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Contents
Message from the Chair ..................... 1
Student Awards ................................ 1
Student Best Poster Award ................ 1
Student Best Presentation Award ........ 2
Named Student Presentation Awards .. 2
Message from the Divisional Program Officer ........................................... 4
MessagefromtheSecretary .............. 4
Minutes from the Business Meeting ..... 5
Elections .......................................... 5
Division of Comparative Biomechanics
DCB Officers & Representatives
Melina HaleChair 2015-2017
Sheila PatekChair-Elect 2015-2017
MarkDennyPast Chair 2015-2017
Andrea WardSecretary 2014-2016
Joseph ThompsonProgram Officer 2014-2016
NicholasGidmarkStudent/Postdoc Rep 2013-2016
Message from the ChairMelina Hale, [email protected]
While thewarmweatherofWestPalmBeachmayhavehelpedkeepmanyofusgoingthroughthisparticularlychallengingwinter,the inspiring science and engaging conversations of the annualmeetingarealwaysenergizing.The2015meeting’ssuccesswasduetotheeffortsofmanypeople.IntheDCB,I’dparticularlyliketoextendabigthankstoMarkDennywhojustendedhistermasDCBchairhavingledthedivisionoverthepasttwoyears.Hisenergyandthoughtfulperspectivearegreatassetstothedivision.We also owe a debt of gratitude to Andie Ward and Joe Thompson whoseeffortsassecretaryandprogramofficerwerekeytomakingDCBeventsrunsmoothly.
Student Awards
Abigchangeforthe2015meetingwastheformatfortheBestStudent Paper and Poster awards. With the large number of pre-sentations vying for the awards in previous years, it had beenchallengingtocoordinatejudgingeffortsandinsurethatallpre-sentationsreceiveequalconsideration.Forthe2015meeting,DCBinstitutedaselectionprocess,choosingashortlistofpresentationstocompete.Fortheoralpresentations,thefinalistswereshow-casedinonepapersession.Giventhepackedroomandexcep-tionalqualityofthetalks,Iimaginethiswillbecomeahallmarkeventof themeeting.Similarly,havingthestellarposterawardcompetitorsclusteredononedaybroughtadditionalexcitementandattentiontotheposterhall.Congratulationstoallofourfinal-ists and award winners!
Student Best Poster Award:
Winner:SteveHeim.“Simplifyingcontrolthroughactivetailuse.”
Steven Heim, here with Mark Denny, won the DCB student poster prize.
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Finalists:NoahBressman.Visualnavigationandlo-comotorbehaviorsofFundulusheteroclitusinater-restrialenvironment.”
JamesCrall.“Freeflightthroughtoughturbulence:bumblebeeflight stability across body size, speed,andflowregime.”
Kiran Girdhar. “The behavioral space and neuralmodeloflocomotionrepertoireofzebrafish.”
Student Best Presentation Award:
Brett Aiello, the 2015 winner of the Best Student Pre-sentation in DCB
Winner:Brett Aiello. “Pectoral fin proprioception istunedtofinmechanics.”
Runner-up:JornCheney.“Shapingthewingsofbats:muscleandwingskininteractionsinflight.”
Jorn Cheney, runner-up for the 2015 Best Student Pre-sentation in DCB
Finalists: Guillermo Amador.“Eyelashes divert airflow toprotecttheeye.”
JudyJinn.“Quadrupedalloco-motiononthewater’ssurfacebygeckos.”
SandyKawano.“Mixedchainsofsafetyfactorsinthelimbbonesofsalamanders:implicationsfordifferentiallimbfunctionintheevolu-tionofterrestriallocomotion.”
BenjaminPerlmann.“Anodd littlefish thatspendstime…onland!”
Amanda Stowers. “Passive wing morphing as a consequence of centrifugal acceleration in flappingwings.”
