Center for Animal Locomotion and Innovation Opens
The Center for Animal Locomotion and Innovation, or CALI, at the University of California, Davis, was flying high during its grand opening ceremony on Friday, May 8.
CALI is a partnership between the UC Davis College of Engineering and the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine’s California Raptor Center. The facility, funded by a U.S. Army Combat Compatibility Development Command Army Research Office grant, houses state-of-the-art motion capture and photogrammetry technologies to image birds in flight. The data gathered will inform the design of uncrewed aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as UAVs, and provide valuable insights into how birds fly, which can contribute to avian rehabilitation.
The Center for Animal Locomotion and Innovation, or CALI, houses state-of-the-art motion capture and photogrammetry technologies to image birds in flight. (Mario Rodriguez/UC Davis)
Conceptualized and realized by Christina Harvey, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering who leads the Biologically Informed Research and Design Lab, or BIRD Lab, and Michelle Hawkins, a professor of veterinary medicine and director of the California Raptor Center, CALI will be a hub of cutting-edge bio-informed research.
During the grand opening, speakers included Harvey and Hawkins, as well as Chancellor Gary S. May; Richard Corsi, dean of engineering; and Mark Stetter, dean of veterinary medicine, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“The Center for Animal Locomotion and Innovation represents the power and potential of UC Davis,” said May. “It demonstrates our commitment to cross-disciplinary work that advances our understanding. It represents the best in student preparation through hands-on learning, and it affirms the power of partnerships to achieve incredible results.”
“CALI creates an environment where engineers, veterinarians, biologists and wildlife experts can study together, not in abstraction, but in motion, in rehabilitation and in real-world flight,” said Corsi. “That intersection is where some of the most important breakthroughs will occur.”
Stetter agreed, saying, “What Christina Harvey and Michelle Hawkins have created here is more than a collaboration. It is a shared language between disciplines that historically approached the world very differently. This university has always been at its best when we bring disciplines together around a shared purpose.”
At the event, guests could try an interactive OptiTrack motion-capture demo inside the facility and had the opportunity to learn about research initiatives from students in Harvey’s BIRD Lab and speak with members — both human and feathered — of the California Hawking Club and the California Raptor Center, or CRC.
Researchers in Harvey's BIRD Lab demonstrate their technology. (Mario Rodriguez/UC Davis)
Guests could pick up a Pokémon-style card designed by BIRD Lab Ph.D. student Alex Fillman. The cards feature California Raptor Center and California Hawking Club birds, with Pokémon-style details like abilities and attacks. Jack, the CRC’s red-tailed hawk, has abilities such as “Vanishing Wings” for quickly removing any stickers placed on his chest, and “Burning Tail,” a reference to the species’ distinctive red tail.
Attendees were also treated to bird-themed beverages, including “EspresSoar” drinks from the UC Davis Coffee Center, beer from Davis-based brewery Super Owl Brewing, and wine from Blade and Talon, which is helmed by UC Davis alum Nat Wong.
CALI will continue to build on its interdisciplinary origins as a space that encourages collaboration in research and education.
“CALI is a home for people who agree that their field alone does not contain all the answers to understand how animals move through space,” Harvey said. “It is a place to value, learn from and build on different perspectives. I can’t wait to see what ideas and questions can be generated.”
Media Resources
Learn more about CALI’s journey
- UC Davis Establishes Bird Flight Research Center
- Bird Flight Research Center Breaks Ground at UC Davis
- Bird Flight Research Advances Drone Technology and Wild Raptor Care
- Engineers, Biologists Capture the Aerodynamic Secret Behind a Hawk's Mid-Flight Transformation
Media Contacts
- Christina Harvey, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, [email protected]
- Jessica Heath, College of Engineering, [email protected]