Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for April
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AME Seminar
Wed, Apr 02, 2025 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Lihua Jin, UCLA
Talk Title: Non-Equilibrium Stimuli-Responsive Soft Materials
Abstract: One recent impetus of developing stimuli-responsive soft materials (SRSMs) is to use them for sensors, actuators and soft robots. In these applications, mechanics and multi-physics fields are intrinsically coupled through non-equilibrium thermodynamic processes, including diffusion, reaction, viscoelastic relaxation, etc. The non-equilibrium processes of SRSMs not only determine their response speeds, but also govern how SRSMs spatiotemporally evolve their properties and structures. In this talk, using hydrogels, shape memory polymers, humidity-responsive polymers and liquid crystal elastomers as model SRSMs, I will present a few of our recent studies on programing the spatiotemporal properties, shapes, and locomotion of SRSMs through non-equilibrium processes. First, I will describe how mechanical stress can be used to induce and tune the phase separation processes of hydrogels. Second, I will show that the fracture properties and behavior of SRSMs are also highly intertwined with their non-equilibrium processes. Finally, by utilizing the displacement of SRSMs to alter their interaction with external stimuli, we are able to achieve complex and autonomous motion of SRSMs.
Biography: Lihua Jin is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Before joining UCLA in 2016, she was a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. In 2014, she obtained her PhD degree in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University. Prior to that, she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Fudan University. Lihua conducts research on mechanics of soft materials, stimuli-responsive materials, instability and fracture, soft robotics, and biomechanics. She was the winner of the Haythornthwaite Research Initiative Grant, Extreme Mechanics Letters Young Investigator Award, Hellman Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, ACS PMSE Early Investigator Award, Sia Nemat-Nasser Early Career Award, and SES Huajian Gao Young Investigator Medal.
Host: AME Department
More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 252
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Tessa Yao
Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
AME Seminar
Wed, Apr 09, 2025 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Pedro Paredes, NASA Langley Research Center
Talk Title: Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition over Blunt Cones
Abstract: The linear amplification of modal Mack-mode disturbances that lead to boundary-layer transition in two-dimensional/axisymmetric hypersonic configurations is strongly reduced by the presence of a blunt nosetip. The mechanisms underlying the low Mack-mode N-factor values at the observed onset of transition over the cone frustum are currently unknown. As the nose bluntness is increased beyond the critical nose Reynolds number for transition reversal, the transition location rapidly moves upstream, and transition appears to depend on uncontrolled disturbances due to nosetip roughness. Linear nonmodal analysis has shown that both planar and oblique traveling disturbances that peak within the entropy layer experience appreciable energy amplification for moderate to large nosetip bluntness. Nonlinear nonmodal analysis shows that planar entropy-layer disturbances excited near the nose tip can excite the high frequency Mack-mode disturbances and hence, can lead to a reduction in the transition N-factor. Digital wind-tunnel simulations are conducted via direct numerical simulations (DNS) to understand the effects of freestream acoustic disturbances in transition over blunt cones during a conventional tunnel experiment. The results confirm the appearance of entropy-layer disturbances predicted by linear nonmodal analysis and the numerical schlieren contours show the inclined structures predicted by nonlinear nonmodal analysis and observed in experiments.
Biography: Pedro Paredes is a Research Scientist at the Computational AeroSciences Branch of the NASA Langley Research Center. Dr. Paredes earned his Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain. He was one of the recipients of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award in 2020 and has been awarded with two Office of Naval Research grants as the principal investigator. Dr. Paredes was honored with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Associate Fellow distinction in 2024. The research activities of Dr. Paredes are related to boundary layer transition (BLT) prediction and physics-based development of technology concepts for BLT control across the flight speed regimes. He has developed and applied advanced, multidimensional stability-analysis methods for BLT prediction of high-speed flow configurations. With a prolific academic record, he has authored over 50 journal articles and 80 conference papers.
