Robert Dudley
Department of Integrative Biology
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-3140 U.S.A.

5016/5018 Valley Life Science Building
office/lab phone: 510-642-1555
skype: hummingbird441
email: wings@berkeley.edu

Information for prospective Ph.D. students
I and the Berkeley biomechanics group are always pleased to consider Integrative Biology applicants with backgrounds in either engineering or biology, and who are interested in mechanistic and comparative analyses of animal function. Prior research experience and strong GPA and GRE scores (including the biology subject test) are usually advantageous. I am particularly interested in studies of animal flight, either for insects or the diverse radiations of nectar-feeding birds (including hummingbirds and the two Old World families of the sunbirds and honey-eaters) that combine field observations with more in-depth laboratory work on physiological performance. Research into the evolutionary origins of flight in insects and birds, including robotic approaches, are also welcome. Research students are encouraged to ask idiosyncratic biomechanical and ecophysiological questions to which a diversity of technological and phylogenetic methods available in the lab may be applied.

Undergraduate research opportunities
We typically sponsor undergraduates to work in the lab via the UC-Berkeley URAP program. Students will receive training in flight biomechanics by working on a mentored project with either graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, but may subsequently develop their own independent project or honor’s thesis according to specific research interests.