16 MOMENTUM • VIRGINIA TECH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Mueller found research allies at the University of Brunei and its Faculty of Integrated Technology ( FIT ) who committed to building a bat house near the University , also pledging $ 200,000 in funding to get the project started . Dean of FIT Liyanage Chandratilak De Silva , FIT Associate Dean Juliana Haji Zaini , and FIT faculty member Wahyu Caesarendra played critical roles , as did Ulmar Grafe , field ecologist and Director of the university ’ s Natural History Museum .
In planning creation of the image-capture tunnel , the researchers first worked to determine the kind of structure to use and how to assemble the tunnel in a place where bats were already living . To that end , Mueller created a senior design project to activate the creativity and intellect of undergraduates , and several Virginia Tech students answered the call . Senior Christian Mergl took the lead , joined by fellow mechanical engineering majors Alec Joseph Maccaro , Anuj Roy , Wenkun Liu , Armani Tagle , Jason Brannick , Spencer Kirkham IV , and Kevin Byrnes .
The plan was to capitalize on the large bat population to create a captive group of diverse animals trained to fly through the tunnel on command , demonstrating their unique skill set . Mueller found partners in Brunei to assist with putting a research facility in place .
Once the student team finished their tunnel design plans , an additional student team convened to do the work of bringing together a functional camera array . Two of those students , undergraduates Sounak Chakrabarti and Hannah-Victoria Thielmanm , won an Honorable Mention Award for a presentation of the project at the 2020 Virginia Academy of Science Fall Undergraduate Research Meeting in November .
The final tunnel design is 8.6m long , 2.9 m wide , and 3.3m tall . Observations will be recorded on 50 synchronized highspeed video cameras with illumination from 40 camera lights , and with 40 ultrasonic microphones .
Mueller ’ s plan is to complete the integrated build , combining the tunnel design with the student-built array , and to ship the completed tunnel to Brunei . He aims to start making observations of “ elite ” bats soon .
“ The collaborative research platform in Brunei will allow us to combine first-hand access to biodiversity with world-class experimental facilities ,” said Mueller . “ This will enable Virginia Tech researchers and their international collaborators to gain new insights for technology right from the source .”