I am an organismal biologist broadly interested in vertebrate form and function, with specific interests in the ecological and evolutionary biomechanics of behavior. In both the laboratory and classroom I have placed emphasis on a comparative, phylogenetic approach to the study of organismal function and physiology. My research goal has been to examine the musculoskeletal mechanics of ecologically important behaviors, including locomotion and predator-prey interactions, in the bony fishes. Current research addresses functional aspects of fish swimming, with a view to understanding broad-scale evolutionary patterns in the neuromuscular control and hydrodynamics of fin-based propulsion. Presently, in collaboration with Dr. George Lauder of Harvard University, I am pursuing applications of a modern, quantitative flow visualization technique to questions of how fishes propel themselves through the aquatic environment. This approach, adopted from the field of fluid mechanics, holds considerable promise for illuminating the dynamics of biological fluid flow and for allowing functional interpretation of evolutionary trends in propulsor design. My dissertation work was conducted at Harvard University with Dr. Karel Liem, who provided training in experimental functional morphology, comparative vertebrate anatomy and physiology, cladistics, and ichthyology. Working in this laboratory inspired a strong commitment to undergraduate biology instruction, with emphasis on creativity and enthusiasm in teaching. With Dr. Liem I acted as teaching assistant for biology courses emphasizing animal biomechanics and evolution at Harvard and at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Marine Laboratories. Under my previous postdoctoral advisor, Dr. Ted Goslow, I served for two years as member of the lecturing and laboratory staff for gross human anatomy at Brown University's School of Medicine. To date, I have eight years of experience in lecturing, developing laboratory exercises, and supervising student research at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Drucker, E. G. and G. V. Lauder. 2003. Function of pectoral fins in rainbow trout: behavioral repertoire and hydrodynamic forces. Journal of Experimental Biology 206: 813-826.

Lauder, G. V., E. G. Drucker, J. C. Nauen and C. D. Wilga. 2003. Experimental hydrodynamics and evolution: caudal fin locomotion in fishes. In Vertebrate Biomechanics and Evolution (eds. V. L. Bels, J.-P. Gasc and A. Casinos), pp. 117-135. Oxford: BIOS Scientific Publishers.

Drucker, E. G. and G. V. Lauder. 2002. Wake dynamics and locomotor function in fishes: interpreting evolutionary patterns in pectoral fin design. Integrative and Comparative Biology 42: 997-1008.

Lauder, G. V., J. C. Nauen and E. G. Drucker. 2002. Experimental hydrodynamics and evolution: function of median fins in ray-finned fishes. Integrative and Comparative Biology 42: 1009-1017.

Lauder, G. V. and E. G. Drucker. 2002. Forces, fishes, and fluids: hydrodynamic mechanisms of aquatic locomotion. News in Physiological Sciences 17: 235-240.

Drucker, E. G. and G. V. Lauder. 2002. Experimental hydrodynamics of fish locomotion: functional insights from wake visualization. Integrative and Comparative Biology 42: 243-257.

Drucker, E. G. and G. V. Lauder. 2001. Locomotor function of the dorsal fin in teleost fishes: experimental analysis of wake forces in sunfish. Journal of Experimental Biology 204: 2943-2958. [Cover illustration / (PDF)] [JEB News and Views article]

Drucker, E. G. and G. V. Lauder. 2001. Wake dynamics and fluid forces of turning maneuvers in sunfish. Journal of Experimental Biology 204: 431-442.

Drucker, E. G. and G. V. Lauder. 2000. A hydrodynamic analysis of fish swimming speed: wake structure and locomotor force in slow and fast labriform swimmers. Journal of Experimental Biology 203: 2379-2393.

Drucker, E. G. and G. V. Lauder. 1999. Locomotor forces on a swimming fish: three-dimensional vortex wake dynamics quantified using digital particle image velocimetry. Journal of Experimental Biology 202: 2393-2412. [Cover illustration / (PDF)]

Drucker, E. G. and J. S. Jensen. 1997. Kinematic and electromyographic analysis of steady pectoral fin swimming in the surfperches. Journal of Experimental Biology 200: 1709-1723.

Drucker, E. G. 1996. The use of gait transition speed in comparative studies of fish locomotion. American Zoologist 36: 555-566.

Drucker, E. G. and J. S. Jensen. 1996. Pectoral fin locomotion in the striped surfperch. I. Kinematic effects of swimming speed and body size. Journal of Experimental Biology 199: 2235-2242.

Drucker, E. G. and J. S. Jensen. 1996. Pectoral fin locomotion in the striped surfperch. II. Scaling swimming kinematics and performance at a gait transition. Journal of Experimental Biology 199: 2243-2252.

Galis, F. and E. G. Drucker. 1996. Pharyngeal biting mechanics in centrarchid and cichlid fishes: insights into a key evolutionary innovation. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 9: 641-670.

Drucker, E. G. and J. S. Jensen. 1991. Functional analysis of a specialized prey processing behavior: winnowing by surfperches (Teleostei: Embiotocidae). Journal of Morphology 210: 267-287.

SUBMITTED

Drucker, E. G. and A. P. Summers. (publication August, 2004). Moving with fins and limbs: an historical perspective on the study of animal locomotion with paired appendages. In Fins into Limbs (ed. B. K. Hall). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

IN PREPARATION

Drucker, E. G. and J. A. Walker. Mechanics of paired fin propulsion. In: Fish Physiology: Biomechanics (eds. R. Shadwick and G. Lauder). Elselvier.