Achievement

An IGERT Traineeship allowed Lindsay Waldrop to increase the participation of women in biomechanics and fluid dynamics. Lindsay led a team of four biology undergraduate women in an IGERT modeling project that seeks to understand fluid flow through chemosensory hair arrays during the growth of a crustacean. The team built models representing animals of different sizes. Each student was assigned a different body size and was responsible for every step in the experimental process. They learned dynamically-scaled physical modeling and had to construct their own models. Students gathered data on their models using particle image velocimetry, and analyzed their own data using mathematics software (MATLAB). They worked in parallel on their models, learning and supporting each other during the duration of the experiment. The team mastered techniques used in engineering and physics that had previously intimidated them and prevented them from engaging in interdisciplinary collaborations.