About me

I joined Dr. David Hu’s lab at Georgia Tech to pursue my Ph.D. degree in 2018. The four years I spent there were really transformative. David showed how research should be both serious and fun. He showed that publishing wok-tossing physics in scientific journals is not a dream. It is also there where I found my love for fire ants and the physics of living systems (PoLS). The PoLS community at Georgia Tech is one of its kind and obviously the best of the whole universe (may be biased). Then Covid hit, which somehow gave me the unique opportunity to combine my previous experience to do simulations for insect collective behaviors.

After that, I joined Princeton University studying swarm robotics as a postdoc fellow. I followed an absolutely wonderful advisor, Radhika Nagpal, who is a both a world-renowned roboticist and a feminist. I’ve learned so much from her! My postdoc is funded by an external fellowship, JSMF, so I travel to Santa Fe Institute twice a year to meet my cohort. Fellows are from all disciplines and it is always fun to hang out with them. New Mexico is amazing and I enjoyed exchanging ideas with rising stars in their respective field!

In my free time, I love watching documentaries and listening to audiobooks to learn random facts about animals and to learn about different cultures. I played a lot of basketball growing up but now I spend significantly more time watching (too much time!). Another livelong hobby is music. I simply can’t live without it. I still hope that one day I will finally get around making my own music. Recently, I am obsessed with rock-climbing (indoor bouldering), driving for an hour to my favorite gym (method climbing) from Princeton almost every weekend. I am super excited about the climbing scene in Boston. That’s where you will find me!

Invited Seminars

University of Washington, Friday Harbor Lab, WA, Aug. 8, 2024. Host: Dr Adam Summers
University of Pennsylvania, Mathematical Biology Seminar, Philadelphia, PA, Jan. 22, 2024.
Harvard University, MCZ Lunchtime Seminar, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, MA, June 5, 2023. Host: Dr George Lauder
Princeton University, Integrated Behavioral Research Group Seminar, Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton, NJ, Oct. 13, 2023. Host: Dr Mary Cassie Stoddard
University of Pennsylvania, Soft Matter Seminar, Dept. of Physics, Philadelphia, PA, Mar. 17, 2022. Host: Dr Arnold Mathijssen
Princeton University, Theoretical Ecology Tea Seminar, Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton, NJ, Feb. 1, 2022. Host: Dr Corina Tarnita
New York University, Department of Chemistry, New York, NY, Nov. 15, 2022. Host: Dr. Steph Lee
University of California Berkeley, Department of Mechanical Engineering, E201 Ocean Engineering Seminar Series. Virtual, March 4, 2022. Host: Dr. Philip S. Marcus
National Tsing Hua University, Department of Mechanical Engineering Power, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Dec 30, 2021. Host: Dr. Patricia Yang
Academia Sinica, Biodiversity Research Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Dec 29, 2021. Host: Dr. John Wang
National Taiwan University, Graduate Institute of Applied Mechanics, Taipei, Taiwan, Dec 28, 2021. Host: Yi-Ju Chou
Princeton University Shaevitz Lab, Physics department. Princeton, NJ, September 15, 2021. Host: Dr. Joshua Shaevitz
Cornell University Collective Embodied Intelligence Lab, Electricical and Computer Engineering. Virtual, April 30, 2021. Host: Dr. Kirstin Petersen
Georgia Institute of Technology Physics of Living Systems Lunch and Learn, Atlanta, GA, March 4, 2021, & Sept. 12, 2019

Publications

My Google Scholar profile

In preparation

Zhang, H., Wetherington, M. T., Ko, H., FitzGerald, C. E., Nirody, J. A., Bacterial motility patterns adapt in response to spatial confinement and disorder.
Harrison, J., Smith, A., Ko, H., Kim, B., Koh, J., Bhamla, S., Directional take-off and aerial control of ultrafast jumps in springtails and robots.
Ko, H., Girma, A., Zhang, Y., Pan, Y., Lauder, G. V., Nagpal, R., Beyond planar: fish schools adopt ladder formations in 3D.
Ko, H., Vanderberg, M. L., Hawkins, O., Summers, A., Nagpal, R., Donatelli, C., Vibrating with flow: flexible bodies of dead fish enable passive undulation behind obstacles.

