Output details
15 - General Engineering
University of Hull
Biomechanical assessment of evolutionary changes in the lepidosaurian skull
There is huge speculation about the evolution of skulls and why certain skull features have appeared and disappeared several times during skull evolution. This BBSRC-funded research (£616k) used the first combined musculoskeletal (MDA) and finite element (FEA) models of a (lizard) skull to explain the biomechanical significance of various skull features. The work led to further BBSRC (£721k), NERC, RAEng (£438k) projects at Hull, considering skull evolution, growth and development and biomechanics of human clinical conditions (e.g. craniosynostosis). It established the combined MDA/FEA methodology in skull biomechanics now being adopted throughout this field (e.g. http://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2013/389-allosaurus-feeding; NERC-funding Bristol: http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/project/C8836455-5ED8-4E25-898A-F35215715DA0, Hull: http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/project/9E6CF893-0C86-451A-BEFA-934687465A3E).