| Lecture I: Date and Time: |
Animal Group Motion in a Fluid Medium 10:00 – 11:30AM, September 12th, 2017 |
| Lecture II: Date and Time: |
Introduction of Technion Program on Autonomous Systems 10:00 – 11:30AM, September 14th, 2017 |
| Speaker: | Prof. Daniel Weihs, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Israel |
| Venue: | Hall Room, Building 1, Institute of Mechanics, CAS 15 Beisihuanxi Road, Haidian District Beijing 100190, China |
Abstract:
Fluid mechanical principles are used to identify the energetic advantages of group motion of aquatic and aerial animals. After a short description of the conditions of the marine and atmospheric environment, a survey of over 40 years of research is presented. Among the topics discussed are the energetic gains of fish in large schools, including a recent study of stability. The background of dolphin drafting, in which mother dolphins help their young, and the group motion of salps – (marine invertebrates moving by jet propulsion) among additional, including some open problems.
About Lecturer:
Daniel Weihs (Ph.D Technion, 1971) is one of only 5 Distinguished Professors at Technion. He was Provost (1998-2000), Dean of Aerospace Engineering(1987-1989), Dean of the Graduate School (1996-1998) and Director of the Neaman Advanced Research Institute( 1990-1995). He is member of the Steering Committee of the Israel Space Agency since 1987 and has been Chairman of the Israel National Committee for Space Research since 2005. Most recently he has been Chief Scientist of the Israel Ministry of Science & Technology and head of Technion’s Autonomous Systems Program, including all aspects of advanced robotics. He is a foreign member of the US National Academy of Engineering, and Fellow of the American Physical Society. He has been on the boards of companies such as Israel Aircraft Industries, Beit Shemesh Engines, Israel Limnological and Oceanographic Research Co. and others. He has been on the Board of Governors of Ben Gurion University since 1988 and member of the Academic Advisory Committee to the President and Rector. He has published more than 150 scientific papers and presented over 120 talks, many invited at international conferences. His education has been in Aeronautical Engineering ( B.Sc, 1964, M.Sc 1968, Ph.D, 1971) , all degrees received at Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. He worked in jet engine design and wind tunnel design and testing, including development of intakes for two indigenous fighter aircraft, and has been active in Unmanned aircraft development since 1974. In another area, he worked on spraying techniques for painting and combustion, including contributing to the development of “Reactive Armor” against shaped charge penetration. He has been active in the field of bioinspired engineering and the biomimetics of bird, fish and dolphin locomotion for over 35 years and published over 70 papers both on the theoretical and experimental aspects of biomimetic research.