Adrian Leland Rees Thomas (born 1963) is a professor of

biomechanics Biomechanics is the study of the structure, function and motion of the mechanical aspects of biological systems, at any level from whole organisms to organs, cells and cell organelles, using the methods of mechanics. Biomechanics is a branch of ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

and Director of Studies in Biological Sciences at

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formall ...

running the Animal Flight Research Group. He is co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Animal Dynamics and is also chairman of the flight section of the Bionis International

Biomimetics Biomimetics or biomimicry is the emulation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems. The terms "biomimetics" and "biomimicry" are derived from grc, βίος (''bios''), life, and μίμησ ...

Network.

Education

Thomas was educated at

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

and studied

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

at Oxford as an undergraduate from 1981 to 1984. He completed a Doctor of Philosophy degree at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion flight feather Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...

s of birds.

Career and research

Thomas was appointed a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of Lady Margaret Hall in 1998 and professor of biomechanics in 2006. He founded the University of Oxford Animal Flight Research Group in 1996. His mechanical analogue of

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

was developed by his company, Animal Dynamics Ltd, to make small

unmanned aerial vehicles An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

(aka drones or

ornithopter An ornithopter (from Greek ''ornis, ornith-'' "bird" and ''pteron'' "wing") is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers sought to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, th ...

s) to outperform

quadcopters A quadcopter or quadrotor is a type of helicopter with four rotors. Although quadrotor helicopters and convertiplanes have long been flown experimentally, the configuration remained a curiosity until the arrival of the modern UAV or drone. T ...

. His work has been funded by the

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is "to maximise the impact of science and technology for the ...

, the research arm of the

British Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of ...

, and the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. The company is an Oxford

University spin-off University spin-offs (also known as university spin-outs) are companies that transform technological inventions developed from university research that are likely to remain unexploited otherwise. They are a subcategory of research spin-offs. Promi ...

started in 2015 with co-founder Alex Caccia. The company has expanded into the

of fish to develop a machine powered by the same type of flapping propulsion. His research investigates

insect flight Insects are the only group of invertebrates that have evolved wings and flight. Insects first flew in the Carboniferous, some 350 to 400 million years ago, making them the first animals to evolve flight. Wings may have evolved from appendag ...

using

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

desert locust The desert locust (''Schistocerca gregaria'') is a species of locust, a periodically swarming, short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. They are found primarily in the deserts and dry areas of northern and eastern Africa, Arabia, and sou ...

s and

hawkmoth The Sphingidae are a family of moths ( Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, b ...

s. Thomas has supervised several Doctor of Philosophy students including Graham Taylor, Simon Walker and Richard Bomphrey. Thomas was a British champion in paragliding in 2006 and 2009. He is an executive board member of the

British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association The British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA), based in Leicester, is the governing body in the UK for hang gliding and paragliding. Association details The BHPA is recognised by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the R ...

. He was an aerodynamics consultant with

Airwave Gliders Airwave Gliders was an Austrian aircraft manufacturer based in Fulpmes. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of hang gliders and paragliders.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', ...

GmbH, who manufactured

paragliders Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched Glider (aircraft), glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a :wikt:harness, harness o ...

hang-gliders Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

and

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Adrian Leland Rees Living people English zoologists Biomechanics British bioengineers People educated at Abingdon School Fellows of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Place of birth missing (living people) 1963 births Alumni of the University of Oxford