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SUMMARY:MechE Colloquium: Fold\, Snap\, and Jump: Nature-Inspired Nonlinea
 r Mechanics for Adaptive Matter
DTSTART:20260331T120000
DTEND:20260331T130000
DTSTAMP:20260427T192633Z
UID:702a9d5cc256632e5117c8861ec2f456da4f32e3c0fa1001d203ab13
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Mingchao Liu\, Department of Mechanical Engineering\, U
 niversity of Birmingham\nAbstract: Folding\, snapping\, and jumping are st
 riking manifestations of how structures in nature and engineering harness 
 nonlinear mechanics for adaptability. In this talk\, I will present recent
  advances in understanding and designing such phenomena through a nature-i
 nspired mechanics lens: from plant-like leaves that morph via differential
  actuation\, to thin sheets and ribbons that fold and snap-through geometr
 ic instabilities\, and to insect-scale robots that jump by cascading elast
 ic instabilities. Together\, these studies reveal a unified perspective on
  how folds\, snaps\, and jumps—observed in nature and recreated in the l
 aboratory—can be distilled into transferable design principles. I will a
 rgue that such nature-inspired nonlinear mechanics offers a powerful route
  toward adaptive matter with programmable shape-morphing and motion-enabli
 ng capabilities.\n\nBiography: Dr. Mingchao Liu is an Assistant Professor 
 of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Birmingham\, UK. He receive
 d his B.Eng. in Engineering Mechanics from Shandong University in 2013 and
  his Ph.D. in Solid Mechanics from Tsinghua University in 2018. During his
  Ph.D.\, he held an Endeavour Research Fellowship at the University of Syd
 ney in 2017. Before joining Birmingham\, he was a Newton International Fel
 low at the University of Oxford\, sponsored by the Royal Society (2018–2
 021)\, and a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Nanyang Technological Uni
 versity (2022–2023). Dr. Liu’s research centers on adaptive and intell
 igent matter\, using nonlinear mechanics to decode nature’s mechanical s
 ecrets and translate them into the design of engineering structures that c
 an morph\, adapt\, and exhibit physical intelligence.
LOCATION:MED 0 1418 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==MED%200%201418 https://epf
 l.zoom.us/j/61360740951
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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