Duncan J. Irschick
Professor
Biology
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
United States of America
Biography
Duncan J. Irschick is an integrative biologist and innovator interested in the evolution and ecology of animal athletics, and how biological form informs synthetic design. Some of his research interests include gecko adhesion, 3D-imaging, animal movement, and bioinspiration. He is a co-inventor of two technologies – GeckskinTM, a bioinspired superadhesive, and BeastcamTM, a portable multi-camera technology that can create high-resolution 3D models of living creatures. He is also the co-founder and director of Digital Life (www.digitallife3d.com), a non-profit imitative to create and distribute high-resolution 3D models of life on earth, and the Center for Evolutionary Materials at UMASS Amherst. Duncan has published 137 papers on animal function and evolution, and has been a co-inventor on several patents. He has received funding from NIH, NSF, and private foundations, and media attention from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNET.org, and CNN. Irschick has been invited to 76 talks for Universities and organizations all over the world. He has been a Keynote and plenary speaker for many different organizations and Universities. In 2014 and 2016, he was honored with the Outstanding Research Award, the Chancellors Medal, and the Distinguished Faculty Lecture Award from the University of Massachusetts.
Research Interest
Functional Morphology, Evolution, and Behavioral Ecology
Publications
-
Irschick, D.J., Losos, J.B. 1999. Do lizards avoid habitats in which their performance is submaximal? The relationship between sprinting capabilities and structural habitat use in Caribbean anoles. The American Naturalist, 154: 293-305.
-
Irschick, D.J., Jayne, B.C. 1999. Comparative three-dimensional kinematics of the hindlimb for high-speed bipedal and quadrupedal locomotion of lizards. Journal of Experimental Biology, 202: 1047-1065.
-
Irschick, D.J., Vitt, L.J., Zani, P., Losos, J.B. 1997. A comparison of evolutionary radiations in Mainland and West Indian Anolis lizards. Ecology, 78: 2191-2203.