Asinpreviousyears,thestudentpresentationawardprocesshasbeendeftlycoordinatedbyJakeSochaandhiseffortsaregreatlyappreciated.ForstudentsinterestedincompetinginJanuary2016,theprocessbeginsatthetimeofabstractsubmissionwhenyouwillsubmitaone-pageextendedabstract,inadditiontotheregularabstract.Finalistswillbechosenearlyin the fall.
Named Student Presentation Awards
AnotherexcitingchangeiscomingtotheBestStu-dent PresentationAwards in 2016.After a year ofdiscussionandvotingbytheDCBmembership,theDivision has named its student awards, honoringseveralofouresteemedcolleagues.
TheStevenVogelAwardfortheBestStudentPosterinbiomechanics.ThisawardwillbenamedforSteveVogel,JamesB.DukeProfessor,Emeritus,intheDepartmentofBiol-ogyatDukeUniversity.Steve’sworkincludesfoun-dational research in biomechanics with a focus influiddynamicsandhehasimpactedmanythroughhis engaging teaching andmentoring. In addition,Stevehasintroducedtheworldtoourfieldthroughhisrigorous,accessibleandalwayspunnybooksonallthingsbiomechanics.Mayweaspireforourpost-ers to be as engaging and illuminating.
The Mimi A. R. Koehl and Stephen A. Wainwright Award for the Best Student Presentation in biome-chanics.Wehadtheunusualbutlovelyresultofatiedvotefornaming the Best Student Presentation Award. The Koehl-Wainwright Best Student Presentation Award isnamedafterMimiA.R.Koehl,ProfessorofIntegra-tiveBiologyattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley,andStephenA.Wainwright,JamesB.DukeProfessorof Biology, Emeritus,Department of Biology,DukeUniversity.
Mimi’sresearchhasbeenfarreachingwithafocusonbiomechanicsoforganisms,fromlargetomicroscop-ic,thatmaketheirlivingsinturbulentandotherwisechallenging environments. She hasmade us thinkabouttheworldinnewways,providinganewviewinto these previously poorly understood systems.Shehasinspiredstudentsandothercolleagueswith
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herintellectualdriveandtheinnovativenatureofherresearchandhasbeenaninfluentialrolemodelandmentortomanyinthefield.
Steve’s research on biomechanical systems hasspannednearlyeveryaxisofdiversityfromplantstoanimals,organismsfrombigtosmall,livinginaquaticandterrestrialenvironments,providingmanyfunda-mentalinsightsintostructure-functionrelationshipsalongtheway.Steveisagenerousmentorwhohaslaunchednumerouscareers inscienceandencour-agedrichinterdisciplinaryexplorationthatmeldsart,science and other fields to generate newperspec-tivesanddirectionsforresearch.
Itwould takemany newsletters to enumerate thecontributionsof these threecolleagues to thefieldofbiomechanics,andwewillprovidemorecompletesynopses of theirmany accomplishmentswith thefirstnamedawardspresentationsatSICB2016.
DCB Elections. Your involvement in the Division is critical for itssuccess. Iencourageyou tovoteonthe slate of nominees presented later in the newslet-terandtoconsiderrunningforofficeinfutureyears.ThisyearthenominationprocesswasrunbyLauraMiller and Mark Westneat. We thank them for their effortstoputtogetheraterrificgroupofcandidates.
Symposia.In2015DCBsponsoredorco-sponsoredanumberof fantastic symposia.Wewant to keepDCBcontributionstothesymposiasessionsatthishigh caliber and thus encourage you to proposeideas. Symposia are great ways to introduce newpeopleand ideastoSICB.Forbiomechanics, therearemanycolleagues inengineering,computationalbiology,andotherfieldswhomaynothavehadtheopportunitytogettoknowSICBandwouldbegreatadditionstoourcommunity.
DCB/DVM Party 2016! We want to have an awe-somejointDCBandDVMsocial/partyforthePort-landmeeting!Anyonewhowantstobeonthepartyorganizingcommitteeorhasideasshouldsendmean email ([email protected]) and we’ll get thegroup together.
