Dr. Anna Westermeier

Project

BioElast – Kinematic Principles and Motion Design in Shape-Shifting Plant Structures

Project description
In my project, which is funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg, I investigate plants that are able to achieve very fast movements. I am interested in the kinematic principles and functional-morphological and biomechanical characteristics underlying this capacity. My focus lies on analysing the active and/or passive actuation mechanisms enabling the complex global deformation that occurs in carnivorous plants and orchid pollination systems.

First Supervisor
Prof. Dr. Thomas Speck

Publications in livMatS

• Structural gradients and anisotropic hydraulic conductivity in the enigmatic eel traps of carnivorous corkscrew plants (Genlisea spp.)*
  Carmesin, C. F., Fleischmann, A. S., Klepsch, M. M., Westermeier, A. S., Speck, T., Jansen, S., & Poppinga, S. (2021). Structural gradients and anisotropic hydraulic conductivity in the enigmatic eel traps of carnivorous corkscrew plants (Genlisea spp.). American Journal of Botany. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.1779
• Snapping mechanics of the Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula*
  Sachse, R., Westermeier, A., Mylo, M. D., Nadasdi, J., Bischoff, M., Speck, T., & Poppinga, S. (2020). Snapping mechanics of the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(27), 16035-16042. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2002707117
• 4D pine scale: biomimetic 4D printed autonomous scale and flap structures capable of multi-phase movement*
  Correa, D., Poppinga, S., Mylo, M. D., Westermeier, A. S., Bruchmann, B., Menges, A., & Speck, T. (2020). 4D pine scale: biomimetic 4D printed autonomous scale and flap structures capable of multi-phase movement. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 378(2167), 20190445. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2019.0445
• Adaptive biomimetic actuator systems reacting to various stimuli by and combining two biological snap-trap mechanics*
  Esser, F., Scherag, F. D., Poppinga, S., Westermeier, A., Mylo, M. D., Kampowski, T., Bold, G., Rühe, J., & Speck, T. (2019, July). Adaptive Biomimetic Actuator Systems Reacting to Various Stimuli by and Combining Two Biological Snap-Trap Mechanics. In Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems (pp. 114-121). Springer, Cham. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-24741-6_10
  
  
  * Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy – EXC-2193/1 – 390951807