iMechanica

I am attaching a pdf of "How to give successful oral and poster presentations" by J.W. Niemantsverdriet of the Eindhoven University of Technology which I had found on the internet some years ago. It has some very useful tips.

V. Hegadekatte

As stated by Richard Vinci and Oliver Kraft in the announcement of 2008 Gordon Research Conference on Thin Film and Small-Scale Mechanical Behavior, there is a compelling need to understand the critical roles of different deformation mechanisms in structures with small characteristic dimensions, like nanocrystals and thin films. We have recently studied deformation behaviors in nanostructured materials and thin films with deformation mechanisms including grain-boundary diffusion, grain-boundary sliding, and grain-interior plasticity. Some interesting mechanical phenomena associated with heterogeneous grain-boundary properties are found and summarized here.

How NOT to use Powerponit! Very instructive and memorable.

This is the file mentioned in my comment on Xuanhe Zhao's blog

   A large quantity of small molecules may migrate into a network of long polymers, causing the network to swell, forming an aggregate known as a polymeric gel.  This paper formulates a theory of the coupled mass transport and large deformation.

Following Andy's recommendation I have been reading Ellis Dill's Continuum Mechanics[1]. In page 75 of the book, we find the
well known result that the constitutive equation for an isotropic hypoelastic
material can be derived from a stored energy function only if

The Department of Civil Engineering at North Carolina State University is inviting applications for a possible tenure-track position in the broad area of advanced materials. The solicitation is part of a broader search, with the goal of filling one or more positions in the department; please see the official advertisement at the end of this message. Note that the advertisement does not give any specific details about the desirable properties of the advanced materials applicant. They are summarized below.

We are pleased to announce Dislocations 2008, an international conference on the fundamentals of plastic deformation and other physical phenomena where the dislocations play pivotal roles.  The conference will take place on October 13-17, 2008 at the Gold Coast Hotel, Hong Kong, China.  More information about the Dislocations 2008 conference can be found at the following web site:

We are pleased to officially announce the

2008 Gordon Research Conference on Thin Film and Small-Scale Mechanical Behavior

July 27 - August 1, 2008 at Colby College, Waterville Maine

It broke in the weekend when I was enjoying the footie on TV with a pack of crisps.

This isn't the first time a tooth filling has broken on me, but this one has got me worried, because I called my dentist today and found out that because he is moving premises, he is not open until the middle of next week.

Via Jeff Weiss :

Subject: FEBio - Finite Elements for Biomechanics

Dear all,

Infinity asked me for posting more information about one of our papers. It was published in 2006 in Rubber Chemistry and Technology and proposes a comparison and a ranking of 20 different hyperelastic constitutive models for rubber (from the Mooney model (1940) to the micro-sphere model (2004)) in the incompressible case.

Marckmann G. et Verron E., Comparison of hyperelastic models for rubberlike materials, Rubber Chemistry and Technology, 79(5), 835-858, 2006.

2007 Announcement (deadline: September  22, 2007).

Previous awardees and winning essays

About AAM 

doi: 10.1016/j.engfracmech.2007.08.012 

The program for the 2nd International Conference on the Mechanics of Biomaterials & Tissues, to be held on the beautiful island of Kaua'i in December, is now available on the website at www.icmobt.elsevier.com. Network with your fellow researchers working in this exciting field by registering for this well-received meeting. Anybody registering before 26 October is eligible for a 10% discount off the full conference fee.

I look forward to seeing you in Lihue on December 9.

TONGJI UNIVERSITY DEANSHIPS & FACULTY POSITION

Civil, Structural, Environmental and Petroleum Engineering Division

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a University
Lectureship in Advanced Structures. The successful candidate will take up the
appointment no later than 1 October 2008.

founded and sponsored by Elsevier Limited (awarded under the auspices of IUTAM)

Hi, all

Molecular dynamics (or MC) is a powerful tool in the protein research. There're lots of scientific works in this field, which deepen our understanding gradually. My question follows, "how about the continuum mechaics in protein research".

Any discussions and advices are appreciated.

Kong    5th Sep 2007

The US-China NSF Workshop and Summer Institute of
Bio- and Nano-Mechanics and Applications (UCWSI2007)
August 31 -- September 4, 2007
Beijing, China

I found an interesting paper on the arXiv website that may interest some mechanicians.  Markus

Title:  Brittle fracture down to femto-Joules — and below

Authors: J. Astrom, P.C.F. Di Stefano, F. Probst, L. Stodolsky, J. Timonen 

How does the cell know when to produce a protein? Why does it produce this protein? How does it produce this protein so accurately, in transcription, timing, and concentration? It is amazing that the cell functions as precisely as it needs to in response to various stimuli. What is more amazing is that the cell's actions are a result of stochastic processes.

I just stumbled on this very interesting discussion on why science graduate students should publish, regardless of their later career intentions.  I agree with the author on most points, but believe it really comes down to two things: (1) if you aren't going to communicate your results (both good and bad!) then you might as well have not bothered to do the work, and (2) becoming a good writer is a skill that every technical person will need in any career.