https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/images daily 0.75 2018-06-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953235388-BI6AWDSQSMI6EX3Y678M/image-asset.jpeg Images Long exposure of an illuminated fly as it approaches a fermenting strawberry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528955154449-A3UWIUSHBRV6C5BVI0R6/20131114_3612_strawberry_trajectory.jpg Images Long exposure of an illuminated fly as it approaches a fermenting strawberry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953154843-EDXGBQT28FIY5DB860NT/20131114_3612_strawberry_trajectory.jpg Images Long exposure of an illuminated fly as it approaches a fermenting strawberry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953370627-GJJCXQX963T7OQ36ZLIO/20161212_001_muscle_focus.jpg Images Using genetic tools, my colleague Thad Lindsay expressed a green fluorescent calcium indicator in the steering muscles of a fruit fly. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953396221-OZPQ6K8LTWIT0BFWEGLS/20150731_0489.jpg Images Hundreds of alkali flies take flight on the shore of Mono Lake. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953198939-IK0U0BB64UGN8VHV88UM/20131114_3612_strawberry_trajectory.jpg Images Long exposure of an illuminated fly as it approaches a fermenting strawberry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953416982-R0AAVIN32JVG44ZNNU5B/Floris_20170605_0090_f.jpg Images An alkali fly, safely encapsulated inside a protective air bubble. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953426283-951EM6BWHJ6OIKNRUS8S/Floris_20170606_0205.jpg Images Catching alkali flies on the shores of Mono Lake for some experiments. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953511981-XR6Q0PZ2S8LC8FX08XDZ/20131019_2550.jpg Images Self portrait, with a macro-fisheye lens. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953514324-M6IZNM9XKT0TF8JEJV9N/Floris_20110611_0676.jpg Images A fruit fly tethered in a LED-powered virtual environment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953518334-BD6PBBV5VMT9MHIWEWXG/Suver_fly_brain.png Images Fluorescence image of a fruit fly brain by my colleague Marie Suver. Green shows neurons that release a neuromodulator, Octopamine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953652925-I825WX2KKVBIDH793R92/20160904_5781.jpg Images An unfortunate short eared grebe. Grebes, and many other species, rely on the alkali flies at Mono Lake to fuel their long range migrations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953649265-VCXAVGR3220W9MKGSJJ8/Floris_Mono_20170609_0558_pano.jpg Images One of our study sites - Mono Lake - is famous for its picturesque tufa towers, composed of calcium carbonate. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528953661299-HW70HJAIWS295HB5VK3K/Floris_Mono_20170612_1044.jpg Images Self portrait in a volcanic fissure near Mono Lake. I took this image at night under short wave ultraviolet illumination, which causes certain minerals to emit a variety of colors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528987411386-AKOSR3SI2PQOPIB4W46D/Aeroelastic+8+wing+Nature+hover+flapper_800.jpg Images Strobe image of a hovering drone with four sets of wings (you see 8 wings because the strobe light fired twice during the exposure). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528987428866-YB6DLVRY1S23A3PH5W2Z/coyote_lake_20171113_1154.jpg Images Thousands of fruit flies take flight in a dry desert during one of our experiments to study how they track odor plumes over long distances (featuring my PhD/postdoc advisor, Michael Dickinson). https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/blog daily 0.75 2018-06-14 https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/labpeople daily 0.75 2024-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1565370807272-2U8CU473X600522D322M/IMG_0578.jpg LabPeople - Austin Lopez Austin is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, building a new kind of wind tunnel for studying how insects explore windy environments. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1565370807272-2U8CU473X600522D322M/IMG_0578.jpg LabPeople - Austin Lopez Austin is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, building a new kind of wind tunnel for studying how insects explore windy environments. