Seminar Series

Photo of seminar speaker in auditorium

If you are interested in mechanics—including dynamics, fluids, and solids—we encourage you to attend the Mechanics Seminar Series. Our seminar features distinguished faculty and researchers each semester. Mechanics seminars in the 2024-25 academic year are organized by Associate Professor Ying Li and sponsored by the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Civil & Environmental Engineering.

Seminars are held most Fridays from 12:05 to 12:55 p.m. and some Thursdays. To subscribe to email announcements of upcoming seminars and other relevant news for mechanicians at UW-Madison, join the Mechanics Google Group. Log in to groups.google.com using your UW Net ID. Search for mechanics@g-groups.wisc.edu and request to join.

If you are a UW-Madison student and would like to take the seminar for credit, it is offered as a 1-credit course under BME 601, CivEngr 649, and EMA 601.

Fall 2024 Seminar Schedule

Fridays, 12:05 to 12:55 p.m., 1106 Mechanical Engineering, unless otherwise stated

September 13 — Kathryn Matlack, Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

September 20 Brittany Coats, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Utah

September 27 Marcia Cooper, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University

October 4Michael Wadas, Computational and Data-Driven Fluid Dynamics Lab, Caltech

October 11 Vikram Deshpande, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge

October 18 Nanshu Lu, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin

October 25 Yaning Li, College of Engineering, Northeastern University

November 1 — No Seminar (Course meeting for students enrolled in the class)

November 8 Michael Shelley, Department of Mathematics, New York University – Courant

November 15 — No Seminar (Course meeting for students enrolled in the class)

November 22 Grégoire Winckelmans, Institute of Mechanics, Materials and Civil Engineering, Université Catholique de Louvai

November 29 — No Seminar (Fall Break)

December 6 Yuhang Hu, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech

Seminar Series Archive

Each semester, experts from on campus and around the country give public talks to our faculty, staff and students. Here are lists of our past speakers.

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Spring 2024 speakers

Fridays, 12:05 to 12:55 p.m., 1106 Mechanical Engineering, unless otherwise stated

Feb. 8 (Thursday at 4 pm, 1106 ME)Gianluca Iaccarino, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford

March 1 Cong Wang, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Iowa

March 8* Michelle Johnson, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

March 14 (Thursday at 12 pm, 2180 Mechanical Engineering Bldg) — Deva Chan, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University

March 15 Raul Cal, Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, Portland State University

March 22 Traian Dumitricã, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota

March 29 —No Seminar (Spring Break)

April 5‡— Shirley Dyke, Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University

April 12 Yunus Alapan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

April 19 (different room: 106 Engineering Research Bldg) Lucy Zhang, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and  U.S. National Science Foundation

April 26 Jon Estrada, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan

May 3 John Rudnicki, McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University

Seminars marked are hosted by the Department of Mechanical Engineering Graduate Seminar series.

Seminars marked * are co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Inclusion in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI).

Seminars marked ‡ are co-hosted with the Sustainable Materials and Structures Seminar series.

Fall 2023 speakers

Fall 2023 Seminar Schedule

Fridays, 12:05 to 12:55 p.m., 1106 Mechanical Engineering

Sept. 8 Ramathasan Thevamaran, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

Sept. 15 Jennifer Franck, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

Sept. 22 Rui Ni, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Sept. 29 Emma Lejeune, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University

Oct. 6 Frederic Dias, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University College Dublin

Oct. 13 — Midwest Mechanics Seminar: Dan Henningson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Oct. 20 —No Seminar (Course meeting for students enrolled in the class)

Oct. 27 Horacio D. Espinosa, Department of  Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University

Nov. 3* Matilde Sánchez-Peña, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University at Buffalo

Nov. 10 John Borg, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Marquette University

Nov. 17 Sally Bane, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University

Dec. 1* Carolin Curtze, Department of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska Omaha

Dec. 8 —  Robert Kuether, Component Science & Mechanics Department, Sandia National Laboratories

Seminars marked by * are co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Inclusion in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI).

