PhD student

Adaptations of plant leaves for dissipating or exploiting impact energy

Coming from a biomimetics background, I am fascinated by interdisciplinary research combining biology, physics and engineering. After looking at the biomechanics of insect claws and mandibles and their interaction with plant material during my undergraduate degree at Bremen City University in Germany and in project placements at the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, I now find myself entirely immersed in the plant kingdom. In my PhD, I am looking at different approaches how plants deal with impacts from rain and hail and which geometric parameters or material properties determine a leaf’s resistance to impact damage. Apart from looking at a wide variety of different plant leaves, I am also studying the carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes gracilis, which can trap insects by exploiting energy from drop impacts.