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Within the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, five faculty share interests in the design, function, and evolution of vertebrates-
Elizabeth Brainerd,
Stephen Gatesy, Christine Janis,
Thomas Roberts, and Sharon
Swartz. Together with their graduate students, undergraduates, and postdoctoral fellows,
these researchers form a highly interactive core of biologists with synergistic expertise
and skills. The group's primary focus is
the evolution of the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems, particularly those components used during locomotion. Each laboratory
emphasizes different aspects and approaches, such as skeletal biomechanics and bat flight (Swartz), muscle mechanics and comparative
physiology (Roberts), mammalian paleoecology in relation to Cenozoic climatic changes (Janis), dinosaur paleontology and computer
animation (Gatesy), or evolutionary functional morphology (Brainerd). Members of the group have close ties to faculty in Engineering,
Geology, Computer
Science, Neural
Science, Applied Math, and Orthopaedics. Students entering one of the morphology labs are encouraged
to take advantage of the unique depth EEB and Brown offer in this area.
Individual faculty labs in the Biomedical Center are well-equipped with computers, microscopes, surgical equipment, and other research tools.
The morphology group also has two shared spaces specifically set aside for experiments with live vertebrates. One room contains equipment from
several labs: a variable-speed wind tunnel, a miniature force platform, high and low-speed video cameras and lights, a PEAK motion analysis
system, several treadmills, EMG amplifiers and recorders, a cryotome, stimulators, ovens, and other experimental apparatus.
The second houses
a variable-speed water flume, acquired through an NSF equipment grant, suitable for fresh water and marine organisms. Accredited animal care
housing/surgery and a microscopy facility with technicians are located within the building. The group also maintains a walk-in freezer for
storing large specimens and a diverse comparative teaching collection. Extensive research collections are easily accessible at the Museum of
Comparative Zoology, Harvard University (1 hour), the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University (2 hours), and the American Museum of
Natural History in New York City (3-4 hours).
Box
G, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912
ph: 401.863.3324 | e-mail: Carol_Casper@brown.edu
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