 

Spring 2023 speakers

Spring 2023 Seminar Schedule

Fridays, 12:05 to 12:55 p.m., 1106 Mechanical Engineering (unless stated otherwise)

Jan. 27—Midwest Mechanics Seminar: Jay Humphrey, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University

Feb. 3—No Seminar (Course meeting for students enrolled in the class)

Feb. 10Kyoo-Chul Kenneth Park, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern

Feb. 17Ryan Truby, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern

Feb. 23 (Thursday, 4:00-5:00pm, ME 1106)*Sergio Pellegrino, Joyce and Kent Kresa Professor of Aerospace and Civil Engineering, California Institute of Technology

Feb. 24Jinlong Wu, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin – Madison

March 3—No Seminar (Course meeting for students enrolled in the class)

March 10Tsampikos Kottos, Department of Physics, Wesleyan University

March 17—No Seminar | Spring Recess

March 23 (Thursday, 4:00-5:00pm, ME 1106)*Alexander Alexeev, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

March 24—No Seminar (Course meeting for students enrolled in the class)

March 30 (Thursday, 4:00-5:00pm, ME 1106)*Beverley McKeon, Theodore van Karman Professor of Aeronautics, California Institute of Technology

March 31—Midwest Mechanics Seminar: George Haller, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich

April 7—Scott Grutzik, Principal R&D Mechanical Engineer, Sandia National Laboratories

April 14—Midwest Mechanics Seminar: Pradeep Guduru, Professor of Engineering, Brown University

April 21 (This week only: different room, 106 Engineering Research Building)Louis Cattafesta, Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology

April 27 (Thursday, 4:00-5:00pm, ME 1106)*Christian Linder, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University

April 28Sinan Keten, Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Civil & Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University

May 5Craig Hill, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department, University of Minnesota Duluth

Seminars marked by * are co-hosted with the Department of Mechanical Engineering Graduate Seminar series.

Seminars marked by are co-hosted with the Structural Engineering Group in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Fall 2022 speakers

Fall 2022 Seminar Schedule

Fridays, 12:05 to 12:55 p.m., 1106 Mechanical Engineering (unless stated otherwise)

Sept. 23—Saverio Spagnolie, Department of Mathematics, UW-Madison

Sept. 29 (note: Thursday, 12:05-12:55; 106 Engineering Research Building)—David Henann, Brown University

Oct. 7—Ying Li, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

Oct. 14—Komal Chawla, Postdoctoral Researcher, Engineering Physics; Jizhe Cai, Postdoctoral Researcher, Engineering Physics

Oct. 21—Mike Graham, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, UW-Madison

Oct. 28—Josh Roth, Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation and Department of Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

Nov. 4—Alexander McGhee, Postdoctoral Researcher, Mechanical Engineering; Xiangyu Sun, Postdoctoral Researcher, Mechanical Engineering

Nov. 11—Midwest Mechanics Seminar: Petros Koumoutsakos, Herbert S. Winokur, Jr. Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University

Nov. 18—Aliza Abraham, Postdoctoral Researcher at Institut Recherche sur le Phénomènes Hors Equilibre

Nov. 25—No Seminar | Thanksgiving Holiday

Dec. 2—Ping Guo, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern

Dec. 9—Tim Colonius, Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Caltech

Spring 2022 speakers

Spring 2022 Seminar Schedule

Fridays, 12:05 to 12:55 p.m., 1106 Mechanical Engineering 

Jan. 28—Seminar Course Organizational Meeting (for enrolled students only)

Feb. 4—Mario Trujillo, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

Feb. 11—Melissa Green, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics,
University of Minnesota (remote seminar)

Feb. 18—Hannah Blum, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW-
Madison

Feb. 25—Student presentations: Abhishek Gupta, Graduate Student, Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison; Jin Yang, Postdoc, Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

March 4—Student presentations: Peter Adamczyk Group, Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

March 11—Student presentations: Claire Griesbach, Graduate Student, Engineering Mechanics, UW-Madison; Dipul Chawla, Graduate Student, Engineering Mechanics, UW-Madison

March 25—Clancy Rowley, Midwest Mechanics Seminar Series

April 1—Student presentations: Sudip Kunda, Graduate Student, Engineering Mechanics, UW-Madison; Hridyesh Tewani, Graduate Student, Civil Engineering, UW-Madison

April 8—Student presentations: Kyle Seledic, Graduate Student, Engineering Mechanics, UW-Madison; Noah Schmelzer, Graduate Student, Engineering Mechanics, UW-Madison

April 15—Student presentations: Melissa Schmidt-Landin, Graduate Student, Engineering Mechanics, UW-Madison; Rahul Gulati, Graduate Student, Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

April 22—Marc Geers, Midwest Mechanics Seminar Series (Different location for this week only: 106 Engineering Research Building)

April 29—James Rice, Graduate Student, Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison; Jing Zhang, Research Scientist, Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

May 6—Mo Ansari, Graduate Student, Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison; Hyeyoung Koh, Graduate Student, Civil Engineering, UW-Madison

Fall 2021 speakers

Fall 2021 Seminar Schedule

Fridays, 11 to 11:50 a.m., 1106 Mechanical Engineering 

Sept. 10—Seminar Course Organizational Meeting (for enrolled students only)

