iMechanica

Smart soft materials have gained increasing attention in recent years because of their adaptive behaviors to external multi-physics stimuli, enabling diverse applications across multiple fields. Here, we show programmable wrinkling morphological patterns on liquid crystal network (LCN) bilayers bonded to compliant substrates under thermal load, by tuning the orientation of directors between LCN bilayers. We propose a solid-shell formulation that merges enhanced and natural assumed strain approaches to investigate the pattern formation and morphological transition of LCN bilayers.

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), as a unique class of smart soft materials combining the properties of liquid crystals and hyperelasticity, are capable of rapid, anisotropic, and reversible deformations in response to mechanical, thermal or optical stimuli. Here, we report a hitherto unknown stretching-induced twisting behavior of LCE bilayer strips. Under uniaxial stretching, we reveal that due to the spontaneous mismatch strain arising from interlayer anisotropy, the bilayer strips exhibit notable twisting deformations.

The International Master Program MS2 - Mechanics of Sustainable Materials and Structures, offered through joint training activities at TU Dortmund University (Germany), at the University of Trento (Italy) and at the Ecole Centrale de Nantes (France),
has been awarded an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master funding! 

Monthly Webinar. TTA-Uncertainty Quantification and Probabilistic Modeling.

February 13; 3 pm - 4pm EST

Speaker: Alireza Doostan, University of Colorado, Boulder

Title: Uncertainty Quantification and Generative Modeling Using Multi-fidelity Strategies

The Computational Mechanics and Methods (CM3) Group in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kentucky is seeking highly self-motivated individuals who have great interest in the broad research areas of computational solid mechanics and methods, beginning Fall 2025. Interested individuals should send a detailed CV and official transcripts to Dr.

Dear iMechanicians,

Let me bring to your attention the IUTAM Symposium on Chemo-Mechanics that we are organising this summer in Oxford. We have an excellent cohort of speakers covering a wide range of chemo-mechanics topics (hydrogen embrittlement, battery degradation, corrosion/oxidation, hydrogels, etc.). In addition to invited talks, there will be opportunities to contribute with posters. You can find all the information here: https://chemomechanics.web.ox.ac.uk/

Call for Abstracts
We invite submissions for Topic 1-1: Mechanical Metamaterials at ASME IMECE 2025, to be held in Memphis, Tennessee.

https://imece.secure-platform.com/a/page/track_list

We currently have one postdoctoral research position available in the Injury Biomechanics Laboratory at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA. This position involves the development of high-fidelity finite element head models and the design of computational studies to advance our understanding of blast-induced traumatic brain injury (TBI).  A Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, mechanics, or related field is required.

I am looking for an enthusiastic Student or Postdoc who would like to enhance his/her knowledge in the field of Computational Mechanics. The focus in this three-year research project is about Modular peristaltic surface conveyor with AI based digital twin for polybags and includes the simulation of elastomer membranes by using Isogeometric Analysis and AI generated material models. The deadline for application is the 6th of February. 

PhD and Postdoc positions are immediately available in the School of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (First Class Academic Discipline) at Central South University in Dr. Li's research group. Lists of topics of interest are:

1. Impact Fatigue;

2. Fluid and structure interaction;

We are now accepting applications for the fully-funded PhD position (applicable worldwide) on Computational Methods for Fluid-Structure Interaction problems.

The Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) invites applications for a tenure-track position in a broad scope of the department's research areas at the level of Assistant/Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering.

It gives me great pleasure to announce the outcome of the 2024 competition for the Eshelby Mechanics Award for Young Faculty. This award is given annually to rapidly emerging junior faculty who exemplify the creative use and development of mechanics. The intent of the award is to promote the field of mechanics, especially among young researchers. The selection committee consisted of: K. Ravi-chandar (UT Austin), Huajian Gao (Brown University), G.

Our latest paper, " Exploring the Effects of Temperature, Transverse Pressure, and Strain Rate on Axial Tensile Behavior of Perfect UHMWPE Crystals Using Molecular Dynamics," is accessible freely for 50 days from this link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1kT-A4rCEkw1es

The key findings can be summarized as follows:

Fully-funded PhD opportunity at the Durham University Department of Engineering! Topology optimisation for fibre-reinforced polymer composites.

Details are available here: 
https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/machine-learning-enhanced-topology...

Ph. D positions are open with starting dates of Fall 2025, in ‘Mechanics, Biomimetic, and 3D/4D Printing’ research lab in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) at Northeastern University, Boston.

A Postdoc position is open as well and can start any time.

The students and researchers will work on research projects related to the mechanics of new materials, including architected materials, additive manufactured materials, under the instruction of Professor Yaning Li.

Advanced Course on "Crack Initiation and Failure in Complex Structures: Finite Fracture Mechanics and related fracture models"

The advanced CISM Course will be organized in Udine, Italy, on June 9-13, 2025

Website: https://cism.it/en/activities/courses/C2505/

Lecturers:

We welcome submissions to Computational Geomechanics at the US National Congress on Computational Mechanics. This is a late addition.The conference will be in Chicago, July 20-24, 2025. Full description below. We would love to have contributions from you, your students, or your collaborators in this area. The abstract submission deadline has been extended to January 31.

SOLID MECHANICS SYMPOSIUM – Call for Abstracts & Papers

May 25-28, 2025

École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), Montréal (QC)

"Advanced numerical modelling and simulation of vesicle dynamics using phase-field and isogeometric analysis" - January 31, 2025, Friday, 3:00 pm, Pavilhão de Mecânica II, amphitheatre AM

Date: January 31, 2025, Friday
Time: 3:00 pm
Place: Pavilhão de Mecânica II, amphitheatre AM

Dear colleagues  As fellows in fracture mechanics, you may be interested in these comments on a recent very nice Nature paper by the group of Jay Fineberg, making clever experiments to measure nucleation of small cracks in frictional interfaces of PMMA, and their propagation velocity during nucleation and later rapid acceleration.   Fineberg derives a threshold shear stress for nucleation which depends on the specimen width which seems new in fracture mechanics to me, but does not entirely convince me, see in the text.   If you have any comments please let me know, I would be glad to discus

Postdoc Hiring!

SUCSHM Lab, IIT Hyderabad invites applications for the position of Research Associate (Postdoctoral Fellow) for a DRDO-funded project on "Modelling and establishment of various process parameters for PCS fibers and modelling of PCS-SiC conversion process".

Essential Qualifications:
Ph.D. in Solid Mechanics/Applied Mathematics/Applied Mechanics/Mechanical Engineering or related fields with prior experience in continuum mechanics.