Yu Zeng Ph.D. (曾昱)

Hi, I’m a comparative biomechanist and organismal biologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida.

Research

I study how organisms achieve extraordinary motion, combining speed, reach, precision, and control, and uncover the biomechanical principles underlying these capabilities.

I am particularly interested in how these systems originate and diversify through evolution, and how their design principles can inspire new engineering systems.

• Aerial locomotion and control - righting, gliding, maneuvering, and the evolutionary origins of insect flight
• Rapid actuation and manipulation - ballistic projection, prehensile structures, and biological end-effectors
• Morphological reconfiguration and maneuverability - how organisms and body parts change geometry to control movement and interaction
• Novel biomaterials - formation, mechanics, and evolution of biological materials such as hagfish slime threads

Education

I received my Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from University of California at Berkeley (advised by Robert Dudley & David Wake).

News

• Field work in Italy — 2026-08-05
• Field work in Korea — 2026-05-16
• Winning USF Lighting Talk Contest — 2025-11-06
• Reuters TV interview on ballistic tongues — 2025-10-09
• interview with WMNF radio — 2025-09-17

More news →

Editorial service

• Associate Editor, Acta Herpetologica

Reviewed for

• Bioinspiration & Biomimetics
• Biotropica
• eLife
• Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution
• Integrative and Comparative Biology
• Integrative Zoology
• iScience
• Journal of Experimental Biology
• Journal of Insect Sciences
• Journal of Comparative Physiology
• PeerJ
• Physical Review Letters
• Phyllomedusa: Journal of Herpetology
• PLOS ONE
• Scientific Reports
• Zoomorphology