Sept. 17—Prof. Colleen Witzenburg, Biomedical Engineering, UW-Madison

Sept. 24—Canceled

Oct. 1—Prof. Ramathasan Thevamaran, Engineering Physics, UW-Madison

Oct. 8—Prof. Sage Kokjohn, Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

Oct. 15—Prof. L. Catherine Brinson, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University — Midwest Mechanics Seminar Speaker (HOST: Prof. R. Thevamaran)

Oct. 22—Prof. Caterina Lamuta, Mechanical Engineering, University of Iowa (Host: Prof. Stephan Rudykh)

Oct. 29—Prof. Hiroki Sone, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW-Madison

Nov. 5—Prof. Venanzio Cichella, Mechanical Engineering, University of Iowa (Host: Prof. Xiangru Xu)

Nov. 12—Student Talks:

  • Claudio Meza-Valle, Ph.D. Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Jun (Jay) Zhang, Ph.D. Student, Biophysics Program

Nov. 19—Prof. Rachel Vitali, Mechanical Engineering, University of Iowa (HOSTS: Prof. Peter Adamczyk and Prof. Corrine Henak)

Dec. 3—Student Talks:

  • Alex Ames, Ph.D. Student, Engineering Mechanics
  • Chris Noble, Ph.D. Student, Engineering Mechanics
  • Bernardo Ribeiro, Ph.D. Student, Engineering Mechanics

Dec. 10—Prof. Owen Kingstedt, Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah (HOSTS: Prof. Jacob Notbohm and Prof. Christian Franck)

Spring 2021 speakers

For the spring 2021 semester, our virtual seminar speakers included:

Jan. 29—Introductory meeting (for enrolled students only)

Feb. 5—Prof. Corinne Henak, University of Wisconsin-Madison: “Cartilage fracture: mechanics and mechanobiology”

Feb. 12—Prof. Matt McDowell, Georgia Institute of Technology: “Chemo-Mechanics of Active Materials and Interfaces in Batteries”

Feb. 19—Prof. Ivan Christov, Purdue University: “Multiphysics problems at low Reynolds number: From deformable channels to spinning droplets”

Feb. 26—Dr. Eric Parish, Sandia National Laboratories, “Recent advancements in projection-based reduced-order modeling”

March 5—Prof. Ivan Bermejo-Moreno, University of Southern California, “Interactions of shock waves, turbulent boundary layers, and flexible panels”

March 12—Prof. Nimish Pujara, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Shape- and scale-dependent coupling between non-spherical particles and velocity gradients in turbulence”

March 19—Prof. Margaret Byron, Pennsylvania State University: “Scale-dependent complexity in locomotion: swimming across scales”

March 26—Prof. Pavana Prabhakar, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Architected Composites for Resilient Structures”

April 2—No seminar

April 9—Prof. Karen Flack, U.S. Naval Academy (Midwest Mechanics Seminar Speaker), “Prediction of Drag for Rough Wall Boundary Layer Flows”

April 16—Graduate student talks

Fall 2020 speakers

For the spring 2020 semester, our speakers included:

Sept. 11—Prof. Jacob Notbohm, Harvey D. Spangler Assistant Professor, Department of Engineering Physics, UW-Madison; “Mechanics Across Scales in Biological Materials” (A special preview of his Society for Experimental Mechanics Springer/Nature Publishing Young Investigator Lecture)

Sept. 18—Prof. Richard Wiebe, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, “Characterizing and Exploiting Nonlinear Dynamics and Instabilities in Structural Engineering”

Sept. 25—Three short talks from Prof. Samantha Daly and two of her research group members at University of California, Santa Barbara:

  • Bhavana Swaminathan, PhD Candidate in Materials Science, UCSB, “Micromechanical Characterization of Damage Accumulation in Ceramic Matrix Composites”
  • Caelin Muir, PhD Candidate in Materials Science, UCSB, “Large scale statistical methods to evaluate damage accumulation in SiC/SiC composites”
  • Prof. Samantha Daly, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UCSB, “Using Data-Driven Approaches for High Throughput Experiment and Analyses”

Oct. 2—Two short talks by researchers in Prof. Christian Franck’s Group:

  • Selda Buyukozturk, Visiting Scholar, UW-Madison Department of Mechanical Engineering/ Doctoral Candidate in Materials Science and Engineering, Brown University, “Expanding Inertial Microcavitation Rheometry to Cover Large Material Stretches in Soft Materials”
  • Dr. Jin Yang     Postdoc, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Dynamic Rugae Strain Localizations and Instabilities in Soft Viscoelastic Materials During Inertial Microcavitation”

