Why Can’t Humans Walk on Water and Climb Walls with their Fingertips like Spiders?

April 10, 2010
An interactive session led by Dr. Rafael Davalos 

Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Tech

Different forces are dominant at different length scales. This is why some bugs can walk on water and mammals can only be so small. This talk will discuss some of the basic physics of scaling laws. We will talk about the role of these laws in nature and how engineers and scientists use these principles when designing and creating microsystems and nanotechnology.

Dr. Rafael Davalos is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Tech. He has a joint appointment with the Virginia Tech- Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. His research interests includes biomedical microdevices and cancer detection and treatment.

April 2010 - Hands-On Exhibits

After each KTU interactive session the students are escorted by their parents to have lunch and then to the hands-on portion of the event. There the students enjoy the experience of interacting with various exhibits from the Virginia Tech community.

April 2010 - Exhibitors
1. Alpha Epsilon
2. Alpha Omega Epsilon
3. Alpha Pi Mu
4. American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
5. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Team (AUVT)
6. Engineers Without Borders - Local and Community Outreach (EWB-LACO)
7. Environmental & Water Resources (EWR) - Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering
8. Dr. Wu Feng - Computer Science Dept.
9. Formula SAE
10. Human Factors & Ergonomics Society (HFES)
11. Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) of Virginia Tech
12. Marilyn Lanier - Dept. of Teaching and Learning
13. Dr. Alex Leonessa - VT Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science Engineering
14. Lunar Outpost to Settlement Senior Design Team - Dept. of Aerospace & Ocean Engineering
15. Dr. Leigh McCue - Dept. of Aerospace & Ocean Engineering
16. North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT)
17. Kathleen Short - Dept. of Building Construction
18. VA Career VIEW
19. VT Synthetic Biology Group
20. Wood-Based Composites Center
21. 4-H
22. Teachers
23. Pinwheel
24. Anemometer 1
25. Anemometer 2
26. GSO - Gannon Price