Sheila N. Patek

Last updated
Sheila N. Patek
Born
Sheila Nadine Patek
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHarvard University (A.B.), Duke University (Ph.D.)
Known forResearch on ultrafast animal movements
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship (2015), NSF CAREER Award, George A. Bartholomew Award
Scientific career
FieldsBiomechanics, Evolutionary biology
InstitutionsDuke University

Sheila Nadine Patek is an American biologist and professor at Duke University, specializing in the biomechanics and evolutionary biology of rapid movements in animals. She serves as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Experimental Biology . [1]

Contents

Education and career

Patek earned her A.B. in Biology from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Biology from Duke University. [2] She conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, before joining the faculty at Duke University, where she leads the Patek Lab in the Department of Biology.

Research

Patek's research focuses on the mechanics and evolutionary biology of ultrafast movements in animals. Her work on mantis shrimp revealed that their appendages can strike with extreme speed and force, producing cavitation bubbles that contribute to their powerful impact. [3] She has also studied the rapid jaw movements of trap-jaw ants and the sound production mechanisms in spiny lobsters.

Honors and awards

Patek has received several honors, including:

Public engagement

In 2007, Patek delivered a TED Talk titled "The shrimp with a kick!" discussing her research on the mantis shrimp's rapid strike. [5] She has also contributed essays and appeared in media discussions emphasizing the importance of basic scientific research. [6]

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ Patek, Sheila N. (2023). "JEB@100: an interview with Deputy Editor-in-Chief Sheila Patek". Journal of Experimental Biology. 226 (13): jeb246250. Bibcode:2023JExpB.226B6250.. doi:10.1242/jeb.246250.
  2. ↑ "Sheila Patek". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.
  3. 1 2 Patek, Sheila N. (2015). "The Most Powerful Movements in Biology" . American Scientist. 103 (5): 330–337. doi:10.1511/2015.116.330.
  4. ↑ "Sheila Patek". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
  5. ↑ "Sheila Patek: The shrimp with a kick!". TED. 5 April 2007.
  6. ↑ "Essay: Why research for the pure sake of knowing is enough". PBS NewsHour.
  7. ↑ Biewener, Andrew A.; Patek, Sheila N. (2018). Animal Locomotion. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780198743163.
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