[Webinar] The Temperature of Butterfly Wings: Prospecting for Bio-inspired Materials from Nature

In this virtual seminar, Dr. Naomi E. Pierce (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University) and Dr. Nanfang Yu (Dept of Applied Physics and Applied Math, Columbia University) will consider the temperature of butterfly wings from a few different angles: (1) Are butterfly wings living structures or relatively inert membranes? (2) Do butterfly wings rely upon critical physiological temperatures in order to function properly? (3) How can butterflies regulate wing temperature? The speakers will also present several technologies inspired by studying butterfly wing temperatures, including paints (or coatings) and textiles with special radiative-cooling properties.

The webinar will be interactively moderated by Dr. Evan Economo, Professor, Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, OIST and is part of the OIST Foundation’s Future of Climate Series as well as the U.S.-Japan Science Synergy Series, which is sponsored by the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and brings together prominent scientists from the United States and Japan (primarily from OIST), to discuss common research issues, questions, and themes that are of great concern to the world in which we live.