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MRes - Biomechanical computer simulation of locomotion in reptiles 

Lead RVC Supervisor: Prof John Hutchinson, Chris Richards and Friedl De Groote (KU-Leuven, Belgium) 

Department: Comparative Biomedical Sciences (Hawkshead campus-based) 

Background, aims and objectives:

The remarkable bipedal mode of early dinosaurs evolved during the Triassic Period, >200 million years ago, in ecosystems quite different from today’s, especially including a strange diversity of terrestrial forms that were all members of the broader group (including dinosaurs) called Archosauria. Birds and crocodiles are living remnants of that diversity, and their different locomotor modes exemplify the (greater) diversity in the Triassic. This project will use 3D biomechanical models and simulations to predict and test how extinct (or extant crocodylian) archosaurs may have moved, which is important for understanding how broad the functional diversity of archosaurs was at the dawn of dinosaurs, and if or how that diversity related to patterns of survival/extinction across the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction. 

References

  1. Otero, A., Bishop, P.J., Hutchinson, J.R. 2024. Hindlimb biomechanics of Lagosuchus talampayensis (Archosauria, Dinosauriformes), with comments on skeletal morphology. Journal of Anatomy 14183.  
  2. Cuff, A.R., Demuth, O.E., Michel, K.B., Otero, A., Pintore, R., Polet, D.T., Wiseman, A.L.A., Hutchinson, J.R. 2022. Walking -- and running and jumping -- with dinosaurs and their cousins, viewed through the lens of evolutionary biomechanics. Integrative and Comparative Biology icac049.  
  3. Bishop, P.J., Falisse, A., De Groote, F., Hutchinson, J.R. 2021. Predictive simulations of running gait reveal a critical dynamic role for the tail in bipedal dinosaur locomotion. Science Advances 7:abi7348.  
  4. Bishop, P.J., Cuff, A.R., Hutchinson, J.R. 2021. How to build a dinosaur: musculoskeletal modeling and simulation of locomotor biomechanics in extinct animals. Paleobiology 47:1-38.  

Requirements

Essential:

  • Must meet our standard MRes entry requirements. 
  • Don’t need to be a vet 
  • Competent and comfortable with computers and at least basic maths/Newtonian physics 

Desirable:

  • Expertise in 3D computer graphics/imaging 
  • Expertise in any of the following: biomechanics/mechanical engineering/physics; modelling/simulation/programming; evolutionary biology/palaeontology; anatomy 

Fees and Funding

This can be taken full-time or part-time (12months FTE) project commencing ¾±²Ô October 2025, based at RVC's Hawkshead campus. 

Partially funded: e.g. the lab will be covering the project costs, with the MRes student expected to meet the course fees and their living expenses. 

International applicants are welcome to apply but must be able to fund the difference between "É«ÇéÖ±²¥app" and "Overseas" tuition fees.  

Please note that EU/EEA and Swiss national students may no longer be eligible for the “É«ÇéÖ±²¥app” rate of tuition fees, dependent on personal circumstances (including immigration status and residence history in the UK) and UK government rules which are currently being developed. For up-to-date information on fees for EU/EEA and Swiss national students following Brexit please see our fees and funding p²¹²µ±ð.&²Ô²ú²õ±è;

How to Apply

For more information on the application process and English Language requirements see How to Apply. 

Deadline: 04/04/2025

Interviews will take place remotely (Teams, Zoom etc) within 4 weeks of the closing date. 

We welcome informal enquiries - these should be directed to jhutchinson@rvc.ac.uk 

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