This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (CFDA 47.049 - Mathematical and Physical Sciences) supports collaborative research focused on elucidating the fluid dynamics of biological and bioinspired filtering structures at the mesoscale. The $175,324 award to the University of Arizona, effective from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2027, aims to develop open-source numerical software and simulation techniques to model complex flow patterns around porous, branched, and hairy filtering structures utilized by numerous small organisms. Key research goals include: 1) understanding how small-scale flow patterns affect the capture of microscopic particles and Brownian swimmers, and 2) determining the collective impact of fundamental behaviors in small organisms on particle capture and targeting in the presence of fluid flow. The research findings and modeling frameworks developed under this grant can be broadly applied to other biological systems involving mesoscale exchange, such as the filtering structures of fish or the chemical sensors of insects and crabs.
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