Lisa Fauci

Professor of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics and Center for Computational Science
Tulane University

April 17, 2012

Calcium-driven dynamics of undulatory swimmers: a tale of two Reynolds numbers

Locomotion due to body undulations is observed across the entire spectrum of swimming organisms, from microorganisms to fish.  The internal force generating mechanisms range from the action of dynein molecular motors within a flagellar axoneme to muscle activation in lamprey.  We will present recent progress in building multiscale computational models that couple biochemistry, passive elastic properties and active force generation with a surrounding fluid for two swimmers: lamprey and mammalian sperm.  We will discuss the numerical approaches for these fluid-structure interactions that are appropriate for these very different Reynolds numbers.