Kurt Schwenk, Ph.D

Professor
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut, United States

Kurt Schwenk is a functional morphologist and evolutionary biologist in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut. He received a BA from Oberlin College in 1977, and then worked as a zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo in New York City before completing his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1984. He held postdoctoral positions at the University of Illinois School of Dentistry and Harvard University before moving to UConn. Dr. Schwenk’s research focuses on the anatomy, function, biomechanics, and evolution of feeding and chemosensory systems in terrestrial vertebrates, especially lizards and snakes. He uses his empirical work to address broader questions about phenotypic evolution, with a particular interest in the concept of evolutionary constraint. His work relies on the integration of data from gross anatomy, histology, photography, and high-speed macro-videography.

Presentation(s):

• Sticking, Cupping and Grasping: Using High-speed Macro-videography to Visualize the Morphology and Mechanics of Lingual Prey Capture in Lizards

  Friday, March 22, 2024
  6:00pm – 7:00pm US EDT