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1599344940625-X64UCOTIV9U4JPOR0583/IMG_6171.JPG LabPeople - Arunava Nag Arunava is a PhD student Mechanical Engineering, and is working on measuring real world chemical plumes at large spatial scales and developing algorithms to track them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1629748145618-OT0EKP62NDFFJD947421/image-asset.png LabPeople - Toha Elahi Toha is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student working on developing algorithms for odor plume tracking. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1629756512860-DZR0OU2FO0VBNFPNYY2Z/image-asset.jpeg LabPeople - Jaleesa Houle Jaleesa is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student working on understanding natural wind dynamics, and how they impact insect plume tracking behaviors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1663174423115-GBL960GXE1LSO7L2GWHA/cellini_linkedin+%281%29.png LabPeople - Ben Cellini Ben is a postdoc working on bioinspired state estimation strategies for flying UAVs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1725985200420-TSP3EVKZOHSHU2CP7QSK/images.jpeg LabPeople - Jaden Mecham Jaden Mecham is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering working on algorithms for resilient sensing in autonomous UAVs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1725985409129-ZIXBBUGNWHLQ7U1F65JN/nate-casey.jpeg LabPeople - Nate Casey Nate Casey is a neurscience PhD student working on understanding the neural circuits involved in free flight olfactory search in Drosophila. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1725985459202-8S6MIVLR9P7U6QNBUPVU/thane-houghton.jpg LabPeople - Thane Houghton Thane Houghton is a neuroscience PhD student working on understanding how the fly central complex might assess the reliability of different sensory modalities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1725985523302-L2MJ8CJH0EXUJPBG7PX0/IMG_1188.jpg LabPeople - Chathura Sumanasiri Chathura Sumanasiri is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering working on understanding aeroelastic flutter, co-advised with faculty member Aditya Nair. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1725985763772-ZRSHWOP52UPERBJQD70X/burak.jpg LabPeople - Burak Boyacioglu Burak is a postdoc working on observability/information theoretic tools. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1725985639695-V610D287SIMXADK9IA02/IMG_7367+%281%29.jpg LabPeople - Naomi Girma Naomi is an undergrad neuroscience major working on understanding olfactory navigation in walking flies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1725988385735-HSPZNYPK373XZLVNP60N/IMG_0204.jpg LabPeople - Emily McAffee Emily is an undergrad engineering major helping with our autonomous drone efforts. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1726002012623-G4ES6GPRE0W2ZL7R2YUK/image+%2845%29.png LabPeople - Nehal Mangat Nehal Mangat is a Masters student in Mechanical Engineering working on the application of observability tools to data driven modeling. https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/formerlabpeople daily 0.75 2024-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1629748084554-7SZGCW2CYG5BZV7H0Q5T/image-asset.png FormerLabPeople - Mehar Mangat Mehar is a undergraduate in computer science helping us calibrate optogenetic stimuli. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1629748084554-7SZGCW2CYG5BZV7H0Q5T/image-asset.png FormerLabPeople - Mehar Mangat Mehar is a undergraduate in computer science helping us calibrate optogenetic stimuli. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1565370799763-9W5NR0W15SL6D7XZ1ZB3/IMG_1013.jpg FormerLabPeople - Florian McLelland Florian is a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate studying the interactions between skis and snow. https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/miscellaneous daily 0.75 2021-08-23 https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/home daily 1.0 2020-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528954544475-J60UGMPHR7F84ALH2EXW/line.png Home decorative https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52a74d9ae4b0253945d2aee9/1391287286405-92Z4A4R3T2ZSZAKNVS9V/image-asset.jpeg Home - Transient https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/publications daily 0.75 2025-12-11 https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/research daily 0.75 2024-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/2bc03d3f-e74a-4088-a413-be977969f6e6/Screenshot+2024-09-10+at+9.48.20%E2%80%AFAM.png Research - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528986683638-832GWQIP812O2ZZ79HSP/Floris_flyrelease_20170415_019.jpg Research Our collaborators: Kate Leitch, Francesca Ponce, and Michael Dickinson, out on the playa, examining a fly trap. