Jim Usherwood
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Jim is a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in the Structure & Motion Laboratory. Jim's research interests cover the mechanics of both terrestrial and aerial locomotion. See his website for detail on his research.
Research
Jim's research interests cover the mechanics of both terrestrial and aerial locomotion. He has projects on the mechanics of walking in birds and toddlers (BBSRC), and cooperative aerodynamics and radio-based animal localisation 'CARDyAL' (EPSRC). He is about to begin a 5-year ‘Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship in Basic Biomedical Science’ to determine the fundamental strategies and constraints of powering locomotion with muscle using limbs that also provide weight support, making use of the altered effective gravity experienced by circle-flying pigeons and terrestrial animals in a centrifuge.
Selected Publications
A more complete and current list, also with better links to the papers, can be found on my Google Scholar profile HERE.
CHANNON, A.J., USHERWOOD, J.R., CROMPTON, R.H., CROMPTON, R.H. GÜNTHER, M.M. AND VEREECKE, E.E. (2011). The extraordinary athletic performance of leaping gibbons. Biol Lett 8, 46-49. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0574
USHERWOOD, J.R., STAVROU, M., LOWE, J.C., ROSKILLY, K. AND WILSON, A.M. (2011). Flying in a flock comes at a cost in pigeons. Nature 474, 494-497. doi:10.1038/nature10164. Not open access: see Link
See also my website
USHERWOOD, J.R. (2010) Inverted pendular running: a novel gait predicted by computer optimization is found between walk and run in birds. Biol Lett. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0256. Open access: see Link
DALEY, M.A. & USHERWOOD, J.R. (2010) Two explanations for the compliant running paradox: reduced work of bouncing viscera and increased stability in uneven terrain. Biol Lett. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0175. Open access: see Link
BOOK CHAPTERS
USHERWOOD, J. R. (2008). Running, hopping and skipping: animal locomotion. In: The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Natural World. Ed. Benton, M.J., Thames Hudson.
USHERWOOD, J. R. (2008). Flying and walking: learning from nature. In: The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Natural World. Ed. Benton, M.J., Thames Hudson.