Can’t wait until 2016 for more biomechanics? The Society for Experimental Biology meeting willbeheldinPragueJune30–July3,2015,andhasbiomechanics sessions, including one on the “Me-chanicsandbiologicalfunctionsofthearthropodexo-skeleton.”TheAmerican Society of Biomechanics
meetingwillbeinColumbus,OH,thisyear,Aug5–8.AndlookforannouncementsaboutSICB regional meetingsinyourarea.
Carl Gans Award Nominations
TheDivisionofComparativeBiomechanicsisalsoso-licitingnominationsforthe2016 Carl Gans Award. Thisprestigiousawardcanbegivenintwocontexts:(1) for an outstanding young investigator (PhD inpastsevenyears)inthefieldofbiomechanics,or(2)forasignificantcontributiontotheliterature(book,research paper, or other) on biomechanics by amemberofSICBatanycareerstage.Youmayapplydirectlyornominateacolleague.
ForawardsforoutstandingyounginvestigatorNomination materials: A short description of thenominee’swork, relevant reprints,aCV,and threelettersofsupport.Eligibility:Candidatesmusthavereceivedtheirdoctorateinthepastsevenyearsandbe current members of SICB. Candidates cannothavepreviouslywontheBartholomewAward.
ForawardsforahighlysignificantcontributiontotheliteratureNominationmaterials:Acopyofthework,aCV,andthreelettersofsupport.Eligibility:CandidatesmustbecurrentmembersofSICBandnothavewontheBartholomew Award.
TheawardcoversappropriateexpensesfortraveltotheSICBannualmeeting,anawardcertificateand,depending on availability of funds, potential addi-tionalresearchsupportforthewinner.Theselectionprocesswill be ledby JohnLong.Questionsaboutthe process can be directed to me ([email protected]) or John ([email protected]); nominationmaterials should be submitted to me. The deadline for nominations is 24 August 2015.
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Message from the Divisional Program OfficerJoseph Thompson, [email protected]
TheweatheroutsidemyofficewindowinLancaster,PA,overthelastfewdayshasvariedfromcoldandmiserabletobone-chillinglycoldandmiserable.De-spite the respite of a beautiful little snowstorm fol-lowedbysomesunnyweather,theforecastcallsforwindandanotherArcticblast.It’sdefinitelytimetoreminisceaboutWestPalmBeach!
The2015conferenceinWestPalmBeachwasabusyoneforourdivision.TheDCBsponsoredorco-spon-soredover395presentations,dividedinto4sympo-sia,33oralsessions,and15postersessions.Thus,our division sponsoredor co-sponsoredmore thanone-fifthofthepresentationsatSICBthisyear!In-cludedinthistallywasaninauguralsessiondedicatedtothebeststudentpresentation(BSP)competition.Weheardsevenexcellenttalksfromourfinalists.IfyouhaveanyfeedbackaboutournewformatfortheBSPcompetition,pleaseemailme([email protected]).
Lookingaheadtothe2016conference inPortland,OR, theDCB is co-sponsoring threesymposia: (1)Abiggerpicture:organismal functionat thenexusof development, ecology, andevolution; (2)Build-inganextravaganttoolbox:morphologicaldiversityofintromittentorgans;and(3)Neuroecology:neuralmechanismsofsensoryprocessesthatmediateeco-logicallyrelevantbehaviors.Ifyouareinterestedinproposingasymposiumforthe2017conferenceinNewOrleans,thedeadlineisAugust24,2015.Thesymposiumapplicationformisavailableathttp://sicb.org/meetings/2017/callsymp.php. The applicationwebpageincludeslinkstotheNSFguide-linesforfundingsymposiaandimportantguidelinesthat the program officers will use to evaluate theproposals.Registration,lodging,andtravelexpensescanbepaidfromdivisionalfunds(oftenmorethanone division) as well as from grants from outsideagencies, journals and publishers, and equipmentcompanies.Pleaseletmeknowassoonasyoucanif you plan to submit a proposal, and I can shareinformationaboutthesymposiumselectionprocess.Ialsoencourageyoutocontactthosewhohavesuc-cessfullyobtainedexternalfundingforadvice.