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528986924790-XI9P7H2HBOU59MLZEWDR/image-asset.jpeg Research We chose to work on this desert playa because of the lack of visual and olfactory cues. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528952046333-B4WV30SZL3TYNGMNQLXS/Fly_Landing.jpg Research Photo montage of a fruit fly landing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528986394069-LCAJC0PE80O6KWBLFF9M/Aeroelastic+8+wing+Nature+hover+flapper_800.jpg Research Strobe-light illuminated image showing both the inward and outward wing strokes of this 8-winged flapping hovering MAV (2008). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/61c20a2c-b8d2-4d6a-a5c9-7d99dcd12120/Screenshot+2024-09-10+at+9.40.51%E2%80%AFAM.png Research - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528986792567-WTBT96TNXRIKK1ZB4U40/coyote_lake_20171113_1154.jpg Research The great release - thousands of hungry flies to take the air. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/463e67c8-2e8d-46c1-9f57-5d42db62bc0d/Screenshot+2024-09-10+at+9.56.03%E2%80%AFAM.png Research - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1528950991855-N13ZNAF4DUMPC1ZTN2TF/20131114_3612_strawberry_trajectory.jpg Research Long exposure of an illuminated fly as it approaches a fermenting strawberry. https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/monocular-distance-estimation daily 0.75 2018-06-14 https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/contact daily 0.75 2020-01-10 https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/tools daily 0.75 2018-06-14 https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/tutorial-ubuntu-on-a-mac daily 0.75 2018-06-14 https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/people daily 0.75 2024-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1550786471654-RYW15DX6ZDFG9GL2DLKY/IMG_0581.jpg People https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/misc-files daily 0.75 2019-10-04 https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/opportunities daily 0.75 2024-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1570983968534-EQP1DVP3EH370MLNE6M8/engineeringbriefcrop.jpg Opportunities https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1570984196954-QLIEALD5ULBO6EXXISTF/desolation-aloha-20190720_0434.jpg Opportunities Lake Aloha, Desolation Wilderness, 1 hr drive from Reno, 4 hr hike. https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/life-in-reno daily 0.75 2019-10-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1571076452235-DQ3S3PSGE5GBSD67NIPP/32855858_1670288693018368_7250166518070116352_n.jpg Life in Reno Idylewild Park, Food Truck Fridays https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1571076109695-1VXYXAG7T252BNZ5H0B5/image-asset.jpeg Life in Reno Skiing the Dana Couoir, Yosemite. 3 hr drive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1571076077536-T1FTV84V6S0RCZF9NVVZ/IMG_1303.JPG Life in Reno Mtn. Biking Peavine after work, 5 min to TH. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1571075961427-8KJMZZLF3RED80V5TQM3/IMG_0773.JPG Life in Reno Skiing Kettle Peak with colleagues, 3 hr drive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/1571076406196-J2ONDQS8W36BOXG5A7B3/IMG_1099.JPG Life in Reno Downtown Reno, River Festival https://www.florisvanbreugel.com/2025-postdoc-ad daily 0.75 2025-09-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/f8c5f5e4-308a-44ff-9f01-e8be1c0a16b1/Screenshot+2024-09-10+at+10.34.41%E2%80%AFAM.png 2025 postdoc ad - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/5eecea85-3112-45cd-bfca-ab6a19fac8f0/Screenshot+2024-09-10+at+10.28.59%E2%80%AFAM.png 2025 postdoc ad - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5b214ceb372b9640ee345cef/8c48fd1f-2de0-426d-aff5-79822a09aca5/Screenshot+2025-09-10+at+11.38.51%E2%80%AFAM.png 2025 postdoc ad - BOUNDS method We developed a computational framework (“BOUNDS”) that makes it easy to discover which movement motifs would allow an animal (or machine) to estimate features of the environment that might be of interest. For flies, turning and to a lesser extent acceleration, facilitate the estimation of wind direction.