The research funding environment we are all experiencing is extremely frustrating, and has the potential for long-term damage to academics and the nation. You may be interested in reading the letter to the Wall Street Journal by two Nobel Prize winners, David Baltimore and Ahmed Zewail.
In a recent discussion it was suggested that it would be useful to perform tension tests on collagen fibrils. We have developed a MEMS-based experimental procedure that is capable of applying very large strains to individual collagen fibrils. The attached paper presents illustrative data; an upcoming paper will present much more data that illustrates the rich behavior of these fibrils during loading and unloading tests.
I registered for iMechanica a few days ago, and found many postings instructive. Here is my first blog entry.
The topics being studied today by mechanicians are very difficult (what I often call "dirty problems"). In fact, often the mechanical theories (actually coupled mechanics, biology, chemistry) required to gain improved understanding are still in their infancy. Mechanicians that have entered fields such as mechanics of biological structures have gotten up to speed by paying the price (hopefully an enjoyable time on a learning curve) of reading large numbers of papers and discipline-based books. Many of these papers are cryptic and, while they may be of high scientific quality, they do not have significant pedagogical value to those entering the field (graduate students for example).