Ifyouplantogiveanoralorposterpresentationatthe2016meeting,chooseyourabstracttopicchoices
withcare.TheDCBandDVMProgramOfficersor-ganize abstracts submitted with the primary topic“Morphology.” If youwant your presentation to behandledbytheDCB,pleaseselect“Morphology”asthefirsttopic.
IlookforwardtoreadingyourabstractsinSeptem-ber.SeeyouinPortland!
Message from the SecretaryAndie Ward, [email protected]
Aswinterisholdingonfordearlife,itseemsthatitistheperfecttimetorememberwarmandsunnyWestPalmBeach.Theannualmeetingwasonceagainanexcitingvenuefortheexchangeofideas.Ithoughtthat both the paper and poster presentation sessions featuringourfinalists for thestudentawardswereespeciallyengaginganddemonstratethestrongfu-tureofthedivisionandsociety.
DivisionalElections.Duringthespringelections,wewillbevotingontwopositions:ProgramOfficerandSecretary.ThenomineesforProgramOfficerareDa-vidHuofGeorgiaInstituteofTechnologyandJakeSochaofVirginiaTechUniversity.ThenomineesforSecretaryareMattMcHenryoftheUniversityofCali-forniaIrvineandAndieWardofAdelphiUniversity.Ifyouareinterestedingettinginvolvedinthesociety,feel free tocontactme.Wearealways looking formemberstoserveonnominatingandawardscom-mittees.
SICBDigitalLibrary.Iwouldalsoliketoremindourmembers of two great digital resources for SICBmembers.TheSICBDigitalLibrarycontainsafantas-ticrepositoryofeducationmaterialsthatpertaintobiomechanics (http://sicb.org/dl/biomechan-ics.php3).Pleaseaddtothisdatabaseifyouhavematerialsthatyouthinkothersmightfinduseful.Wealsohavea researcher’s database formembersofDCB (http://sicb.org/divisions/DCB/research-ers.php3). This is a great opportunity for facultywhoarelookingtoattractpotentialstudents,orstu-dentsandpost-docswhowouldliketopublicizetheirwork.Pleasecontactmeifyouwouldliketocontrib-utetotheresearcher’sdatabase.
Best Student Presentation Applications. Please re-membertochecktheBSPguidelinespriortosubmit-tingextendedabstracts.Theextendedabstractwillbedueatthesametimeasthemeetingabstractthisyear.
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Ifyouhaveanyeventsthatyouwouldliketohaveadvertised,pleaseletmeknowandIwillincorporatethem either into a newsletter or submit the infor-mationtotheSICBmemberupdatethatcomesoutmonthly.
Minutes of the 2015 DCB Business Meeting
Election Information: Candidate Biographies
Candidates for Divisional Program Officer
David Hu
David Hu, Candidate for DCB Program Officer
Current Position:Associ-ateProfessorofMechanicalEngineering and Biology,AdjunctProfessorofPhys-ics, Georgia Institute ofTechnology,Atlanta,GA.
Education: Ph.D., Math-ematics (2005), B.S.,Mechanical Engineering(2001),Massachusetts In-stituteofTechnology.
Professional Experience: Associate Professor,GeorgiaInstituteofTechnology(2014-present);As-sistant Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology(2008-2014);NSFMathematical Sciences Postdoc-toralFellow,CourantInstituteofMathematicalSci-ences(2005-2008).
SICB Activities:Co-organizerof2014symposium,“Shaking, dripping and drinking: surface tensionphenomena in organismal biology.” 2014-present:memberofSICBPublicAffairsCommittee(PAC).
Other Memberships:AmericanPhysicalSociety.
