Dr. Christina Harvey
Aerospace Engineer & Zoologist
(she/her)
I lead the Biologically-Informed Research and Design (BIRD) lab at UC Davis, where we study how, when, and why animals adjust their morphology in flight. Our research aims to inspire highly maneuverable and adaptable uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and to advance our understanding of biological flight. The work integrates biological and engineering knowledge and techniques.
For more information or to discuss a possible position or collaboration, please contact me or visit the BIRD Lab website.
Experience
Experience
Educational background
Educational background
Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering Advisor: Prof. Daniel Inman Thesis: Avian wing joints provide longitudinal flight stability and control
2018-2022
M.Sc. in Zoology Advisor: Prof. Douglas AltshulerThesis: Gull wing morphing allows active control of trade-offs in efficiency, maneuverability and stability
2016-2018
B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering Aeronautical Engineering concentrationCapstone: AEROMcGill Advanced Class SAE Aircraft Design - Team Lead
2011-2016
Skills and Interests
Skills and Interests
Technical
Technical
- Wind tunnel experiments
- Large data set analysis and statistics
- Low speed aerodynamics;
- Flight performance, stability and control
- Programming (R, Python, Matlab)
- Finite element modelling (ANSYS)
Non-technical
Non-technical
- Road biking and spin class
- Backpacking
- Birding
- Gardening in a tiny garden
- Oscar-nominated (and those that should have been) movie watcher
Teaching, Mentoring and Volunteering
Teaching, Mentoring and Volunteering
Teaching
Teaching
- Teaching assistant; Zoological Physics (BIOL/PHYS 438)
- Teaching assistant; Intro to Animal Locomotion (BIOL 325)
- High school lectures on bio-inspired flight
- Lecturer for UM Transfer Student Bootcamp on presentation skills
Mentoring
Mentoring
- Advising an undergraduate research project (SS 2020, W 2021)
- Graduate Society for Women Engineers (GradSWE)
- A.E.R.O mentorship program (AMP)
- Graduate Rackham International (GRIN)
- GSAC incoming graduate students program (Co-founder)
Volunteering
Volunteering
- Scientific program committee volunteer, North American Ornithological Conference
- Graduate student representative on the Aerospace Department Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee
- Aerospace GSAC DEI sub-committee; discussion co-lead and mentorship program co-lead
- Aerospace GSAC, Website creation/maintaince and events
Fellowships
Fellowships
- 2021 Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship
- François-Xavier Bagnoud Fellowship
- NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship - Doctoral
Publications and Presentations
Publications and Presentations
2022
2022
- C. Harvey and D.J. Inman. (2022). Gull dynamic pitch stability is controlled by wing morphing
- C. Harvey, L.L. Gamble, C.R. Bolander, D.F. Hunsaker, J.J. Joo, and D.J. Inman. (2022). A review of avian-inspired morphing for UAV flight control.
Progress in Aerospace Sciences. doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2022.100825 - C. Harvey, V. B. Baliga, J.C.M. Wong, D. L. Altshuler, and D. J. Inman. (2022). Birds can transition between stable and unstable states via wing morphing.
Nature. doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04477-8 - C. Harvey, V.B. Baliga, J.C.M. Wong, D.L. Altshuler, and D.J. Inman. (2022). Avian flight maneuverability: An inertial perspective.
In Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
2021
2021
- C. Harvey, V. B. Baliga, C. D. Goates, D. F. Hunsaker, and D. J. Inman. (2021). Gull-inspired joint-driven wing morphing allows adaptive longitudinal flight control.
Journal of the Royal Society Interface. doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0132 - C. Harvey, and D.J. Inman. (2021). Aerodynamic efficiency of gliding birds vs. comparable UAVs: a review.
Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/abc86a - C. Harvey and D.J. Inman. (2021). Experimental investigation of rigid gull wings across their range of motion.
In AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition 2021, Virtual.
2020
2020
- L.L. Gamble, C. Harvey, and D.J. Inman. (2020). Load alleviation of feather-inspired compliant airfoils for instantaneous flow control.
Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/ab9b6f - C. Harvey, V.B. Baliga, and D.J. Inman. (2020). Control force required to morph the elbow and wrist in gulls.
In AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition 2020, Orlando, FL, USA. doi.org/10.2514/6.2020-1037 - C. Harvey, V.B. Baliga, D.L. Altshuler and D.J. Inman. (2020). Static longitudinal stability of four avian species' wings.
In Gordon Research Conference - Multifunctional Materials and Structures, Ventura, CA, USA.
2019
2019
- C. Harvey, V.B. Baliga, P. Lavoie, and D.L. Altshuler. (2019). Wing morphing allows gulls to modulate static pitch stability during gliding.
Journal of the Royal Society Interface. doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2018.0641 - C. Harvey and D.J. Inman. (2019). A finite element analysis of a gull wing through varied morphed configurations.
In ICAST 2019: 30th International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies, Montreal, QC, CA. - C. Harvey, V.B. Baliga, D.L. Altshuler, and D.J. Inman. (2019). Pitch Control Effectiveness of the Avian Elbow and Wrist via a Numerical Lifting Line Analysis.
In AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition 2019, San Diego, CA, USA. doi.org/10.2514/6.2019-0853
2018
2018
- L.L. Gamble, C. Harvey, and D.J. Inman. (2018). Analysis of a Morphing Bioinspired Flexible Airfoil Concept.
In ICAST 2018: 29th International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies, Seoul, Korea. - C. Harvey, V.B. Baliga, P. Lavoie, and D.L. Altshuler. (2018). Gulls manipulate their elbow to modulate aerodynamic trade-offs.
In Gordon Research Conference - Multifunctional Materials and Structures, Ventura, CA, USA. - C. Harvey, V.B. Baliga, P. Lavoie, and D.L. Altshuler. (2018). How elbow deflection affects the aerodynamic performance and stability of gliding gulls at varying turbulence conditions
In Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Media
Media
Quanta Magazine Geometric Analysis Reveals How Birds Mastered Flight; Y. Saplakoglu (2022-08-03)Michigan Engineering News Avian secret: The key to agile bird flight is switching quickly between stable and unstable gliding; K. McAlpine (2022-03-09)Voice of America (VOA) Russian Service, Golosameriki TV interview; A. Gorbachev (2021-07-16)The Next Byte, Wevolver Podcast; D.S. Mitchell, F. Moghaddam (2021-06-22)SlashGear New wing design could help aircraft be more stable in windy conditions; S. McGlaun (2021-06-11)Michigan Engineering News Bird-like wings could help drones keep stable in gusts; K. McAlpine (2021-06-10)talkRADIO Radio Interview; P. Ross (2019-01-12)The Ubyssey Study: Seagull wings could inspire improved drone design; P. Chong (2019-01-11)Engineering.com Gull Wing Morphing Research Aims to Enhance Flight Design; J. Heimgartner (2019-01-10)Interesting Engineering Biomimicry: Gull Birds Could Help Inspire Better Airplane Design; D. Alexander (2019-01-04)The Engineer Gulls’ wings offer inspiration for variable-geometry aircraft (2019-01-04)The Times Gulls’ bendy wings point way ahead for smarter drones; T. Whipple (2019-01-03)USA Today Gull 'wing morphing' could be the future of airplane tech; Amaze Lab (2019-01-03)NRC Handelsblad Wiebelende meeuw stabiliseert zich met slim ellebogenwerk; D. Schenk (2019-01-02)