Trap-jaw ants with the Suarez and Patek Labs
I went to Argonne National Lab to help with experiments on the mechanics of snapping in trap-jaw ants. This work is led by Dr. Andy Suarez, who has been studying these amazing animals for many years, and Dr. Sheila Patek, who is an expert on fast elastic-storage mechanisms in nature.
New lab construction breaking ground
Our new lab in Norris Hall, in planning for more than a year, got underway today. We're excited to see how this will turn out. The new space is almost twice as large as the old lab down the hall, and our former department head (Dr. Stefan Duma) allowed me to design the new space from the ground up. This allows us to do things like keep the lights up high to maximize vertical space, and mount rails on the walls and ceilings for camera mount points. We're all excited to see how
