Scott Pedersen

Title

Professor Emeritus of Biology

Office Building

Alfred Dairy Science Hall

Office

228

Mailing Address

Alfred Dairy Science Hall 228
Biology & Microbiology-Box 2104A
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007

Academic Responsibilities

Pedersen has taught courses in Gross Anatomy, Embryology,and Evolution at SDSU. His disparate research interests have included biodiversity, cranial morphology of cannibal salamanders, biomechanics of bat skulls, and the development of early radar-guided missile technology.

Areas of Research

He has studied the biogeography/biodiversity of bats in the Lesser Antilles. Therein, the frequency of hurricanes and volcanic activity over the last 30 years have provided unique insight as to how bats evolve in disturbance-mediated environments.

More recently, he returned to his studies of bat skulls. These crania exhibit a stunning range of morphological diversity that reflects their diverse dietary specializations. However, diversity in masticatory function is uniquely subordinate to the biomechanical demands of vocalization (echolocation) in rhinolophoid bats. He is currently studying how irregular geometries, small structural size and non-trivial multiphysics coupling within the pharynx are integrated to achieve superior system-level performance.