Oct. 9—Prof. Janice Barton, Professor of Experimental Mechanics, Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS), Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, UK; “Adventures in Thermomechanics: from slow to fast, from expensive to low cost and across length scales” (A special reprise of her Society for Experimental Mechanics Murray Lecture)

Oct. 16—Prof. Sung Hoon Kang, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute, Institute for NanoBioTechnology Johns Hopkins University, “Architected materials with adaptive energy absorption and bioinspired self-adaptable materials & medical devices”

Oct. 23—Two short talks:

  • Koichiro Tanaka, graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, “Interface Engineering to Enhance the Mechanical Performance of Thin Metal Films Deposited on Polymer Substrates”
  • Dr. Scott Grutzik, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Component Science and Mechanics, Sandia National Laboratories, “R-Curve Measurements of silicon nitride, glass ceramic, and PZT”

Oct. 30—Short talks from Prof Wendy Crone’s research group members at University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Alana Stempien, Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Quantifying Mechanical Strain in Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocytes in a Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Disease Model”
  • Prof. Wendy Crone, Karen Thompson Medhi Professor, Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocytes and Cardiac Fibroblasts in a Micropatterned Co-Culturing Platform”

Nov. 6—Short talks by researchers in Prof. Cosme Furlong group at Worcester Polytechnic Institute:

  • Haimi Tang, “Holographic Measurement of Semi-transparent Tympanic Membrane Shape Using Multiple Angle Illuminations”
  • Haimi Tang, “High speed Holographic Shape and Vibration Measurement of the Semi-transparent Tympanic Membrane”
  • Daniel Ruiz-Cadalso, Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, “Design and rapid prototyping of fiber-optic-based force sensors by two-photon polymerization”

Nov. 13—Short talks from Prof R. Thevamaran’s research group members at University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Claire Griesbach, Ph.D. candidate in Engineering Mechanics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Strength and Toughness of Gradient-Nano-Grained Silver Created via High-Velocity Impact of Single-Crystal Silver Microcubes”
  • Prof. Ramathasan Thevamaran, Assistant Professor, Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Emergence of Exceptional Points in PT-Symmetric Fractal Elastodynamic Metamaterials”

Spring 2020 speakers

For the spring 2020 semester, our speakers included:

Jan. 24—Introductory Lecture (for enrolled students only)

Jan. 31—Prof. Leslie Smith, Professor, Department of Mathematics & Department of Engineering Physics, UW-Madison

Feb. 7—Dr. Paul Veers, Senior Research Fellow, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Feb. 14—Prof. Tracey Holloway, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, UW-Madison

Feb. 21—Dr. Jin Yang, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

Feb. 28—(1) Kate Lyons, PhD Student, Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics Graduate Program, UW-Madison and (2) Kyusic Park, PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program, UW-Madison

March 6—Dr. Nathan Bechle, Computer & Electronics Engineer, Forest Products Laboratory

March 13—Prof. Marc Killpack, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Brigham Young University

March 20—Spring break; no seminar

Due to COVID-19, remaining seminars will be rescheduled for future dates.

Fall 2019 speakers

For the fall 2019 semester, our speakers included:

Sept 20—Student talks: Ahmet Deniz Usta (Eriten Lab), graduate student in mechanical engineering, UW-Madison; Aditya Nagaraj (Min Lab), graduate student in mechanical engineering, UW-Madison

Sept. 27—Prof. Mike Graham, Chemical and Biological Engineering, UW-Madison

Oct. 4—Prof. Krishnan Suresh, Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

Oct. 11—Prof. Nadia Lapusta, CalTech (Midwest Mechanics Seminar Speaker)

Oct. 18—Prof. Nimish Pujara, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW-Madison

Oct. 25—Student talks: Alana Stempien (Crone Lab), graduate student in biomedical engineering, UW-Madison; Vinay Damodaran (Prabhakar Lab), graduate student in civil and environmental engineering, UW-Madison

Nov. 1—Dr. Jacqueline Chen, Sandia National Laboratories (Midwest Mechanics Seminar Speaker)

Nov. 8—Student talks: Dr. Jizhe Cai (Thevamaran Lab), postdoc in engineering physics, UW-Madison; Yanghao “Harry” Fang (Thevamaran Lab), graduate student in materials science and engineering, UW-Madison

Nov. 15—Prof. Jenn Stroud Rossmann (co-sponsored by Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute, WISELI)

Nov. 22—Prof. Nathan Salowitz, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Thanksgiving—No Seminar

