PASADENA, Calif. — Whether circling garbage cans or cruising through alpine meadows, flies impress us with their aerial agility. Rapid sensory processing, efficient muscles, novel aerodynamics, and a robust control system collectively make flies the most sophisticated flying machines on the planet. Recent advances in physics, engineering, and biology have greatly increased our understanding of these common but underappreciated creatures.
On Wednesday, October 27, Michael H. Dickinson, the Zarem Professor of Bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology, will present his talk, "How Flies Fly," the second of the 2004-2005 Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series to take place on the Caltech campus.
Throughout his career, Dickinson has used a variety of tools such as wind tunnels, virtual reality simulators, high speed video, and giant robotic models, to determine how the poppy seed-sized brains of these tiny insects can rapidly control aerodynamic forces. Besides providing a rare glimpse into the cockpit of a fly, this research has a practical side as well--results may lead to the construction of a new class of miniature flying robots.
Caltech has offered the Watson Lecture Series since 1922, when it was conceived by the late Caltech physicist Earnest Watson as a way to explain science to the local community.
Dickinson's lecture will take place at 8 p.m. in Beckman Auditorium, near Michigan Avenue south of Del Mar Boulevard, on Caltech's campus in Pasadena. Seating is available on a free, no-ticket-required, first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call 1(888) 2CALTECH (1-888-222-5832) or (626) 395-4652.