| NSF Org: |
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | June 25, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 25, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 1952756 |
| Award Instrument: | Fellowship Award |
| Program Manager: |
Aisha Morris
armorris@nsf.gov (703)292-7081 EAR Division Of Earth Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | August 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $174,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $174,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
Huber Heights OH US 45424 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Salt Lake City UT US 84112-0090 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
Postdoctoral Fellowships, Sedimentary Geo & Paleobiology |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
An NSF EAR Postdoctoral Fellowship has been granted to David J. Peterman to carry out research and education plans at the University of Utah under the mentorship of Dr. Kathleen Ritterbush. The research project focuses on investigating the aquatic biomechanics of fossil cephalopods (e.g. nautiloids, ammonoids, etc.) to disentangle the relationship between shell form and function. During their extensive evolutionary history, thousands of cephalopod species experimented with wildly different shell morphologies while serving as vital components of marine ecosystems. Despite their abundance, diversity, and rapid turnover, little is known about the specific modes of life or life habit assumed by characteristic morphotypes, or the functional morphology of certain shell features. Therefore, understanding the properties of these diverse organisms is necessary to integrate morphology into the current grasp of evolution and extinction, the constraints on biogeographic dispersal, and the paleoecology of these key components of marine ecosystems. The project will construct a self-sustaining, state-of-the-art, aquatic biomechanics laboratory while fostering education in emerging technologies in engineering and computer science, and thus promoting the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration.
In order to investigate the interaction between ecology and evolution for shelled cephalopods, the PI will develop a cutting-edge workflow for the generation of neutrally buoyant cephalopod models in virtual and physical settings. The proposed virtual modeling of fossils serves as an alternate approach to tomographic techniques. Additionally, their physical counterparts can be used to assess complex physical properties in a chaotic, real world setting. Such models will allow the computation of physical properties that acted on these animals during life. These properties include hydrostatics (the conditions for neutral buoyancy, stability, life orientation, the directional efficiency of movement) and hydrodynamics (drag, lift, and swimming capabilities). Such properties are fundamental to better understand the constraints on locomotion, modes of life, life habit, paleoecology, and the selective pressures acting on the targeted cephalopods (from the scale of individual communities to entire morphotypes). Due to the vast temporal range, ubiquity, diversity, and extensive geographic distributions of shelled cephalopods, evaluating their syn vivo physical properties is vital to fully-reconstruct almost any marine ecosystem during most of the Phanerozoic Eon. This project received co-funding from the Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology program in the Earth Science division.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Project Outcomes Report: NSF EAR-PF #1952756
Project Title: Bringing fossil cephalopods back to life: virtual and physical assessment of hydrostatics, hydrodynamics, and functional morphology.
Recipient Organization: University of Utah
Funding Period: 08/01/2020 ? 07/31/2022
PI: David J. Peterman
Though this project, we developed cross-disciplinary techniques to "resurrect" extinct animals with virtual models, computer simulations, physical models, and biomimetic robots. We openly share these techniques that add a deep-time context to biomechanics research, allowing unprecedented views into ancient ecosystems and natural selection. Furthermore, our approaches create new avenues for bioinspired technology by expanding model systems and morphologies to those lost by extinction. This project has also supported the mentorship of graduate and undergraduate students and expanded the infrastructure of the AMMLab (Ammonoid Motility Modeling Laboratory) at the University of Utah. New facilities for physical model fabrication and underwater motion tracking provide a foundation for future research and integrative teaching approaches at the University.
The approaches developed during this project provide new perspectives into aquatic locomotion and the physical constraints acting on marine organisms through deep time. Furthermore, they add much needed context to the modes of life and ecological roles of marine organisms that were major components of marine ecosystems for hundred of millions of years (i.e., ectocochleate cephalopods; ammonoids, nautiloids, and others). These techniques include: 1) workflows for detailed computational reconstructions of ancient animals from fossil remains, 2) determination of key biomechanical properties (i.e., hydrostatics; buoyancy, orientation, stability, and directional movement efficiency), 3) imparting physical models with proper hydrostatic properties (mass distribution replicated at submillimeter-level accuracy), and 4) construction of neutrally buoyant, untethered, self-propelling robots. Each of these techniques are openly shared through 6 peer reviewed papers, related conference presentations, and online supplement.
This project presents an important step to the bridge the gap between tethered biomechanical models, and free swimming, lifelike robots. These approaches allow hydrostatics, hydrodynamics, and their interactions to be investigated comprehensively (which are often viewed separately). The functional morphology of the fossil record supplies an evolutionary context to physical constraints and functional tradeoffs (e.g., stability and maneuverability) faced by both organisms and human technologies (e.g., underwater vehicles). Finally, this work offers unique views into aquatic locomotion, the functional complexity of ancient ecosystems, and life's responses to global change over vast evolutionary timescales.
Last Modified: 10/06/2022
Modified by: David J Peterman
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