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Boston Globe

Why a R.I. PhD candidate is studying seal whiskers for the US Navy

These days, her research, funded by the Office of Naval Research, focuses on seals – specifically their unique whiskers that allow them to locate objects in the water, rivaling sonar. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up 'I wanted to combine my love of the animal kingdom with my strong science aptitude,' Erickson said when asked about what led her to this kind of research. 'So I knew I wanted to do research that was doing animal locomotion stuff, like looking at how animals physically move through their environments.' Advertisement Erickson recently spoke to the Globe about her current research, her autism 'superpower,' and where she plans to set her sights next: Q. What can we learn from animals about the way they move? Erickson: Animals are the best engineers, like evolution is the greatest engineer that exists. They've evolved these mechanisms to improve their lives and make things easier for so many different tasks. So I think it's always very inspiring to look at what the animal kingdom has created to go about its life, and how we can use those things to tackle human challenges with our technology. Advertisement So what are you studying at Brown? I am getting my PhD in engineering and fluid and thermal science, and I am studying how seals use their whiskers to locate objects in water, and how that can be implemented in sensory tech for the Navy. How do seals do that with their whiskers? Seals, of the Phocidae family, have these very unique undulated geometry whiskers, and these whiskers are known to suppress vortex-induced vibrations in a flow, which allows them to have this high-sensitivity sensor… So I am looking at how these vibrations in these unique geometry whiskers can tell us what an upstream object is doing. Is there a very specific tech that this kind of research would benefit, in terms of a particular gadget or a form of a device? Right now, the prime sensing technique that is used for vehicles underwater is sonar. But sonar sends out signals that are very damaging to marine life – a lot of noise pollution in the ocean, which is dangerous to whales, other animals. And so this is a suggested alternative to that that would be more passive, so picking up on the wake trails of something instead of sending out a noise signal. Is there a stealth benefit to that? Certainly. With sonar, when you're sending out a signal, you're giving out information about your own position, whereas a passive sensor would not be giving away any information on your location, while still [being] able to pick up information about where something else in a flow is moving. Advertisement You've described your autism diagnosis as a 'superpower.' Has your experience with autism aided you in your research or how you work? And if so, how? Absolutely. Autism gives me challenges that are different than other people, but also gives me so many strengths that others don't have. One of those strengths goes way back to my great gifts in math, like when I was in middle school, I completed all of my high school math – I was taking college courses. I got to college, had completed all of my college math. I'm very, very quick picking up on things related to math and science. And that has certainly set me off down this career, working as a physicist, as an engineer, which all comes back to this strong fixation on mathematics as a kid and general aptitude for that. In general, a lot of my autism is characterized by these fixations, and I have learned how to channel these fixations for good and fixate on a goal, and then set out to achieve that goal. So I have set lofty goals for myself, but I fixate on those and get after them, and now I thinkthat is part of what has made me very successful in all areas of my life, including in my research currently. Speaking of goals, what do you hope to do when you finish your PhD in two years? I had gone into research and everything because I wanted to combine my love of animals with my love of science. But now, I have done that. I loved it. I'm interested in trying something new. I would love to combine my love of sports with my love of science, and really want to get into the sports equipment industry. I would love to do [research and development], especially if it was for something hockey related, since that is my biggest passion. But I definitely want to do research, and I think I just want to find a research project in [an] industry that I'm very passionate about and will keep me excited to be doing the work I'm doing. Advertisement The Boston Globe's weekly Ocean State Innovators column features a Q&A with Rhode Island innovators who are starting new businesses and nonprofits, conducting groundbreaking research, and reshaping the state's economy. Send tips and suggestions to reporter Alexa Gagosz at . Christopher Gavin can be reached at