Project Grant 2436108

Award Date 11/1/24
Completion Date 10/31/27
Dollars Obligated $252K
Federal Grant Program
47.041
Assistance Type
Project Grant
Place of Performance
Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Similar Awards
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) will support a collaborative research effort to investigate the aero-structural dynamics of feathered wings in flapping flight using computational models. The $490,565 award, effective November 1, 2024 through October 31, 2027, will be led by The Johns Hopkins University. The research aims to: (1) investigate the aerodynamics and aero-structural dynamics of individual feathers; (2) study the...
The National Science Foundation awarded a two-year, $138,000 Project Grant to support research linking biomechanics to neurobiology in bird flight. Funded under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), the award will enable study of how coordinated bird flight emerges from visual motion processing. The grant aims to promote progress in the biological sciences and increase understanding of major problems by supporting basic research from September 2021 to August 2023 in Missoula, Montana.
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $390,227 to Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech) to study the relationship between wing kinematics and flight maneuvers in bats. The goal is to leverage insights from bat flight to inform the design of more maneuverable bio-inspired drones. The key products and services to be delivered under this 3-year award include: Measuring the wing motion and flight...
This National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences (CFDA 47.074) project grant, awarded to Scripps College, will address an important knowledge gap by comprehensively exploring the functional relevance of rudimentary locomotor structures in birds. The $327,738 award, effective from October 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025, will couple field observations with biomechanical analyses and musculoskeletal modeling to investigate the gain and loss of wings over three time scales: incipient wings in...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $661,152 Project Grant under its Biological Sciences (CFDA 47.074) program to the Regents of the University of California at Riverside. This 3-year award, effective from December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2027, will fund research on the aeroacoustics of the quiet flight of hunting owls. The key objectives of this project are to: 1) Investigate whether owls employ a "stealth mode" to minimize sound production during hunting, 2) Conduct...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $150,000 EAGER/Collaborative Research Project Grant to the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) under the NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041). This 2-year grant supports research to investigate the remarkable stability and recovery capabilities of flying insects, such as hawkmoths, during high-speed flight maneuvers. The project combines mathematical analyses, high-fidelity computer simulations, and comparisons to experimental data to...
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Directorate awarded a $147,827 EAGER/Collaborative Research grant to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) to investigate the extraordinary stability and rapid recovery capabilities of flying insects, specifically the hawkmoth. This Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) project will use mathematical analyses and high-fidelity computer simulations to fully explore and explain how certain insects can tolerate large...
This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $292,738 to the University of Arizona to conduct research on the inner structure of leading-edge vortices on swept-back wings. The goal is to develop a theoretical model to explain recent observations and identify potential flow control methods for tailless aircraft configurations. The research approach involves using a flat plate cranked wing model with a sharp leading edge to study the...
This $365,447 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports fundamental research to model the influence of turbulence on flow-induced instabilities of large flexible structures, with a focus on improving the design of wind turbine blades. The research aims to develop a novel dynamic model for fluid-structure interaction systems that accounts for the effects of three-dimensional turbulent flow on the onset and post-critical...
This $192,283 Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports research to develop a new dynamic model for fluid-structure interaction (FSI) systems, with a focus on large wind turbine blades. The goal is to improve understanding of how turbulence influences flow-induced instabilities in flexible structures like wind turbine blades, enabling safer and more efficient blade designs. The research combines experimental measurements and...

This Project Grant award for $251,622 from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports a collaborative research effort to investigate the aero-structural dynamics of feathered wings in flapping flight. The primary goals are to: 1) study the aerodynamics and aero-structural dynamics of individual feathers, 2) examine the interactional flow effects in multi-feather configurations, and 3) explore the aerodynamics of flapping flight with feathered wing-inspired models.

The research combines experiments on isolated feathers, groups of feathers, computational modeling, and live bird observations to develop first-of-their-kind models that incorporate complex vortex flows, aero-structural deformations, and feather permeability. The findings could improve the design of drones, making them lighter, quieter, and more efficient, as well as enhance understanding of flow over porous surfaces with applications in aeronautics, biomedicine, and engineering. The award also supports exceptional educational and training opportunities for students at the intersection of biology and engineering.

Generated 4/29/25, 5:08 AM