The BICEP Lab
(in a cave, 1200ft underground, in Tennessee)
Welcome! We are a lab interested in all things squishy and biomechanics related from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), lead by Nick Battista, an assistant professor in the Mathematics and Statistics Department.
Our chief research focus has been studying cardiac flows in various stages of heart morphogenesis; however, we have investigate many other interesting phenomena in biomechanics, math physiology, and fluid-structure interactions using mathematical modeling.
Nick is the creator and main contributor of a various numerical tools for research, teaching, and recreational purposes, which are available on my GitHub site. In particular we primarily use his software package, IB2d, for studying fluid-structure interaction problems, which allows for a robust construction of an immersed boundary.
OUR LATEST RESEARCH
A chief focus is modeling cardiac flows in various stages of heart morphogenesis, ranging from the linear heart tube stage until when the chambers have developed and the heart begins pumping in a similar fashion to its adult counterpart.
Part of our research has been developing computational tools that help decrease the learning curve for students and scientists, who have minimal programming experience, to perform fluid-structure interaction models and other CFD simulations at an accelerated rate.
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Looking for new lab members for Fall 2019! If you're interested in joining the lab performing mathematical biology research, please contact Dr. Battista at battistn[at]tcnj.edu
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Jason Miles second manuscript, "Naut Your Everyday Jellyfish Model: Exploring How Tentacles and Oral Arms Impact Locomotion" was accepted and published in Fluids 4(3): 169 (2019)! Congrats, Jason! Check it out!
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In summer 2019, I helped instruct the Google AMLI Course at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA along with Dr. Rachel Rossetti (Dr. R's site). As part of the intense 10 week (40 hour/week) course, the students worked on an immersive 5 week machine learning project. Check out some of the fantastic projects they produced here!
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Graduation 2019! Congratulations to all TCNJ Graduates and lab member Jason Miles!
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May 8, 2019: Come check out the lab group present at the Celebration of Student Achievement (COSA) at TCNJ! We will be showcasing 3 on-going projects!
Chris Jakuback: Try to weigh me down: testing the limits of jellyfish jet propulsion
Jason Miles: Naut your everyday jellyfish
Michael Mongelli: SWISH Motion! Dynamics of Pendulums in Fluid Media
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April 21, 2019: Jason Miles 1st first-authored paper appears on the arXiv. It's on jellyfish locomotion! Check it out: Don't be Jelly: Exploring Effective Jellyfish Locomotion
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April 13, 2019: Jason Miles wins Best Talk Award at the MAA-NJ Garden State Mathematics Meeting! Congrats, Jason! His talk was titled Naut your everyday jellyfish.
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April 9, 2019: Nick's collaborative work on modeling the prescription opioid crisis with Leigh Pearcy (Ph.D. student) and Dr. Christopher Strickland (UTK) is accepted into the Bulletin of Mathematical Biology. Check it out!
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April 1, 2019: Nick gives a talk on jellyfish locomotion at the Joint Haverford/Bryn Mawr Mathematics Seminar featuring the work of undergraduates Jason Miles and Chris Jakuback!
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March, 2019: Erin Haus gets accepted into the TECBIO REU Program at the University of Pittsburgh! Congrats, Erin!
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March, 2019: Nick integrates by parts underwater on one of his dives in the Cayman Islands along side scientists/friends Laura Miller (UNC-CH), Katie Newhall (UNC-CH), and Christoper Strickland (UTK, trip photographer)
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February 26, 2019: TCNJ Colleague Dr. Matt Mizuhara and Nick are featured on Skype A Scientist! (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0z_imYF0fc)
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February 23, 2019: Collaborative work on innovative ways to teach convergence with fellow TCNJ colleague Dr. Matt Mizuhara appears on the arXiv: Fluid-Structure for the Classroom! Speed, Accuracy, Convergence, and Jellyfish!
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January 18, 2019: Collaborative work on the fluid dynamics of trabeculation during heart development with Dylan Douglas (UNC-CH), Andrea Lane (former uGrad at UNC-CH, now Emory PhD student), Dr. Leigh Ann Samsa, Dr. Jiandong Liu (UNC-CH), and Dr. Laura Miller (UNC-CH) is accepted in the Journal of Cardiovascular Disease and Development. Check it out: Vortex Dynamics in Trabeculated Embryonic Ventricles.
BICEP LAB NEWS!
IB2d SIMULATION OF THE MONTH!
"Jellyfish w/ Tentacles/Oral Arms!"
Simulation by:
Jason Miles, Undergraduate Math Major, TCNJ
IB2d simulation of a jellyfish with tentacles and oral arms by Jason Miles. Check out the paper: J.G. Miles, N.A. Battista, "Naut Your Everyday Jellyfish Model: Exploring How Tentacles and Oral Arms Impact Locomotion" Fluids 4(3): 169 (2019) Check it out!
(Image Credit: Gem Perkins, SoS TCNJ)