Mark W. Denny (born 1951) is a professor of biology at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. His research on the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

of wave-swept shores has led to increased understanding of this habitat. His most publicized research is his work on locomotion of

water striders The Gerridae are a family of insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water skeeters, water scooters, water bugs, pond skaters, water skippers, water gliders, water skimmers or puddle flies. They are true bugs of the ...

, which led to the coining of the term " Denny's paradox" to explain a discrepancy between physics and previous understanding of how surface-dwelling animals such as these insects move. In 2008 he examined

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

s, thoroughbred

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s and human athletes trying to find their maximum running speed. He predicted the fastest possible time for men's

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

will be 9.48 seconds.

Books

Denny is the author of several books, including: *''Biology and the Mechanics of Wave-Swept Shores'' (1985) *''Air and Water'' (1993) *''Chance in Biology: Using Probability to Explore Nature'' (with Steven Gaines) (2002) *''Conversations With Marco Polo: The Remarkable Life of Eugene C. Haderlie'' (with Joanna L. Nelson) (2006) *''How the Ocean Works: An Introduction to Oceanography'' (2008) *''Ecological Mechanics'' (2016) Editor: *''Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores'' (with Steven Gaines) (2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Mark 1951 births Living people 21st-century American biologists Stanford University faculty Place of birth missing (living people)