Research topic: Active sensing, sensory perception and cognition from the field through the lab and into the brain. I use the echolocating bat – a “champion” in active sensing to study these behaviors.

Research methods: Behavior using highly developed technologies including ultrasonic microphone arrays, mini-cameras and mini-GPS devices. MRI to study brain anatomy and neural correlates of behavior. Field Work.

Main projects in the lab include:

1. Social decision making – the first ever fully monitored mammalian colony with >50 bats roosting in the lab and foraging in the field with GPS devices recording their motion and microphones recording social and sensory behavior.
2. Bio-sonar – how to bats receive and perceive the world acoustically
3. Sensory based navigation – using miniature on-board GPS to study movement of animals over long distances and the underlying sensory mechanisms
4. Inter-sensory integration – how do bats transfer information from vision to bio-sonar. Can other organisms (e.g., blind humans) use sonar?