Published

Ni, D., Ko, H., Nagpal, R., 2024, Leader-Follower 3D Formation for Underwater Robots. Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems: 17th International Symposium. Springer International Publishing
Ramshanker, S., Ko, H., Nagpal, R., 2024. Strategic Sacrifice: Self-Organized Robot Swarm Localization for Inspection Productivity. Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems: 17th International Symposium. Springer International Publishing
Zhang, Y., Ko, H., Calicchia, M. A., Ni, R., Lauder, G. V., 2024, Collective movement of schooling fish reduces the costs of locomotion in turbulent conditions. PLoS biology, 22(6), e3002501.
Ko H., Lauder G. V., Nagpal R., 2023, The role of hydrodynamics in collective motions of fish schools and bioinspired underwater robots. Journal of the Royal Society Interface (Cover), 20: 20230357
Saro-Cortes, V., Sedky, G., Ko, H., Flammang, B., Wissa, A., 2023, Hydrodynamic Evaluation of a Flying Fish Robotic Model Organism: A Study on the Effects of the Caudal Fin Shape. 2023 IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA), pp. 670-674.
Ortega-Jimenez, V. M., Challita, E.*, Kim, B.*, Ko, H.*, Gwon, M., Koh, J-S., Bhamla, M.S., Directional takeoff, aerial righting, and adhesion landing of semiaquatic springtails. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119 (46), e2211283119
Ko, H., Hadgu, M., Komilian, K., Hu, D.L., 2022, Fire ant rafts are unstable. Physical Review Fluids 7 (9), 090501
Ko, H., Yu, T., Hu, D.L., 2022. Fire ant rafts elongate under fluid flows. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 17, no. 4 (June 9, 2022): 045007.
Ko, H., Komilian, K., Waters, J.S., Hu, D.L, 2021. Metabolic scaling and thermal performance of fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) engaged in collective behaviors. Biology Open (Cover), 11(2), p.bio059076.
Ko, H., Cassidy, G.J., Shishkov, O., Aydin, E., Hu, D.L, Goldman, D.I., 2021. Air-fluidized aggregates of black soldier fly larvae. Frontiers in Physics, 663.
Chen, W.*, Ko, H.*, Chuang, H.S., Bau, H.H. Raizen, D.M. 2021. Caenorhabditis elegans Exhibits Positive Gravitaxis. BMC Biology, 19(1), 1-16.
Ko, H., Hu, D.L, 2020. The Physics of tossing fried rice. Journal of the Royal Society Interface (Cover), 17: 2019622
Yuan, J., Ko, H., Raizen, D.M., Bau, H.H., 2016. Terrain following and applications: Caenorhabditis elegans swims along the floor using a bump and undulate strategy. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 13(124), p.20160612.
Liu, X., Ko, H., Guo, M., Wu, Z., 2016. A New Traffic Model on Compulsive Lane-Changing Caused by Off-ramp. Chinese Physics B, 25(4), p.048901
Ko, H., Liu, X., Guo, M., Wu, Z., 2015. A New Traffic Model with a Lane-Changing Viscosity Term. Chinese Physics B, 24(9), p.098901

Selected Awards & Scholarships

James S. McDonnell Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship for understanding Dynamic & Multi-Scale Systems ($200,000)
Company of Biologists Travelling Fellowship: Characterizing 3D transient formations of fish schools (June 2023) (£3,000)
Santa Fe Institute Working Group: Exploring the space of bacterial motility (Mar. 2023) ($5,100)
Princeton Engineering Diversity and Inclusion Initiative: establishing robotics diversity bookshelf ($1000)
2022 Rising Stars in Soft and Biological Matter awarded by NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC)
2022 American Physical Society (APS) Distinguished Student Travel Grant
2022 American Physical Society (APS) Division of Biological Physics Shirley Chan Travel Grants
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching & Learning Associate Certificate
2019-2020 Center of Science and Technology of Advanced Material Interface (STAMI) Scientific Travel Award
2019 Student Graduate Association (GSA) Conference Fund
2016 UPenn MEAM MSE Merit Scholarship (UPenn, 4 out of all the MEAM master students, class of 2017)
Stars of the Undergraduate Class 2015 (Fudan Univ., 10 out of students from all schools, class of 2015)
Hui-Chun Chin and Tsung-Dao Lee Chinese Undergraduate Research Endowment (Mar. 2014—Jun. 2015)
Baosteel’s First Prize for Outstanding Students from Taiwan (2013-2014 academic year)
First Prize for Outstanding Students from Taiwan (2011-2012 & 2012-2013 academic year)

