Aaron O
- Research Program Mentor
PhD at University of Chicago
Expertise
designing a product and developing it as a business, kinesiology and animal movement, bio-inspired design in engineering, biological engineering, computer science with a focus on UI/UX design, user-centered design, human anatomy, animal anatomy, digital design for 3D printing, digital design for 3D animation, 3D interactive web design and programming, developing a business model for a small business or startup, surgery with a focus on anatomy
Bio
My academic passion is understanding the diverse ways in which animals are built and why they're built the way they are. For my PhD research, I collected and analyzed data on the beak shapes and behaviors of birds to answer the question, what came first, ducks or geese? Then as a postdoctoral researcher, I used CT scanning and X-ray video motion capture to answer the question, how do fish mouths expand to suck in prey items? I am currently the founder of 3D Anatomy Studios, where I apply my previous research experience creating physical and digital models that engage students in research-based active learning of anatomy and physiology. One of my personal interests is horticulture. I built an indoor growing chamber that my partner and I use to grow salad greens year round, even in the depths of New England winters. I also love cooking, especially trying cuisines from around the world and finding new ways to use fresh produce, including the greens from our garden. And I've long had a personal interest in foreign languages, other cultures, and travel. I took 1-2 years of several languages in college, I studied abroad twice (in Spain for a year and Germany for half a year), and travel every chance I get.Project ideas
How does orbit size and orientation relate to behavior in vertebrates?
Humans rely heavily on forward facing, binocular vision for the perception of depth and their environment. But for other animals, other senses can be more important than vision and the orientation of the orbit can vary depending on the importance of depth perception versus a wide field of view. This project seeks to quantify the relationship between the size, shape, and orientation of the orbit and behavior in various vertebrates. This project makes use of freely available 3D datasets of vertebrate cranial shape and the open source 3D digital manipulation software Blender.
How does surface area relate to beak shape in birds?
Bird feathers are remarkably efficient insulators, helping to keep birds from losing precious body heat in cold environments. But feathers don't cover the entire surface of a bird. The beak, in particular, can be a site of substantial heat loss, helping to cool birds in hot environments but posing a challenge in cold environments. Bird beaks come in many different shapes, but as the shape of a beak varies, so does its surface area. This project seeks to quantify the relationship between beak size, shape, and surface area and relate this to the temperature of a bird's environment. This project makes use of freely available 3D datasets of bird beak shape and the open source 3D digital manipulation software Blender.
How does muscle length and force relate to different arm movements?
A challenge of understanding human biomechanics and motion is that the bones and muscles of the body are not readily visible. Special imaging such as MRI or CT scanning is required to quantify the precise positions and orientations of these internal tissues. However, the positions and orientations of muscles and bones in the human body can be approximated by manipulating digital musculoskeletal models using standardized images or videos as references. This project seeks to quantify how muscle length and potential force changes with different poses of the human arm. The project makes use of freely available digital models of the human skeleton and the open source digital manipulation software Blender. For reference images or video, students can capture images of their own arm motions using a phone or camera.
How can the coffee shop business model better solve customer problems?
The coffee shop is a historic and successful business model that has been replicated around the world. It is also the basis for continuous and ongoing innovation (e.g., the nature of the space, the product offerings, the method of product delivery). This project seeks to develop a new business model that innovates one or more aspects of the coffee shop business model to expand the target customer demographic, to provide a better solution to customers' problems, or both. This project makes use of the lean startup method, a science-based business development method that includes the iterative development of a business model canvas and data collection via customer discovery interviews.
Creating a 3D interactive web app to demonstrate proper yoga poses
Less than 5% of Americans live a healthy lifestyle, in part due to a lack of exercise. There are many forms of exercise that can be performed at home and at no cost. However, a barrier for many is that they do not know how to perform these exercises properly to avoid injury. Yoga is an example of a free, at-home exercise that can be difficult for beginners to perform. This project seeks to create web app that demonstrates the proper form for basic yoga exercises through an interactive, 3D animated humanoid model. The project makes use of the open source javascript library threejs and the open source digital design software Blender.
Mapping the variation in common coffee mug shapes
Coffee mugs come in all different shapes and sizes. Wide at the top or narrow, with a small or large handle, tapered toward the bottom or columnar, etc. If you were to design a new coffee mug, what particular shape would you use? How would you even decide what shape to use? To solve a problem like this, it would be useful to have a "map" of coffee mug shapes. This map would show the principal parameters (that is, axes or dimensions) that define all common coffee mug shapes and show where each of those shapes are in relation to one another. This project seeks to map the variation among coffee mug shapes to create such a map of "mug shape diversity." This project makes use of geometric shape analysis (also known as geometric morphometrics) used to analyze biological shape diversity. This project could also make use of photography and digital modeling in Blender.