{"686349":{"#nid":"686349","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Benjamin Seleb","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoctor of Philosophy in Quantitative Biosciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Ein the School of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBenjamin Seleb\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWill defend his dissertation\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe fast and the furriest: phase and amplitude dynamics of collective locomotion in sled dogs\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFriday November 21st, 2025\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt 1:00pm ET\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIBB Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Suddath Seminar Room 1128\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeeting URL: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/95175123913?pwd=ZGSaeeuFbafef32RdLSUyUyeyX7BHx.1\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/95175123913?pwd=ZGSaeeuFbafef32RdLSUyUyeyX7BHx.1\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EMeeting ID: 951 7512 3913\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThesis Advisors:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Saad Bhamla\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. William C. Ratcliff\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Young-Hui Chang\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Zeb Rocklin\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Heather Huson\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDepartment of Animal Science\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECornell University\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESummary\/Abstract:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003EComplex systems, from animal groups to evolving landscapes, exhibit collective behaviors that emerge from local interactions and shared constraints. When those interactions are mediated through physical or environmental coupling, coordination can arise without centralized control or explicit communication. This dissertation explores these interactions through the lenses of locomotion and landscape modification, reaching across biomechanics, nonlinear dynamics, and spatial ecology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn harnessed animal teams, the interplay between individual locomotion and network geometry offers a window into mechanically coupled coordination and cooperative transport. High-resolution field measurements from racing sled dogs, collected using animal-borne sensors, are used to quantify stride timing, gait variability, and interaction dynamics within the team. These analyses draw from oscillator theory and computational ethology to interpret collective dynamics, revealing a robust system that tolerates individual autonomy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the landscape scale, agent-based simulations of grazing animals reveal how individual movement decisions, constrained by energetic cost and resource availability, can reorganize the terrain itself. Through repeated feedback between movement and environment, spatially ordered features emerge from the simple behavioral rules of inconspicuous grazers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing a varied toolkit of sensors, theory, and computation, this work shows how coupling and feedback manifest uniquely in collectives across scales. Ironically, whereas the coordinated team hides underlying disorder, haphazard grazers leave behind quiet order.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe fast and the furriest: phase and amplitude dynamics of collective locomotion in sled dogs\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The fast and the furriest: phase and amplitude dynamics of collective locomotion in sled dogs "}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2025-11-11 16:45:08","changed_gmt":"2025-11-11 16:45:59","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2025-11-21T13:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2025-11-21T15:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2025-11-21T15:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2025-11-21 18:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2025-11-21 20:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2025-11-21 20:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"IBB Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Suddath Seminar Room 1128","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}