Student experience gained through participation: The HAIRS Project is a true team effort, blending tools and knowledge from multiple sciences to solve a real-world problem, how animals adapt to changing temperatures. It’s applied research because it helps explain natural survival strategies and can inspire new materials for better insulation or cooling technologies. By integrating biology, physics, chemistry, environmental science, engineering, mathematics, and computer science, we gain a deeper understanding than any single discipline could provide alone.
- Computing to create AI models that map hair pore patterns from microscope images.
- How do the size and shape of hair pores change between summer and winter coats?
- What role do these changes play in how well hair retains or reflects heat?
- How does hair geometry (shape and width) influence thermal insulation at both the individual hair and full coat level?
- What biological conditions control these seasonal changes in hair structure?
- Can we develop computer models that accurately predict hair pore changes from microscope images?
- Collect hair samples from animals during different seasons. We currently have samples from antelope, elk, and a research collaboration for hair samples from Hogle Zoo.
- Use Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to take detailed images of hair pore structures.
- Analyze heat transfer properties of individual hairs and whole fur samples with thermal testing.
- Study biological conditions related to hair development in a variety of animals
- Build and train AI programs to identify and map pore sizes and patterns from SEM images.
- Combine all data using mathematical models and computational tools to understand how hair features contribute to temperature regulation.
The HAIRS VIP team is intentionally designed to scaffold student involvement across all academic levels, ensuring meaningful engagement and progressive responsibility from entry-level to advanced students. Our approach emphasizes hands-on learning, peer mentorship, and interdisciplinary collaboration, creating a vertically integrated research environment that mirrors real-world scientific teams.
Majors, skills, or areas of interest that would be a good fit for the project: This project brings together many fields of science to get a complete picture:
- Chemistry to prepare and analyze hair samples.
- Physics to study heat flow and measure tiny pores using special microscopes.
- Biology to explore the conditions behind hair growth.
- Engineering to connect how a single hair behaves with how a whole fur coat works.
- Mathematics to create models to understand fractal pore geometry.
This ongoing research combines biology, physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science to unlock the secrets of how animal hair works as a natural thermoregulator.
