NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute for FY 2012 in China

Caspers Philip B, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Philip Caspers of Virginia Tech to conduct a research project, entitled "Engineering analysis of conservation artifacts in bat specimens from China," during the summer of 2012 at Shandong University in Jinan, Shandong Province. The host scientists are Dr. Rolf Mueller and Dr. Ying Lui. The intellectual merit of the research project is the development of a methodology to digitally restore the deformed morphology in fluid preserved specimens at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Specifically, the goal of the research is to study the time genesis of deformations in bat pinnae (ears) and design digital procedures for undoing these artifacts and restoring the life-like shape of the bat pinnae digitally. Understanding how deformations in bat pinnae arise in fluid preservation in many ways is equivalent to understanding how the morphology of fine tissue structures change with preservation. By developing a method to digitally reverse deformed bat pinnae, this methodology can extend to other deformed tissue structures in preserved specimens. Ultimately, this technique allows biologists to analyze preserved specimens better using digital methods and helps engineers bridge the gap between preserved biodiversity and modern digital engineering analysis. The Broader Impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce.