Physics has a long history of describing swimming of tiny bacteria and algae at the microscale, and large fish and humans at the macroscale. Between these two regimes lies a "mesoscale" that is full of fascinating biological organisms, such as small worms, shrimps, and jellyfish. However, the physics describing how organisms swim and swarm at the mesoscale is poorly understood. I will perform direct experiments on the swimming forces of organisms at the extreme ends of the mesoscale. I will measure and model the dynamics of and interactions between these organisms swimming together in small swarms. I aim to fill major knowledge gaps in the physics underpinning swimming and swarming at the upper and lower mesoscale. My results will provide detailed force and fluid dynamics data for theorists to use in their future models, and for engineers to use in their biomimicry design of swimming and swarming mesorobots for new targeted medical applications, for example.

2023

2027