Research Interests: Iamamechanicalengineerwho studies the influence of body size on animalformandfunction.Recently,Ihaveappliedthisin-terest in two directions. The first is to understandhowanimalscleanthemselves.Wehavediscoveredhowdogsshaketodry,howeyelashesreduceevapo-ration, and howbees use their body hairs to stayclean.Anotherthrustinmylaboratoryistounder-standmotion inside thebody.Wehavediscoveredhowallmammalsemptytheirbladdersin21seconds
andareworkingonrationalizingthemotionof theintestines.
Goals Statement:AsaSICBattendeeforthelast10years,Iamdelightedtobenominatedforpro-gramofficer.Asyoumayknow,thegoalofthepro-gramofficer is to increaseparticipation in ourAn-nualMeeting.BasedonthewisecounselofretiredDCBprogramofficerLauraMiller,Iwillfocusontwogoals.Myfirstgoalinvolvesabstractorganization.Iwillavoidputtinganentire lab inonesession,butinsteadwillmakeexcitingsessionswithamixofdif-ferentlaboratories,organisms,andageandrankofspeakers. At the same time, I will avoid temporaloverlapandlongwalkingdistancesbetweensimilartalks. Iwill usemypressexperience towrite cre-ativeandcatchytitlestoattractthepress.Mysecondgoalinvolvesnewsymposia.Iwillsolicitexcitingnewideas for symposium proposals, going beyond thetraditionaltopicsofswimming,flyingandterrestriallocomotion,whicharelesscompetitivewithpropos-alsfromotherdivisionsbecausetheyaredoneagainandagain.IwillusemynetworkintheengineeringcommunitytopairanintegralmemberofSICBwithanoutsiderforsymposiumproposals.Overall,Ihopeto bring in freshmethods andperspectives to ouralreadyvibrantcommunity.
Jake Socha
Jake Socha, Candi-date for DCB Program Officer
Current Position: Associate Professor,Department of Bio-medical Engineeringand Mechanics, Af-filiate,DepartmentofBiological Sciences,Virginia PolytechnicInstitute and State
University,Blacksburg,VA.
Education: Postdoctoral Fellow, Argonne NationalLaboratory (2004-2007). Postdoctoral researcher,FieldMuseumofNaturalHistory(2003-2004).Ph.D.in Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University ofChicago (1996-2002). B.S. in Physics andBiology,DukeUniversity(1990-1994).
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Professional Experience: Associate Professor,Virginia Tech (2014-present); Assistant Professor,VirginiaTech(2008-2014);Teacherandsciencede-partmenthead,CentervilleHighSchool,Centerville,LA(1994-1996);TeachForAmericacorpsmember(1994-1996).
SICB Activities:IrantheDCB’sBestStudentPre-sentation program for the past five years (2011-2015)andhelpedtotransformtheprogramtothenewsession-basedformatseeninWestPalmBeach.I was a member of the Public Affairs Committee(PAC)foronetermbeforeservingasthePACChairforfiveyears(2010-2014).AsChair,IfoundedtheStudent Journalism Program, oversaw the transi-tiontoNewswisepressreleasesforthesociety,andhelpedtodevelopyearlyPACworkshops.IamalsocurrentlyservingasEditorforboththeStudentJour-nalism Program and the Newswise press release pro-cess.
Other Memberships:SigmaXi;AmericanSocietyforEngineeringEducation.
Research Interests:Comparativebiomechanicsoflocomotioninvertebratesandinternalflowproduc-tionininsects.Generallymylaboratoryisinterestedin fundamental questions of how animals functionmechanically,andweworkonthingsranging fromgliding in flying snakes and surface-skimming infrogs to tracheal ventilation, circulation, and liquidfeedinginabroadrangeofinsects.Formoreinfor-mation,seewww.esm.vt.edu/~jjsocha.
