Research in our lab focuses on the control and dynamics of movement, from molecular and cellular levels of organization to the dynamics and neural control of moving animals. We use a combination of approaches including computational methods, imaging techniques (from high speed video of flying insects to X-ray diffraction of muscle proteins) and experimental approaches such as biomechanical and electrophysiological techniques.
Tom’s research and teaching melds neuroscience, engineering, computing, and biomechanics to understand the control and dynamics of movement in biology. He was trained in Biology at Duke and Engineering at Caltech. He has been on the faculty in the Biology (previously Zoology) of the University of Washington since 1984 and was its founding chair. He was MacArthur Fellow, a Guggenheim, AAAS Fellow and a recipient of the UW Distinguished Teaching Award and the UW Graduate Mentor Award.  He served as the President and CEO of the Washington Research Foundation form 2022-2025.  Tom currently serves on the Biological Science and Technology advisory group for DARPA, and is a member of the Washington Academy of Sciences.  He also  serves on the Board of Directors of The Allen Family Philanthropies and The Allen Fund for Science and Technology and the Management Board of the National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore India.