uniform material properties in the intestinal wall. Audiences will learn how to use apply mathematical principles to study natural phenomena.

Speaker Bio:
Dr. David Hu is a mechanical engineer who studies the interactions of animals with water. His team has discovered how dogs shake dry, how insects walk on water, and how eyelashes protect the eyes from drying. Originally from Rockville, Maryland, he earned degrees in mathematics and mechanical engineering from M.I.T., and is currently Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biology and Adjunct Professor of Physics at Georgia Tech. He is a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award for young scientists, the Ig Nobel Prize in Physics, and the Pineapple Science Prize (the Ig Nobel of China). He serves on the editorial board of Nature Scientific Reports, PLoS One, and The Journal of Experimental Biology. His work has been featured in The Economist, The New York Times, Saturday Night Live, and Highlights for Children. He is the author of the book "How to Walk on Water and Climb Up Walls: Animal Motion and the Robots of the Future" published by Princeton University Press. He lives with his wife and two children in Atlanta, Georgia. His profile is in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/science/hu-robotics.html

Intended Audience:
Undergraduates, graduates, and experts. Those with interest in the topic.
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The Math Modeling Seminar will recur each week throughout the semester on the same day and time. Find out more about upcoming speakers on the Mathematical Modeling Seminar Series webpage.