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Sheila N Patek
Mrs. Alexander Hehmeyer Professor
The primary goal of research in the Patek laboratory is to examine the dynamic interplay between evolutionary processes and the mechanics of organisms.
Appointments and Affiliations
- Mrs. Alexander Hehmeyer Professor
- Professor of Biology
Contact Information
- Office Location: 014 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
- Office Phone: (919) 613-8306
- Email Address: snp2@duke.edu
- Websites:
Education
- Ph.D. Duke University, 2001
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- Guggenheim Award. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. 2015
- Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. National Science Foundation. 2013
- Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. National Science Foundation. 2012
- Christopher Clavius, S.J. Award . Sigma Xi, St. Joseph’s University. 2009
- George A Bartholomew Award. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. 2008
- Radcliffe Institute Fellowship. Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. 2008
- Brilliant 10 Award. Popular Science Magazine. 2004
Courses Taught
- BIOLOGY 293: Research Independent Study
- BIOLOGY 329D: Principles of Animal Physiology
- BIOLOGY 329L: Principles of Animal Physiology
- BIOLOGY 429S: How Organisms Move
- BIOLOGY 493: Research Independent Study
- BIOLOGY 791T: Tutorial
- BIOLOGY 792: Research
In the News
- Five New Bass Professors Named for Excellence in Teaching and Research (Apr 23, 2020)
- Leaping Larvae! How Do They Even Do That Without Legs? (Aug 8, 2019)
- Why a Robot Can't Yet Outjump a Flea (Apr 26, 2018)
- Mantis Shrimp Size Each Other Up Before Ceding a Fight (Jan 17, 2018)
- Why Do Research for the Sake of Knowing? (May 31, 2016)
- Sheila Patek: Why research for the pure sake of knowing is enough (May 26, 2016 | PBS NewsHour)
- Professor Patek Goes to Washington, Talks Up Research (Apr 15, 2016)
- Here’s what happened when a group of scientists went to confront their congressional tormentors (Apr 15, 2016 | The Huffington Post)
- The Benefits of 'Strange Science' (Apr 5, 2016 | Duke Magazine)
- Is Mantis Shrimp Research a Waste of Money? How 'Wastebook' Misses the Big Picture (Dec 7, 2015 | Duke Research Blog)
- Fisticuffs Among the Mantis Shrimp (Sep 23, 2015 | Duke Research Blog)
- Mantis shrimps avoid deadly fights by pummeling each other (Sep 23, 2015 | The Atlantic)
- The ant that blasts itself out of danger with its face (Aug 7, 2015 | Wired)
- Sheila Patek: Ant-Man's real-life rivals (Jul 17, 2015 | National Geographic)
- How mantis shrimps spar (Jun 18, 2015 | Science News)
- How Mantis Shrimp Evolved Many Shapes with Same Powerful Punch (Feb 27, 2015)
Representative Publications
- Dinh, JP; Azza, J; Patek, SN, Winner effects and switching assessment strategies facilitate fast and frugal decisions in territorial contests, Animal Behaviour, vol 170 (2020), pp. 189-205 [10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.09.012] [abs].
- Sutton, GP; Mendoza, E; Azizi, E; Longo, SJ; Olberding, JP; Ilton, M; Patek, SN, Corrigendum to: Why do Large Animals Never Actuate Their Jumps with Latch Mediated Springs? Because They can Jump Higher Without Them., Integrative and Comparative Biology, vol 60 no. 6 (2020) [10.1093/icb/icz149] [abs].
- Divi, S; Ma, X; Ilton, M; St Pierre, R; Eslami, B; Patek, SN; Bergbreiter, S, Latch-based control of energy output in spring actuated systems., Journal of the Royal Society, Interface, vol 17 no. 168 (2020) [10.1098/rsif.2020.0070] [abs].
- Harrison, JS; Porter, ML; Patek, SN, Scaling and development of elastic mechanisms: the tiny strikes of larval mantis shrimp, Integrative and Comparative Biology, vol 60 (2020), pp. E97-E97 [abs].
- Munoz, MM; Anderson, PSL; Hu, Y; Patek, SN; Camarillo, H, How Predictable and Correlated are Patterns of Form-Function Evolution?, Integrative and Comparative Biology, vol 60 (2020), pp. E168-E168 [abs].