Fantastic Feathers: Form and Function

Professor Lorna J. Gibson presents the 2017 John Wulff Lecture for the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT

Abstract
When we think of birds, we think of feathers. Feathers give birds their color, from the bright red of a male Cardinal to the iridescent reds and greens of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Feathers keep birds warm and dry: down provides excellent insulation against heat loss and water really does roll off a duck’s back. Feathers form the aerodynamic shape of the wing, enabling flight. A Barn Owl’s flight feathers suppress sound, allowing it to fly nearly silently, while its ruff feathers reflect and focus sound into its ears, enabling the owl to hunt in total darkness by sound alone. This talk describes how the microscopic structure of feathers gives rise to their remarkable properties.

The Wulff Lecture is an introductory, general ­audience, entertaining lecture that aims to ­educate, inspire, and encourage MIT under­graduates to take up study of materials science and engineering and related fields. The entire MIT community, particularly freshmen, is invited to ­attend. The Wulff Lecture honors the late Professor John Wulff, a skilled, provocative, and ­entertaining teacher who conceived of a new ­approach to teaching general chemistry and ­inaugurated the popular freshman subject, 3.091 Introduction to Solid State Chemistry.

Bio
Lorna J. Gibson, Matoula S. Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, studies the mechanical behavior of materials, specializing in materials with a cellular structure, such as engineering honeycombs and foams, scaffolds for regenerative engineering, and natural materials such as wood, bamboo and plant leaves and stems. She is the co-author of several books: Cellular Solids: Structure and Properties (with MF Ashby), Metal Foams: A Design Guide, (with MF Ashby, AG Evans, NA Fleck, JW Hutchinson and HNG Wadley) and Cellular Materials in Nature and Medicine (with MF Ashby and BA Harley).

Professor Gibson teaches 3.032 Mechanical Behavior of Materials and 3.054 Cellular Solids: Structure, Properties and Applications. Both are also available online through edX (3.032x and 3.054x). In Fall 2017 she will also be teaching a Freshman Seminar: How Birds Work. Professor Gibson is a MacVicar Faculty Fellow, MIT's top award for undergraduate teaching. She has served as Chair of the Faculty and Associate Provost at MIT.