by Susan Griffith

The saying that a person can lead a horse to water but can't make it drink can apply to trying to tempt a Tobacco Hornworm Moth to fly.

Case biologist Mark Willis mentors students in the Summer Program for Undergraduate Research.

Amanda Goodwin, of Englewood, Ohio, and Elizabeth Morrison, of Petersburg, Ohio, have learned that getting a moth to take flight in a wind tunnel is harder than it looks.

Both Case Western Reserve University students are investigators on research projects about the flight behavior of moths as participants in the University's Howard Hughes Medical Institute Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR).

Working alongside Mark Willis, associate professor of biology and the keeper of the moth colony in Case's DeGrace Hall, the students are among 29 undergraduates who have the opportunity to work with leading University researchers for 10 weeks this summer and to continue their projects into the school year.

Morrison uses as many as 15 moths a day in wind tunnel experiments to track and discover a pattern in moth flight behavior as the moth flies in and out of sex pheromones. Goodwin has as many as three moths at a time tethered to a pole and wired with connections to computer technology to understand how the wings
and muscles move during flight.

Even though the students perfume the air with plumes of sex pheromones that usually send the six-inch wide, winged creatures aflutter—moving their wings 25 times a second—if the temperature isn't exactly right or there is too much light, the moths won't cooperate.

Goodwin, who plans on a career in veterinarian medicine, and Morrison, who wants to be a medical doctor, agree that, no matter how frustrating at times, their hands-on learning experience is unparalleled.

"Instead of seeing pictures in a book and reading about moth behavior, we actually get to work with the animals," Morrison said.

Case's SPUR program began in 1989 to raise the level of interest in the life sciences and encourage more students to go into research. Since the inception of the program, more than 400 undergraduates from Case and colleges around the country have participated in summer research activities.

Students have to write a research project proposal and go through an interview to apply for the program. If accepted, they are matched with research mentors.

SPUR has changed its focus this year from summer research to yearlong projects and has primarily concentrated on accepting Case students with a reduced number from other colleges, who now also must commit to continuing research throughout the year at their home campuses.

This year, SPUR students also will be expected to make 10-minute presentations of their yearlong research and moderate a session during the first Michelson-Morley Research Symposium in April 2004, a new national scientific meeting.

Return to the online edition of the 8-21-03 Campus News.

Legal Information | © 2003 Case Western Reserve University | Contact the Department