Carlo Spirito
University of Connecticut, where I earned my Ph.D. in 1969, in Comparative Physiology. I have been married to my
wife Dorinne for 47 years, and have 3 grown children. We have lived in Connecticut, Florida, Virginia, Ohio,
for the past 32 years, and in southern coastal Maine .
I spent my career as a scientist, studying and explaining the neural mechanisms which control animal walking.
I began my career studying crabs, because crabs have 10 legs, and use their own unique "sideways" pattern of
walking. I became attached to these beasties, but also explored walking in insects, spiders, and even humans.
You can see my entire professional Resume here.
My
teaching career includeded teaching undergraduate Biology,
graduate
comparative Physiology, Human Physiology
in Medical
School, and then as a teacher/administrator in a graduate
Nurse
Anesthesia Program. I
retired
in
2007,
after
37
years
in
academia.
During
a
sabatical
at
the
University
of
Genoa
(Italy) Robotics Lab, in 1997, I
continued to explore the basic mechanics of
walking, and how these
principles were applied in different species. I also began to
study Walking
Robots,
which combined sound
mechanical design with biological inspiration.
Also
in
Italy,
I
became interested in the history and culture of the
Celtic Tribes which crossed europe, before the Romans.
That led to an
interest in Italian
Gnomes, which are part of the mythology in the
region.
In
retirement,
I
returned
to
the
arts,
a
childhood
passion.
After a few
ceramics and sculpture classes and workshops, I settled
into creating
my own figurative sculpture and more whimsical ceramics.
However, I
have not abandoned my life-long
interest
in Narrow-Gauge Railways, and building scale models.
TO CONTACT
ME...
phone:
(207-937-7859)
email: spirito@gwi.net
Click HERE to return to the Home Page
[revised and updated 4/20/11]