Conference Presentations

Ko, H., Mmari, B.G., Ni, D., Nagpal, R., Designing a miniature fish robot – an aquatic analog for hexbugs. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology National Meeting (SICB), Seattle, WA, Jan 2-6, 2024
Zhang, Y., Ko, H., Calicchia, M.A., Ni, R., Lauder, G., Schooling fish save energy by filtering environmental turbulence. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology National Meeting (SICB), Seattle, WA, Jan 2-6, 2024
Harrison, J., Smith, A., Ko, H., Kim, B., Koh, J., Bhamla, S., Controlling ultrafast jumps: how furca morphology affects jump dynamics in springtails and robots. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology National Meeting (SICB), Seattle, WA, Jan 2-6, 2024
Ko, H., Girma, A., Zhang, Y., Nagpal, R., Lauder, G., Fish school dynamics: characterizing transient formations. American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics Annual Meeting (DFD), Washington, DC, Nov 19-21, 2023
Harrison, J., Smith, A., Ko, H., Bhamla, S., A hinged jumping appendage helps terrestrial springtails direct their ultrafast jumps. American Physical Society Annual March Meeting (APS), Chicago, IL, March 5-10, 2023
Ko, H., Zhang, Y., Lauder, G., Nagpal, R., Tracking transient formations of fish schools. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology National Meeting (SICB), Austin, TX, Jan 16-31, 2023
Ko, H., Hadgu, M., Komilian, K., Yu, T., Hu, D.L., Collective behaviors of fire ants on the water surface. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology National Meeting (SICB), Austin, TX, Jan 16-31, 2023
O’Neil, J., Ortega-Jimenez, V., Zhu, X., Sehgal, P., Ko, H., Bhamla, M. S., Interfacial Locomotion By Living Active Matter and Physical Analogs. AIChE Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ, Nov. 14, 2022
Ko, H., Hu, D.L., Goldman, D.I., Collective behaviors of fire ant rafts and black soldier fly larvae under external flows, American Physical Society Annual March Meeting (APS), Chicago, IL, March 16, 2022 (Poster)
Ortega-Jimenez, V., Ko, H., Bhamla, S., Skydiving acrobatics and controllable leaping redefines springtails, American Physical Society Annual March Meeting (APS), Chicago, IL, March 15, 2022
Ko, H., Komilian, K., Hollingworth, L., Willner, E., Hu, D.L., Docking of fire ant rafts using pseudopods, American Physical Society Annual March Meeting (APS), Chicago, IL, March 15, 2022
Ko, H., Cassidy, G.J., Shishkov, O., Aydin, E., Hu, D.L., Goldman, DI., Air-fluidized aggregates of black soldier fly larvae, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology National Meeting (SICB), Phoenix, Arizona, Jan 3-7, 2022
Ko, H., Hadgu, M., Hu, D.L., Cheerios effect drives the formation of fire ant rafts. American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics Annual Meeting (DFD), Phoenix, Arizona, Nov 21-23, 2021
Ko, H., Komilian, K., Roe, K., Hadgu, M., Hollingworth, L., Willner, E., Hu, D.L., Morphing fire ant aggregations, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Regional Meeting (rSICB), Atlanta, GA, Nov 6, 2021
Ko, H., Hadgu, M., Hu, D.L., Fire ant rafts are unstable. The 15th international symposium on distributed autonomous robotic systems (DARS) & The 4th international symposium on swarm behavior and bio-inspired robotics (SWARM), Virtual, June 1-4, 2021
Komilian, K., Ko, H., Waters, J., Hu, D.L., Metabolism of small groups of fire ant workers scale isometrically, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology National Meeting (SICB), Virtual, Jan 3 – Feb. 28, 2021
Ko, H., Shishkov, O., Hu, D.L., Goldman, D.I., Simulating fluidization of black soldier larvae. American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics Annual Meeting (DFD), Virtual, Nov 21-23, 2020
Yu, T., Ko, H,Hu, D.L., Fire Ants Rafts Deform Under Uniform Flow, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Regional Meeting (rSICB), Virtual, Nov 13, 2020
Puhalla, S., Ko, H., Hu, D.L., Collective movement of fire ant under various temperature environments, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Regional Meeting (rSICB), Virtual, Nov 13, 2020
Roe, K., Ko, H., Hu, D.L., Dynamics of suspended ants, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Regional Meeting (rSICB), Virtual, Nov 13, 2020
Komilian, K., Ko, H., Hu, D.L., Metabolism of small groups of fire ant workers scale isometrically, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Regional Meeting (rSICB), Virtual, Nov 13, 2020
Ko, H., Yu, T., Hu, D.L., Streamlining in fire ant rafts (invited flash talk). IEEE International Conference on Intelligence Robots and Systems (IROS) Workshop on Robotics-Inspired Biology, Virtual, Oct 25, 2020
Ko, H., Shishkov, O., Hu, D.L., Goldman, D.I., Fluidization of black soldier fly larvae collective. Southeast Soft Matter Symposium, Virtual, Aug 27-28, 2020
Ko, H., Hu, D.L, Brownian motion of fire ants hinders raft formation. American Physical Society Annual March Meeting (APS), Virtual, March 3, 2020
Ko, H., Hu, D.L, Spinning shrinking fire ant raft. American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics Annual Meeting (DFD), Seattle, WA, November 23-26, 2019
Puhalla. S., Ko, H., Hu D.L., Stimulating fire ant aggregation, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Regional Meeting (rSICB), Winston-Salem, NC, October 26th, 2019
Morris, J., Ko, H., Hu D.L., Fire ant rafts deform under uniform flow, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Regional Meeting (rSICB), Winston-Salem, NC, October 26th, 2019
Ko, H., Hu D.L., Random walk of fire ants on the water surface, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Regional Meeting (rSICB), Winston-Salem, NC, October 26th, 2019
Ko, H., Hu, D.L, Fire ant raft shrinks due to fluid shear. International meeting of Physics of Living System (IPoLS), Munich, Germany, July 8-11, 2019
Ko, H., Hu D.L. The Physics of tossing fried rice. American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics Annual Meeting (DFD), Atlanta, GA, November 18-20, 2018