‘Armored Caterpillar’ Research Featured on NBC Learn

Educational arm of NBC News features research that could transform everything from military body armor to vehicle and aircraft frames

By Sean Nealon on March 1, 2013

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) — A video featuring the research of David Kisailus, an assistant professor in the Bourns College of Engineering at the University of California, Riverside, on the mantis shrimp, was recently released by NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News.

The mantis shrimp, or stomatopod, is a 4-inch long crustacean found in tropical waters. It has a bright orange fist-like club that accelerates underwater faster than a 22-caliber bullet. Repeated blows can destroy mollusk shells and crab exoskeletons.

Kisailus believes everything from military body armor and vehicle and aircraft frames could be transformed by incorporating the unique structure of the club-like arm. In June, Kisailus and a team of researchers published a paper in the journal Science about the structure of the mantis shrimp club.

To view the NBC Learn video visit: http://www.nbclearn.com/sciencenews/cuecard/63288

To read more about the mantis shrimp research visit: http://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/6737

The video is part of Science Behind The News, a relatively new, glossy, fast-paced, video series supported by the National Science Foundation that explores the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) behind current events. Each video features at least one interview with an NSF-funded scientist or researcher.

NBC Learn is the educational arm of NBC News dedicated to providing resources for students, teachers, and lifelong learners. The online resources NBC Learn has created for the education community leverages nearly 80 years of historic news coverage, documentary materials, and current news broadcasts. NBC Learn comes in two versions, “NBC LEARN K-12” and “NBC LEARN Higher Ed,” and is available to librarians, media specialists, educators, students, and parents.  The resource gives students and teachers access to thousands of video clips from the NBC News archives, including great historic moments—from the Great Depression, to the Space Race, to the latest political coverage. NBC Learn also offers primary source materials, lesson plans and classroom planning resources, and additional text and image resources from our content partners.

Archived under: Science/Technology, Bourns College of Engineering, David Kisailus, mantis shrimp, NBC Learn

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