Living organisms have solved many important problems: how to stick to things, how to slide, how to burrow, and how to move quickly with minimal energy. Looking at the marine environment can yield biologically inspired solutions to vexing engineering challenges. The Sea can be a source for novel biomedical devices, as well as inspiration for new technologies in a broader context. Dr. Adam Summers, Professor of Biology as well as Aquatics and Fisheries at the University of Washington, studies the anatomy and the functions of fish and other marine organisms. His research into fundamental biological questions like how marine animals smash prey or disappear under the sand leads him to investigate the mechanisms at work and often results in the development of bioinspired materials and new mechanical approaches to every-day problems.

Leveraging his background in Engineering and Mathematics, Summers brings a multidisciplinary approach to understanding marine biology. He uses a number of different methodologies including clearing and staining, CT Scanning, MRI, materials testing, and rapid prototyping to discover nature’s solutions to engineering problems by examining the anatomy of fish at different levels of detail.

Among his toolset, the technique of clearing and staining is particularly notable for its visual beauty as well as the scientific insight it provides. By processing a specimen in a series of chemical baths, Summers renders the skin of the organism completely transparent while highlighting bone and cartilage in different colors thus providing a 3-D view of the anatomy in the animal. This method enables Summers to study the intricate form of the animal, and when he can understand the form, he can understand its functions.

"Blue sky" research, by its nature, has few foreseeable applications. But, time and again, using fishes as inspiration has led to practical applications that can potentially transform fields. For example, while looking into how different species of stingrays use their wings for swimming, he uncovered a set of anatomical designs that allowed them to do so efficiently. This led to a paper on the design of skeletons within batoid wings that has become foundational for underwater robotic design. There is a beauty in discovering new things, and Dr. Summers’ work sits right in the middle of pure and applied sciences where one can benefit from another.

Current research areas include:

• How do fishes stick to irregular, foul surfaces? This is a universal problem that researchers have asked many times. In fishes, there are more than 10 different independent evolutions of an ability to stick to a submerged surface. By looking at how well different species attach to particular substrates, Dr. Summers and his lab are able to design new, patentable suction devices that can stick optimally under specific conditions. Finding ones that perform well on irregular substrates will inspire novel designs that will stick to irregular, slimy surfaces of a human organ, like the intestine. The ultimate goal of Dr. Summers’ lab is to duplicate the performance of these organisms in the lab and enable others to exploit this technology for commercial purposes.
• How do fish and other marine organisms burrow beneath the substrate? Answering this question can inspire wonderful engineering solutions and has implications for robotics and for making aquatic holdfast systems. More than 15 species of fish burrow easily in sand using at least three different strategies. Summers is investigating  the principles and mechanical tactics that lie behind this behavior. By understanding biological approaches to burrowing, Summers hopes to offer insight into designing commercial digging devices.
• How do filter-feeding fish avoid clogging their filter? Using models like manta rays and whale sharks -- huge fish that filter their prey from the water, Summers’ research reveals new approaches to filter design. Surprisingly, some fish have a filter with a mesh size larger than the prey they’re catching; this means the filter doesn't clog. Additionally, it is the speed of fluid flowing through the filter that determines the size of the particle that is filtered out. Millions of years of evolutionary pressure have led to a variable, clog-proof filter.  To understand these mechanisms, Dr. Summers works with flow tanks, computer modeling, anatomy and micro anatomy, and is developing 3-D printed models of filters that have industrial potential.