On Wednesday, October 18 at 6:30 pm, the Arnold Arboretum hosts Lorna Gibson, PhD, Matoula S. Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a free lecture (registration required at 617-384-5277, or email adulted@arnarb.harvard.edu).
What do you get from a bird-lover who is a materials science engineer? A close look at feathers. In this second installment of On the Wing, Lorna Gibson discusses how down keeps a bird warm, how the structure of the feather shaft reduces its weight, and how adaptations of flight feathers produce or suppress sound.
