For centuries, humans and scientists alike have been fascinated by flight and our planet’s flying creatures. Leon Claessens, assistant professor of biology at the College of the Holy Cross, is no exception. He’s made it his life’s work to study the relationship between the anatomy of birds and flight—and now he’s sharing his research in the new History Channel series Evolve. Evolve: Flight premieres Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 10 p.m.
Internationally known for a study he co-published in Nature suggesting that the breathing systems of Tyrannosaurus rex are similar to those of living birds, Claessens was sought out by producers last May for his research on the evolution of bird respiratory systems. Filming took place over the summer and involved experiments with live birds. Using cineradiography (x-ray video) to examine the air sacs of guinea fowl on a treadmill, Claessens demonstrated how birds get the oxygen they need for flight.
Claessens’ appearance marks the second time a Holy Cross scientist has been featured in a History Channel show in less than a month. On August 14, Jude Kelley, assistant professor of chemistry, performed experiments and provided commentary on iron during an episode of Modern Marvels. Richard Herrick, professor and chair of the chemistry department, served as a special consultant for the show.
The recipient of several grants, Claessens was recently awarded $497,735 from the National Science Foundation (NSF), to create a 3D online database of digital scans of the different bones in the skeleton of living, recently extinct, and fossil birds.
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