Douglas Warrick, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in biophysics at the zoology department of Oregon State University, specializing in the study of functional/ecological morphology, aerodynamics, and the evolution of vertebrate flight, working with many bird species, including hummingbirds and seabirds.[1]
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Warrick was brought up in northern Nebraska.[2] He learned to fly at an early age, qualifying for a pilot's license at 17.[2] He attended the University of Nebraska, earning a bachelor's degree in life sciences in 1982.[1] He earned a master's degree in biology from the University of Oregon in 1992, and a PhD in biology from the University of Montana in 1997.[1]
Warrick worked for a biological consulting firm from 1987 to 1992, including work on the Exxon Valdez oil spill.[2] Today he continues to participate in studies of seabird mortality from oil spills.[1] As of 2001 he was assistant professor in biology at Minot State University in North Dakota.[2] While at Minot State University, his research focus was on functional morphology, in particular avian flight structures, behavioral ecology, in particular, predator/prey relationships and foraging strategies, locomotor performance (maneuvering performance and prey capture/evasion performance) and biomechanics.[2]
In 2005, Warrick led a research study into the hummingbird's ability to hover in flight. Working with trained rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) that hovered over a feeding syringe filled with sugar solution, Warrick and his research team employed digital particle imaging velocimetry to capture the bird's wing movements on film, which enabled the discovery that the hummingbird's hovering is achieved primarily because of its wing's downstroke (which accounts for 75% of its lift) rather than its upstroke (which makes up the additional 25% of the lift). This was counter to the conventional wisdom which was that the lift was provided 50:50 by the up and down strokes as with hawk moths.[3][4][5] Warrick's research was published in Nature, a leading scientific journal, and his research conclusions were widely reported in the international media such as Scientific American, the BBC, the Associated Press news wire, and the United States National Science Foundation.[1][6][7][8]
Warrick et al's Nature (2005) article inspired Jennifer MacMillan and Bradley Eros to create their own "experiment" - investigating the "cross-pollination of scientific visualization and poetic document". Their art work added "star studies, satellite recordings, subaquatic and botanical investigations, liquid crystals, visual music performance generated from the scientific instrument, high speed motion studies, a discussion of subatomic physics, and readings of the 10 most beautiful experiments of science."[9]