prof.dr.ir. FT (Florian) Muijres

Insects, birds and bats possess exceptional flight capabilities. Natural flyers continue to outperform human-made flying robots, particularly in manoeuvrability and robustness. This observation intrigued Florian Muijres during his studies in Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft. It motivated him to investigate the principles underlying natural flight and to specialise in the biomechanics, aerodynamics and control of flying animals.

During his PhD research at Lund University, Muijres studied the aerodynamics of bird and bat flight (see publication). He subsequently joined the Dickinson Lab at the University of Washington, where he studied the aerodynamics and control of rapid flight manoeuvres in fruit flies (see video and publication). This work laid the foundation for his current research programme on the integration of sensory information, wingbeat actuation, body dynamics and aerodynamic force production.

As Professor and Chair of Experimental Zoology, Muijres leads an interdisciplinary team that connects biology, physics, engineering and ecology. The group’s research is grounded in evolutionary and developmental biology and focuses on the functional biology of animal movement.

Within the group, Professor Muijres leads the research programme on insect flight. His team investigates how insects use rapid wingbeats to remain airborne and perform complex manoeuvres. The researchers combine free-flight experiments, high-speed videography, three-dimensional motion tracking and computational fluid dynamics to unravel the bio-fluidmechanics and control of insect flight. By applying this approach comparatively across species, they also investigate the ecology and evolution of insect flight, including in Morpho butterflies and Diptera.

The programme comprises both fundamental model studies and research on insects of major societal and ecological relevance, including malaria mosquitoes and pollinating bees. Together with collaborators, the team translates principles discovered in natural flyers into bio-inspired robots and uses these systems to improve understanding of animal flight (flapping-wing robot; bee-inspired navigation). The team thereby connects fundamental questions about natural flight with applications in vector biology, pollination and bio-inspired autonomous flight systems.

• The Royal Society (1-5-2025/1-5-2027)