Invited talk - Learning from Fish: A Peek into Future Marine Vehicles

Dr Dixia Fan (Westlake University, China), invited by Bioinspired MEMS and Biomedical Devices research unit, ENTEG, and its chairman Prof. A.G.P. Kottapalli will give a talk on Learning from Fish: A Peek into Future Marine Vehicles.

Abstract: The subject of biomimetics looks for inspiration from biological systems to develop innovative, even revolutionary, engineering solutions. For marine science, biomimetics is particularly attractive, as evolution began in the oceans. Animals are found in various strange marine environments, from tropical coral reefs to biting polar ice waters, sunny blue seas, and dark abysses. As a result, different aquatic animals have acquired fantastic survival skills, helping them to overcome various survival challenges. On the contrary, our man-made vehicles still face problems, such as large drag force and limited manoeuvrability. In this talk, I will learn from amazing creatures such as sea turtles, bluefin tuna, puffins, etc. I will discuss the history and current status of bio-inspired research for marine engineering and “peek” into the future of marine technology.

Bio: Dixia Fan obtained his PhD (2019) and MSc (2016) from MIT Mechanical Engineering and BSc (2013) from Shanghai Jiaotong University Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering. He is currently an assistant professor at Westlake University. Before, he founded the MIT “lab of pink coach” in 2019, featuring the world's first intelligent towing tank (ITT) and was in charge of the i4-FSI lab at Queen's University (intelligent, informational, integrative, and interdisciplinary fluid-structure interaction). His research interests focus on physics-informed (and -informative) machine learning and bio-inspired design of vortical flow control and sensing for marine and aerospace applications. Recently he has been awarded the de Florez prize from MIT and the Nico van Wingen prize from Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), and his work has been featured in multiple media, including the cover page of the 40 years anniversary of the Discover Magazine.