In my new position as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Houston, I am studying muscle function in a variety of contexts. I am investigating the motor patterns of gait transitions (walk-to-run and run-to-walk); playing position and back injury in cello players; and motor control and reflexes in astronauts (NASA).

 

I conducted my PhD research in the biomechanics of bird flight at the Concord Field Station. My dissertation explored how birds use their wings to execute different flight modes. I used several methods in my research: in vivo EMG and sonomicrometry to understand muscle function; high-speed digital video to capture 3-D kinematics; and DPIV, a flow visualization method, to estimate aerodynamic forces.

Peer-reviewed publications

(published under maiden name, Berg)

Berg, AM, and Biewener, AA. (2010) Wing and body kinematics during takeoff and landing flight in the pigeon (Columba livia). The Journal of Experimental Biology 213:1651-1658.

Berg, AM, and Biewener, AA. (2008) Kinematics and power requirements of ascending and descending flight in the pigeon (Columba livia). The Journal of Experimental Biology 211:1120-1130.

Nijhout, HF, Berg, AM, and Gibson, WG. (2003) A mechanistic study of evolvability using the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. Evolution and Development 5:281-294.

Berg Robertson, AM, and Biewener, AA. Wing muscle function in the pigeon (Columba livia) during short free-flights. (In preparation, expected to be published 2012.)

Berg Robertson, AM, Tobalske, BW, and Biewener, AA. Aerodynamics of takeoff and landing flight in the pigeon (Columba livia): Wake analysis using particle image velocimetry. (In preparation, expected to be published 2012.)