Goals Statement:DCBisrelativelynew,butisgo-inglikegangbusters.AstheProgramOfficer,mygoalistokeepthefirestokedandtopromotenewbiome-chanics-relatedsymposia,workshops,andsessions.Probablytheissuemostimportanttoallofusistheplacementoftalksandpostersinthe‘right‘session,andI’llworkhardtoputtogetherthemostorganicgroupingspossible.(And,givethesessionsacatchyname.)AsChairofthePAC,Ihaveattendedthepro-gramming meeting and know how to navigate those shark-infestedwaters. I’llfight toput together thebestschedulepossible,andpromisethatonlyFrankFishwillhavetopresentinthelasttimeslot.
Candidates for Secretary
Matt McHenry
Matt McHenry, Candi-date for DCB Secre-tary
Current Position: Associate Professor,University of Califor-niaIrvine.
Education:Ph.D.,In-tegrative Biology, UCBerkeley(2002);B.A.,BiologyandArt,Vas-sarCollege(1995).
Professional Experience: Assistant and Associ-ate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,UCIrvine(2005–present);PostdoctoralResearcher,University of Groningen (2004-2005); PostdoctoralResearcher,HarvardUniversity(2002-2004).
SICB Activities: “Southwest Organismal Biology”Regional Meeting, organizer (2014); Symposium“When Predators Attack,” co-organizer (2013);Symposium “Sensory Biomechanics,” co-organiz-er (2009); Student Support Committee, member(2008); Best Student Presentation Competition,DCB,Chair(2003-2004).
Other Memberships:SocietyforExperimentalBi-ology;AmericanPhysiologicalSociety;theInterna-tionalSocietyforNeuroethology;SigmaXi.
Research Interests: The biomechanics and sen-sorybiologyofanimals.Recentresearchhasfocusedonpredator-preyinteractionsinfish.
Goals Statement: Biomechanics has explodedattheSICBannualmeetings inthepast15years.Guidedbyoursenior leadershipand fueledby therecruitmentofgreatyoungminds,SICBhasbecomethe topannual event in theworld for comparativebiomechanics. Iwould like to see us build on thismomentumbycommunicatingtoexistingmemberstheopportunitiesthatexistinDCB.Iamalsokeenlyinterestedinwaysthatwecanexpandthediversityofourcommunitythroughthestudentsthatweat-tractandbyinvitingscientistsfromrelatedfieldsofstudytoparticipateinourmeetings.
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Andie Ward
Andie Ward, Candidate for DCB Secretary
Current Position: As-sociateProfessorofBi-ology, Adelphi Univer-sity,GardenCity,NY.
Education: B.S., Biol-ogy, Wake Forest Uni-versity (2000); Ph.D.,Organismic and Evolu-tionaryBiology,Univer-
sityofMassachusettsAmherst(2005).
Professional Experience:AssociateProfessor,De-partmentofBiology,AdelphiUniversity(2012-pres-ent); Assistant Professor, Department of Biology,AdelphiUniversity(2007-2012);PostdoctoralSchol-ar,DepartmentofOrganismalBiologyandAnatomy,TheUniversityofChicago(2005-2007).
SICB Activities: Secretary, DCB (2014-2015);Member,PublicAffairsCommittee(2009-2013).
Other Memberships:InternationalSocietyofVer-tebrateMorphology.
Research Interests:bodyshapeevolution,includ-inghowbodyshapeaffectslocomotoryperformanceinaquaticvertebrates;theeffectsofenvironmentalperturbations on musculoskeletal development infishes.
Goals Statement:Thefieldofcomparativebiome-chanicsisanexcitingfieldtobeworkingin.Overthepastyear,Ihaveworkedonbehalfofthedivisiontoengagemoreparticipants.Iwanttohelpthedivisioncontinuetogrowandrecruitnewmembers,aswellasretainourcurrentmembers.Assecretary,Iwillcontinuetoworktogetthemessageofthedivisionouttothemembership,society,andintothepublicsphere.
Highlight from the Researchers Database: How fish alter their swimming mechanics and physiology when ex-posed to turbulent flow environments; James Liao
