Structure and Motion Laboratory

People

Charlotte Miller

Charlotte chillin' in the woods

Charlotte graduated with a BSc in Biological Sciences from Imperial College, London, in 2003, and completed an MSc in Palaeobiology at the University of Bristol with Professor Michael Benton in 2004. Her research project concentrated on the relationship between bird claw morphology and locomotor behaviour, producing a model for interpreting palaeoecology in extinct birds and non-avialian theropods.

Charlotte's PhD project, supervised by Dr John Hutchinson, focussed on the locomotor biomechanics of large size, establishing limits on the locomotor abilities of elephants as the largest living land animals. This involved anatomical, functional, scaling and biomechanical research on elephant limbs, especially the enigmatic feet. She graduated in 2009.

Charlotte is currently undertaking a Post Doc at Duke University.

Publications

2009	Ren, L., M. Butler, C. Miller, D. Schwerda, M. Fischer, J.R. Hutchinson. 2009. The movements of limb segments and joints during locomotion in African and Asian elephants. Journal of Experimental Biology 211:2735-2751. pdf and associated files (.zip archive)
2008	Miller, C.M., C. Basu, G. Fritsch, T. Hildebrandt, J.R. Hutchinson. 2008. Ontogenetic scaling of foot musculoskeletal anatomy in elephants. J. Roy. Soc. Interface 5:465-476. pdf and associated files (.zip archive)

Books Chapters & Reviews

Hutchinson, J.R., C.E. Miller, G. Fritsch, T. Hildebrandt. 2008. The anatomical foundation for multidisciplinary studies of animal limb function: examples from dinosaur and elephant limb imaging studies. pp. 23-38 in H. Endo and R. Frey (eds.), Anatomical Imaging Techniques: Towards a New Morphology. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. [1.1pdf]

Recent presentations

2008	Miller, C.E., Hill, Z., Ren, L. and Hutchinson, J.R. (2008) Beyond shock absorbers: Elephant feet as multi-functional dynamic structures. Society for Experimental Biology, Annual Main Meeting.
	Miller, C.E. (2008) Elephant foot mechanics: An integrative approach. Centre for Ecology and Evolution Workshop: Modern Approaches in Functional Anatomy.
2007	Miller, C.E., Ren, L. & Hutchinson, J.R. (2007) An integrative analysis of elephant foot biomechanics. Conference Abstract, 8th International Congress on Vertebrate Morphology, Paris.
2006	Miller, C.E., Barber, E., Hutchinson, J.R., Fritsch, G. & Hildebrandt, T. (2006) The scaling of foot musculoskeletal anatomy in elephants. Conference Abstract, Society of Experimental Biology Annual Meeting, Canterbury. 2nd place, Biomechanics poster competition.
2005	Miller, C.E., Benton, M.J. & Hone, D.W.E. (2005) An analysis of claw mechanics in arboreal and terrestrial organisms. Conference abstract, London Evolutionary Research Network Annual Meeting 2005, London.
	Miller, C.E., Benton, M.J. & Hone, D.W.E. (2005) Claw mechanics – Arboreality versus Cursoriality. Conference abstract, University of Bristol Biomechanics Symposium, Bristol.

Structure and Motion Lab These pages maintained by the SML Contact: Alan Wilson