Dec. 6—Dr. Phillip Reu, Sandia National Laboratories

Spring 2019 speakers

For the spring 2019 semester, our speakers included:

Feb. 1—Student talks: David Rutkowski, graduate student in Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison; Alex Dawson-Elli, graduate student in Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

Feb. 8—Student talks: Alex Ames, graduate student in Engineering Mechanics, UW-Madison; Chris Noble, graduate student in Engineering Mechanics, UW-Madison

Feb. 15—Prof. Ahmed Elbanna, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Feb. 22—Prof. Karen Kasza, Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University

March 1—Prof. Jose Pincheira, Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW-Madison

March 8—Prof. Kevin Hart, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical, Milwaukee School of Engineering

March 15—Prof. Melih Eriten, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical, Engineering, UW-Madison

March 22—Spring break/no seminar

March 29—Prof. Curt A. Bronkhorst, Professor, Department of Engineering Physics, UW-Madison

April 5—Engineering Expo

April 12—Prof. Igor Bargatin, Class of 1965 Term Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Univ. of Pennsylvania

April 19—Prof. Detlef Lohse, Professor, Dept. of Physics of Fluids, Univ. of Twente, The Netherlands (Midwest Mechanics Seminar Speaker)

April 26—Student talks: David Murgado, graduate student in Engineering Mechanics, UW-Madison

May 3—Prof. Feng Zhao, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Dept. Biomedical Engineering, Michigan Technological Univ.

Spring 2018 speakers

For the spring 2018 semester, our speakers included:

Jan. 26—Meeting with all enrolled students

Feb. 2—Gustavo Parra-Montesinos, C.K. Wang Professor of Structural Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW-Madison

Feb. 9—
John Considine, Materials Research Engineer, Forest Products Laboratory (Read a summary of this talk)

Feb. 16, 23—Student talks

March 2—Dan Negrut, Mead Witter Foundation Professor, Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison

March 9—Julien Meaud, Assistant Professor, The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

March 10—NOTE that Purdue is hosting the Midwest Society for Experimental Mechanics Symposium on March 10th. Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to attend.

March 16—Riccardo Bonazza, Professor, Engineering Physics, UW-Madison

March 23—Patrick Le Tallec, Professeur, Directeur du Laboratoire de Me?canique des Solides (Midwest Mechanics Speaker)

March 30—Spring break week; no seminar

April 6—Engineering EXPO; no seminar (volunteer)

April 13—Joe Shepherd, C. L. “Kelly” Johnson Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, California Institute of Technology (Midwest Mechanics Speaker)

April 20, 27—Student talks

Fall 2017 speakers

For the fall 2017 semester, our speakers included:

Sept. 8—No seminar

Sept. 15—Student talk: Christopher VanDamme, Graduate Student, Engineering Mechanics Program, Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison: “The application and validation of reduced order models for computing the geometrically nonlinear response of hypersonic vehicles”

Sept. 22—Professor Chiara Daraio, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology (Midwest Mechanics Speaker): “Plant nanobionic materials for thermally active, structural woods and soft, artificial skins” (Read a summary of Chiara’s talk.)

Sept. 29—Professor John Dolbow, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University (Midwest Mechanics Speaker): “The Mechanics of the Surfactant?Driven Fracture of Particle Rafts and the Influence of Surface Tension”

Oct. 6—Professor Naomi Chesler, Professor and Vice Chair and Associate Chair of Faculty and Academic Staff Development, Department of Biomedical Engineering, UW-Madison: “Biomechanics of the pulmonary vasculature in healthy and diseased states”

Oct. 13—Aashrith Saraswathibhatla, Graduate Student, Engineering Mechanics Program, Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison: “Force and Adhesion in the Cell Monolayer” and Aabhas Singh, Graduate Student, Engineering Mechanics Program, Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin?Madison (Read a summary of Aashrith’s talk.)

Oct. 20—No seminar, Homecoming and Engineers’ Day

Oct. 27—Professor Matt Allen, Associate Professor, Department of Engineering Physics, UW-Madison: “Challenges in Modeling Friction and Contact at Interfaces in Structural Dynamics”

Nov. 3—Professor John Eaton, Charles Lee Powell Foundation Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University (Midwest Mechanics Speaker)

Nov. 10—Professor Darryl Thelen, Harvey D. Spangler Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UW-Madison: “Gauging force by tapping tendons” (Read a summary of Darryl’s talk.)

Nov. 24—No seminar, Thanksgiving

Dec. 1—Dr. Ronald Sabo, Research Materials Engineer, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin: “Effect of Cellulose Nanomaterials on Polymer Structures and Properties”

Dec. 8—Vinay Damodaran, Graduate Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison