For more information visit Malcolm’s Google Scholar profile.
We have tried to include links to all our papers as well as corresponding video explainer/outreach. While many of the PDFs should be avaialable, some of the articles may be behind the journal’s paywall. If you cannot access one of our papers, let us know and we can send you the direct PDF.
Spatial planning with long visual range benefits escape from visual predators in complex naturalistic environments
Ugurcan Mugan, Malcolm A. MacIver
Under revision, Nature Communications, 2020 (Preprint)
Sense organ control in moths to moles is a gamble on information through motion
Chen Chen, Todd. D. Murphey, Malcolm A. MacIver
Under revision, eLife, 2020 (Preprint,
Video Explainer)
Intersection of motor volumes predicts the outcome of predator-prey interactions
Kiran D. Bhattacharyya, David L. McLean, Malcolm A. MacIver
bioRxiv, 2019 (Preprint)
Arbitrating between planning and habit in naturalistic environments
Ugurcan Mugan, Malcolm A. MacIver
Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience, Berlin GR, 2019 (Article)
Terrestrial sensory ecology provides a selective benefit to planning
COSYNE workshop ‘Beyond trial-based choice: decision-making in naturalistic and temporally extended environments’, Cascais PR, 2019 (Video)
Feedback Synthesis For Underactuated Systems Using Sequential Second-Order Needle Variations
Giorgos Mamakoukas, Malcolm A. MacIver, Todd D. Murphey
The International Journal of Robotics Research, 2018 (Article)
How sensory ecology affects the utility of planning
Ugurcan Mugan, Malcolm A. MacIver
Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience, Philadelphia PA, 2018 (Article, Presentation)
Superlinear Convergence Using Controls Based on Second-Order Needle Variations
Giorgos Mamakoukas, Malcolm A. MacIver, Todd D. Murphey
IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Miami Beach FL, 2018 (Article)
Visual threat assessment and reticulospinal encoding of calibrated responses in larval zebrafish
Kiran D. Bhattacharyya, David L. McLean, Malcolm A. MacIver
Current Biology, 2017 (Article)
Massive increase in visual range preceded the origin of terrestrial vertebrates
Malcolm A. MacIver, Lars Schmitz, Ugurcan Mugan, Todd D. Murphey, Curtis D. Mobley
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017 (Article, Video Explainer)
Neuroscience Needs Behavior: Correcting a Reductionist Bias
John W. Krakauer, Asif A. Ghazanfar, Alex Gomez-Martin, Malcolm A. MacIver, David Poeppel
Neuron, 2017 (Article)
Hydrodynamic optimality of balistiform and gymnotiform locomotion
Brennan Sprinkle, Rahul Bale, Amneet Pal Singh Bhalla, Malcolm A. MacIver, Neelesh A. Patankar
European Journal of Computational Mechanics, 2017 (Article)
Feedback Synthesis for Controllable Underactuated Systems using Sequential Second Order Actions
Giorgos Mamakoukas, Malcolm A. MacIver, Todd D. Murphey
Robotics Science and Systems, 2017 (Article, Video)
Information-theoretic approach to sensor selection
Ugurcan Mugan, Malcolm A. MacIver, Michael Peshkin
The 8th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines, Sapporo JP, 2017 (Article)
Human-in-the-loop active electrosense
Sandra Fang, Michael Peshkin, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 2016 (Article)
Enhanced detection performance in electrosense through capacitive sensing
Yang Bai, Izaak D. Neveln, Michael Peshkin, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 2016 (Article)
Ergodic Exploration of Distributed Information
Lauren M. Miller, Yonatan Silverman, Malcolm A. MacIver, Todd D. Murphey
IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2016 (Article,
Video Explainer)
Sequential Action Control for Models of Underactuated Underwater Vehicles in a Planar Ideal Fluid
Giorgos Mamakoukas, Malcolm A. MacIver, Todd D. Murphey
American Control Conference (ACC), Boston MA, 2016 (Article)
Convergent evolution of mechanically optimal locomotion in aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates
Rahul Bale, Izaak D. Neveln, Amneet Pal Singh Bhalla, Malcolm A. MacIver, Neelesh A. Patankar
PLoS Biology, 2015 (Article)
Finding and identifying simple objects underwater with active electrosense
Yang Bai, James B. Snyder, Michael Peshkin, Malcolm A. MacIver
The International Journal of Robotics Research, 2015 (Article)
Separability of drag and thrust in undulatory animals and machines
Rahul Bale, Anup A. Shirgaonkar, Izaak D. Neveln, Amneet Pal Singh Bhalla, Malcolm A. MacIver, Neelesh A. Patankar
Scientific Reports, 2014 (Article)
Separability of drag and thrust in undulatory animals and machines
Izaak D. Neveln, Rahul Bale, Amneet Pal Singh Bhalla, Oscar M. Curet, Neelesh A. Patankar, Malcolm A. MacIver
Journal of Experimental Biology, 2014 (Article)
Improving Object Tracking through Distributed Exploration of an Information Map
Izaak D. Neveln, Lauren M. Miller, Malcolm A. MacIver, Todd D. Murphey
IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2014 (Article)
Mutually opposing forces during locomotion can eliminate the tradeoff between maneuverability and stability
Shahin Sefat, Izaak D. Neveln, … , Malcolm A. MacIver, Eric S. Fortune, Noah J. Cowan
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013 (Article)
Biomimetic and bio-inspired robotics in electric fish research
Izaak D. Neveln, Yang Bai, … , Malcolm A. MacIver
Journal of Experimental Biology, 2013 (Article)
Visually guided gradation of prey capture movements in larval zebrafish
Bradely W. Patterson, Aliza O. Abraham, Malcolm A. MacIver, David L. McLean
Journal of Experimental Biology, 2013 (Article)
Optimal Planning for Information Acquisition
Yonatan Silverman, Lauren M. Miller, Malcolm A. MacIver, Todd D. Murphey
Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Tokyo JP, 2013 (Article)
Engineering Health and Sustainability through Consciousness- Enhancing Technologies
Malcolm A. MacIver
McCormick Magazine, 2013, Northwestern University pp.18-19 (Article)
Kinematics of the ribbon fin in hovering and swimming of the electric ghost knifefish
Ricardo Ruiz-Torres, Oscar M. Curet, George V. Lauder, Malcolm A. MacIver
Journal of Experimental Biology, 2012 (Article)
Counter-Propagating Waves Enhance Maneuverability and Stability: A Bio-Inspired Strategy for Robotic Ribbon-Fin Propulsion
Shahin Sefati, Izaak D. Neveln, Malcolm A. MacIver, Eric Fortune, Noah J. Cowan
4th IEEE RAS & EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob), 2012 (Article)
Optimal number of waves for ribbon fin propulsion
Rahul Bale, Amneet Pal Singh Bhalla, Malcolm A. MacIver, Neelesh A. Patankar
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2012 (Article)
Sensing Capacitance of Underwater Objects in Bio-inspired Electrosense
Yang Bai, James B. Snyder, Yonatan Silverman, Michael Peshkin, Malcolm A. MacIver
IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2012 (Article)
Underwater object tracking using electrical impedance tomography
James B. Snyder, Yonatan Silverman, Yang Bai, Malcolm A. MacIver
IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2012 (Article)
Mechanical properties of a bio-inspired robotic knifefish with an undulatory propulsor
Oscar M. Curet, Neelesh A. Patankar, George V. Lauder, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 2011 (Article)
Aquatic maneuvering with counter-propagating waves: a novel locomotive strategy
Oscar M. Curet, Neelesh A. Patankar, George V. Lauder, Malcolm A. MacIver
Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2011 (Article)
Hydrodynamic optimality of ribbon fin shapes
Rahul Bale, Malcolm A. MacIver, Neelesh A. Patankar
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2011 (Article)
Fitting Science and Screen
Malcolm A. MacIver
Book Review, Science , 2011 (Review)
Energy-information trade- offs between movement and sensing
Malcolm A. MacIver, Neelesh A. Patankar, Anup A. Shirgaonkar
PLoS Computational Biology, 2010 (Article)
A versatile implicit iterative approach for fully resolved simulation of self-propulsion
Oscar M. Curet, Ibrahim K. AlAli, Malcolm A. MacIver, Neelesh A. Patankar
Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 2010 (Article)
Optimal movement in the prey strikes of weakly electric fish: a case study of the interplay of body plan and movement capability
Claire M. Postlethwaite, Tiffany M. Psemeneki, Jangir Selimkhanov, Mary Silber, Malcolm A. MacIver
Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 2009 (Article)
A new mathematical formulation and fast algorithm for fully resolved simulation of self-propulsion
Anup A. Shirgaonkar, Malcolm A. MacIver, Neelesh A. Patankar
Journal of Computational Physics, 2009 (Article)
On the “momentum enhancement” and hydrodynamic efficiency of gymnotiform and balistiform swimmers
Anup A. Shirgaonkar, Neelesh A. Patankar, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2009 (Article)
Can drag and thrust be separated in undulatory swimming
Neelesh A. Patankar, Anup A. Shirgaonkar, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2009 (Article)
Multi-directional thrusting using oppositely traveling waves in knifefish swimming
Oscar M. Curet, Malcolm A. MacIver, Neelesh A. Patankar
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2009 (Article)
Neuroethology: From Morphological Computation to Planning Malcolm A. MacIver
The Cambridge Handbook of Situated Cognition (2009), Robbins P. & Aydede M. (eds). Cambridge University Press: Capter 26, 48-504
The hydrodynamics of ribbon-fin propulsion during impulsive motion
Anup A. Shirgaonkar, Oscar M. Curet, Neelesh A. Patankar, Malcolm A. MacIver
Journal of Experimental Biology, 2008 (Article)
Active electrolocation for underwater target localization
James R. Solberg, Kevin M. Lynch, Malcolm A. MacIver
The International Journal of Robotics Research, 2008 (Article)
Hydrodynamic aspects of thrust generation in gymnotiform swimming
Anup A. Shirgaonkar, Oscar M. Curet, Neelesh A. Patankar, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2008 (Article)
Conflicts between sensory performance and locomotion in weakly electric fish
Malcolm A. MacIver, Anup A. Shirgaonkar, Neelesh A. Patankar,
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2008 (Article)
Fully resolved simulation of self-propulsion of aquatic organisms
Oscar M. Curet, Ibrahim AlAli, Neelesh A. Patankar, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2008 (Article)
Omnidirectional sensory and motor volumes in electric fish
James B. Snyder, Mark E. Nelson, Joel W. Burdick, Malcolm A. MacIver
PLoS Biology, 2007 (Article)
Robotic electrolocation: Active underwater target localization with electric fields
James R. Solberg, Kevin M. Lynch, Malcolm A. MacIver
IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2007 (Article)
An efficient algorithm for fully resolved simulation of freely swimming bodies
Anup A. Shirgaonkar, Neelesh A. Patankar, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2007 (Article)
Infomechanical specializations for prey capture in knifefish
Malcolm A. MacIver, Neelesh A. Patankar, Oscar M. Curet, Anup A. Shirgaonkar
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2007 (Article)
Simulation of bio-locomotion by a momentum redistribution technique for self-propulsion
Oscar M. Curet, Anup A. Shirgaonkar, Neelesh A. Patankar, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2007 (Article)
An algorithm for low to moderate Reynolds number swimming
Oscar M. Curet, Neelesh A. Patankar, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2007 (Article)
Sensory acquisition in active sensing systems
Mark E. Nelson, Malcolm A. MacIver
Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 2006 (Article)
Hydrodynamics of ribbon fin-based swimming with application to highly maneuverable underwater vehicles
Neelesh A. Patankar, Oscar M. Curet, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2006 (Article)
Generating thrust with a biologically-inspired robotic ribbon fin
Michael Epstein, J. Edward Colgate, Malcolm A. MacIver
IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2006 (Article)
Towards direct numerical simulation of freely swimming fish
Oscar M. Curet, Neelesh A. Patankar, Malcolm A. MacIver
Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 2006 (Article)
A biologically inspired robotic ribbon fin
Michael Epstein, J. Edward Colgate, Malcolm A. MacIver
IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, workshop on Morphology, Control, and Passive Dynamics, 2006 (Article)
Designing future underwater vehicles: principles and mechanisms of the weakly electric fish
Malcolm A. MacIver, Ebraheem Fontaine, Joel W. Burdick
IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, 2004 (Article)
Modeling electrosensory and mechanosensory images during the predatory behavior of weakly electric fish
Mark E. Nelson, Malcolm A MacIver, Sheryl Coombs
Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 2002 (Article)
Towards a biorobotic electrosensory system
Malcolm A. MacIver, Mark E. Nelson
Autonomous Robots, 2001 (Article)
Prey-capture behavior in gymnotid electric fish: motion analysis and effects of water conductivity
Malcolm A. Maciver, Noura M. Sharabash, Mark E. Nelson
Journal of Experimental Biology, 2001 (Article)
How building physical models can reduce and guide the abstraction of nature
Malcolm A. MacIver
Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 2001 (Commentary)
The computational neuroethology of weakly electric fish body modeling, mo tion analysis, and sensory estimation
Malcolm a. MacIver
Thesis, 2001
Body modeling and model-based tracking for neuroethology
Malcolm A. MacIver, Mark E. Nelson
Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 2000 (Article)
Prey capture in the weakly electric fish Apteronotus albifrons: sensory acquisition strategies and electrosensory consequences
Mark E. Nelson, Malcolm A. MacIver
Journal of Experimental Biology, 1999 (Article)
Estimation of signal characteristics during electrolocation from video analysis of prey capture behavior in weakly electric fish
Malcolm A. MacIver, John L. Lin, Mark E. Nelson
Computational Neuroscience: Trends in Research, 1997 (Article)