Andrew Schulz
Postdoctoral Researcher
Heisenbergstr. 3
70569 Stuttgart
Germany
Andrew K. Schulz is an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow and postdoctoral researcher in the Haptic Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany, and is an Associated Postdoc in the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems (IMPRS-IS). He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in 2022. Schulz’s graduate thesis work in the Hu Laboratory for Biolocomotion focused on biomechanics across length scales in the elephant’s trunk with applications in robotics, health, and sustainability. As a postdoctoral researcher, Schulz leverages functionally intelligent biological composites for haptics, biomechanics, and robotics applications. His work takes inspiration from different animal systems and combines engineering and material science and interdisciplinary collaborations with biologists, local zoos, and natural history museums to investigate comparative haptics. Schulz’s engineering work is featured in the American Museum of Natural History and has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, and Science Friday. As an autistic researcher, Schulz has worked to advocate for neurodivergent and autism accessibility in research and beyond.
Biomechanics Soft Matter Physics Bio-inspired materials Conservation Technology
Elephant Grabbing Food Cubes
Despite having a trunk that weighs over 100 kg, elephants mainly feed on lightweight vegetation. How do elephants manipulate such small items? In this experimental and theoretical investigation, we filmed elephants at Zoo Atlanta showing that they can use suction to grab food, performing a behavior previously thought to be restricted to fish. We use a mathematical model to show that an elephant’s nostril size and lung capacity enables them to grab items using comparable pressures as the human lung. Ultrasonographic imaging of the elephant sucking viscous fluids show that the elephant’s nostrils dilate up to 30% in radius, which increases the nasal volume by 64%. Based on the pressures applied, we estimate that the elephants can inhale at speeds of over 150 m/s, nearly 30 times the speed of a human sneeze. These high air speeds enable the elephant to vacuum up piles of rutabaga cubes as well as fragile tortilla chips. We hope these findings inspire further work in suction-based manipulation in animals and robots.
Suction Feeding by Elephants
An elephant’s trunk is iconic. But understanding what happens inside that muscular structure during feeding has been sorely lacking. Experiments with a patient pachyderm at Zoo Atlanta reveal its tricks for inhaling everything from small cubes of rutabaga to massive volumes of water.
Elephant Skin Flexiblity
The elephant’s trunk is multifunctional: It must be flexible to wrap around vegetation but tough to knock down trees and resist attack. How can one appendage satisfy both constraints? In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we challenged African elephants to reach far-away objects with only horizontal extensions of their trunk. Surprisingly, the trunk does not extend uniformly but instead exhibits a dorsal “joint” that stretches 15% more than the corresponding ventral section. Using material testing with the skin of a deceased elephant, we show that the asymmetry is due in part to patterns of the skin. The dorsal skin is folded and 15% more pliable than the wrinkled ventral skin. Skin folds protect the dorsal section and stretch to facilitate downward wrapping, the most common gripping style when picking up items. The elephant’s skin is also sufficiently stiff to influence its mechanics: At the joint, the skin requires 13 times more energy to stretch than the corresponding length of the muscle. Using wrinkles and folds to modulate stiffness may provide a valuable concept for biology and soft robotics.
Elephant True Facts
Much of my work is highlighted on the many uses of the elephant trunk in this video describing many of the true facts regarding elephants.
Elephant Suction in Science
Science highlighted much of my work on the suction capabilities of elephant trunks along with their ability to pick up a tortilla chip without breaking it.