Adam P. SummersAssociate Professor Associate Professor |
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Research Interests |
Biomechanics and Biomaterials | |
| URL | Lab Page | |
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Academic Distinctions |
Mildred Mathias Award as the highest ranked proposal in the natural sciences –UC MEXUS Program. 2002 George A. Bartholomew Award in comparative physiology and biochemistry from the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology 2003 Fat heads sink ships. (Natural History magazine biomechanics column) selected for inclusion in ‘Best American Nature and Science Writing – 2003’ Richard Dawkins editor. Houghton Mifflin, New York. UCI Campus Village Faculty of the month for March 2004 Celebration of Teaching, Excellence in Undergraduate Education, Biological Sciences, 2004 Golden Apple Award, School of Biological Sciences, Undergraduate teaching, 2004 UCI Academic Senate Award to the Distinguished Assistant Professor for Teaching 2005 |
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| Appointments | Miller Fellow, UC Berkeley 1999-2001 | |
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Research Abstract |
My research interests have been influenced by my background in engineering and mathematics and my love of evolutionary biology. I have many collaborative projects on a variety of vertebrate taxa, including reptiles, amphibians, bony fishes, and cartilaginous fishes. My main research program is in understanding the effects of material properties on the form and structure of organisms. I use the cartilaginous fishes, with a comparison to the bony fishes, as a model system. There are complex interactions between structure and material properties that occur at many different levels. My research approaches the problem at several disparate size scales: the comparative biochemistry of cartilage, ultra- and micro-structural morphology, gross anatomy, and function at the whole animal level. I have found that insights from one level of organization are often informative about another level. | |
| Publications |
Dean, M.N. and A.P. Summers (2006) Mineralized cartilage in the skeleton of cartilaginous fishes. Zoology 109:164-168. Porter, M.E., J.L. Beltrán, T.J. Koob and Summers A.P. (2006) Material properties and biochemical composition of mineralized vertebral cartilage in seven elasmobranch species (Chondrichthyes). Journal of Experimental Biology 209:2920-2928. Swanson, B., Blackledge, T.A., Summers, A.P., and Hayashi, C.Y. (2006) Spider dragline silk: correlated and mosaic evolution in high performance biological materials. Evolution 60:2539–2551. Gorb, S.N., S. Niederegger, C. Y. Hayashi, A. P. Summers, W. Vötsch, and P. Walther (2006) Silk-like secretion from tarantula feet. Nature 443:407. Kajiura, S.M., J. B. Forni, and A.P. Summers. (2005) Olfactory morphology of carcharhinid and sphyrnid sharks – does the cephalofoil confer a sensory advantage? Journal of Morphology 264: 253-263. (cover) |
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| Schaefer, J.T. and A.P. Summers (2005) Batoid wing skeletal structure: novel morphologies, mechanical implications, and phylogenetic patterns. Journal of Morphology 264: 298-313. | ||
| Blackledge, T.A., A.P. Summers, & C.Y. Hayashi (2005) Gumfooted lines and the mechanical properties of spider capture silk. Zoology 108:41-46. | ||
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Kajiura, S.M., J. B. Forni, and A.P. Summers. (2003) Maneuvering in carcharhinid and sphyrnid sharks: the role of the hammerhead shark cephalofoil. Zoology 106(1): 19-28. (cover) Summers, A.P. and Koob, T.J. (2002) The evolution of tendon. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 133(4):1159-1170. |
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Summers, A.P., R. Ketcham, and T. Rowe. (2004) Structure and function of the horn shark (Heterodontus francsisi) cranium through ontogeny – the development of a hard prey crusher. Journal of Morphology 260: 1-12. (cover) Wake, M.H., and A.P. Summers. (2003) Morphology. In Key Concepts and Approaches in Evolutionary Development Biology, B. K. Hall and W. M. Olson eds., Harvard University Press. Pp 268-275. Summers, A.P. M.M. Koob-Emunds, S.M. Kajiura, and T.J. Koob. (2003) A novel fibrocartilaginous tendon from an elasmobranch fish (Rhinoptera bonasus) to Cell and Tissue Research 312: 221-227. |
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| Grant | National Science Foundation McDowell Foundation | |
| Other Experience |
Scientific Advisor Pixar 2000—2003 |
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| Graduate Programs |
Comparative Physiology |
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| Link to this profile | http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=4745 | |
| Last updated | 04/18/2007 | |
| (This faculty member is (or was) affiliated with UCI, but does not currently have an active appointment with UCI.) | ||