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SUMMARY:MechE Colloquium: Problems of Planktonic Navigation
DTSTART:20260317T120000
DTEND:20260317T130000
DTSTAMP:20260501T141525Z
UID:da225987f7dba72e818a23ef8d1522799db516b7e07b958b17f57867
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Christophe Eloy\, Centrale Méditerranée\, IRPHE ins
 titute\, Aix-Marseille Université\nAbstract: Plankton face the challeng
 ing task of navigating oceanic turbulence using only hydrodynamic and chem
 ical cues to escape predators or catch prey. This seminar focuses on one o
 f such tasks: the problem of vertical navigation in turbulence or how a mi
 croscopic swimmer can move upward or downward using only local velocity gr
 adients.\nI first present a theoretical model showing that an optimal swim
 ming direction can be derived under locally steady flow conditions. Numeri
 cal simulations reveal that organisms following this strategy can surf on
  turbulence\, achieving vertical speeds of twice their own swimming speed.
  Experiments with larval snails support this mechanism. I then discuss how
  reinforcement learning recovers similar strategies in complex flows and c
 onclude by showing how passive flexible bodies can reproduce these behavio
 urs through fluid–structure interactions alone.\n\n\nBiography: Christo
 phe is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Centrale Méditerranée\, 
 working at the “Institut de recherche sur les phénomènes hors équilib
 re” (IRPHE\, Marseille). Physicist by training\, his work combines mathe
 matical models\, numerical simulations\, and experiments at the interface 
 of physics\, mechanics\, applied mathematics\, and biology. His current re
 search themes include fluid–structure interactions\, locomotion across s
 cales\, the growth and form of trees\, collective motion\, bio-inspired ro
 botics\, and plankton behavior.
LOCATION:MED 0 1418 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MED%200%201418 https://epf
 l.zoom.us/j/61360740951
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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