Host: AME Department
More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 252
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Tessa Yao
Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
AME Seminar
Wed, Apr 16, 2025 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Boyce Eugene Griffith, University of North Carolina
Talk Title: Computational Cardiac Fluid Dynamics In Vitro and In Vivo
Abstract: Cardiac fluid dynamics fundamentally involves interactions between complex blood flows and the structural deformations of the muscular heart walls and the thin, flexible valve leaflets. This talk will provide an overview of modern numerical methods for treating such fluid-structure interactions and detail some of their applications to cardiac fluid dynamics. I will initially focus on models of an in vitro pulse-duplicator system that is commonly used in the development and regulation of prosthetic heart valves. These models enable detailed comparisons between experimental data and computational model predictions but use highly simplified descriptions of cardiac anatomy and physiology. I will describe experimental and computational investigations on determinants of prosthetic heart valve dynamics using this platform. I will also present recent in vitro models, including a patient-specific model of transcatheter aortic valve replacement and a new comprehensive model of the human heart. This heart model includes fully three-dimensional descriptions of all major cardiac structures along with biomechanics models that are parameterized using experimental tensile test data obtained exclusively from human tissue specimens. Simulation results demonstrate that the model generates physiological stroke volumes, pressure-volume loops, and valvular pressure-flow relationships, thereby illustrating is its potential for predicting cardiac function in both health and disease. I will end the talk by describing extensions of this model to incorporate a comprehensive description of cardiac electrophysiology and electro-mechanical coupling.
Biography: Boyce Griffith is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) with a joint appointment in the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. He received a PhD in Mathematics from New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in 2005. His interests include mathematical modeling and computer simulation of cardiac mechanics, fluid dynamics, and electrophysiology, with a focus on the fluid dynamics of native and prosthetic heart valves.
Host: AME Department
More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 252
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Tessa Yao
Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
Computational Science Distinguished Seminar Series
Mon, Apr 21, 2025 @ 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, USC School of Advanced Computing
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Padmini Rangamani, UCSD
Talk Title: Advances in computational modeling for cellular biophysics
Abstract: Cellular function often integrates biochemical and mechanical cues in what is known as mechanotransduction. Mechanotransduction is closely tied to cell shape during development, disease, and wound healing. In this talk, I will showcase how mathematical models have helped shed light on some fundamental problems in this area of research including how cell shape can alter biochemical signaling and how cell mechanics can alter cell shape. Beyond mathematical model development, I will also highlight how advances in computational modeling can help us understand complex cellular predictions. Throughout, I will highlight the challenges and opportunities for integrating mathematical models with experimental measurements.
Biography: Padmini Rangamani is a Professor in Pharmacology and in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. She joined the department in July 2014. Earlier, she was a UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow, where she worked on lipid bilayer mechanics. She obtained her Ph.D. in biological sciences from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Osmania University (Hyderabad, India) and Georgia Institute of Technology respectively. She is the recipient of the PECASE, ARO, AFOSR, and ONR Young Investigator Awards, and a Sloan Research Fellowship for Computational and Molecular Evolutionary Biology. She was also elected as a fellow of the American Institute for Biological and Medical Engineers.
Host: The School of Advanced Computing
More Info: https://sac.usc.edu/distinguished-seminar-series/
Location: Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering (RTH) - 526
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Tessa Yao
Event Link: https://sac.usc.edu/distinguished-seminar-series/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
AME Seminar
Wed, Apr 23, 2025 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Paolo Celli, Stonybrook
Talk Title: A quest towards load-bearing shape-morphing structures
Abstract: Shape-morphing metamaterials, mechanical systems and structures are designed to predictably achieve large shape changes when actuated. These systems are often designed to undergo large deformations when loaded; the issue of turning them into functional, load-bearing structures is seldom considered, even though this is crucial for potential structural applications of such systems. This talk will showcase some of our current activities in this context.
First, we will present a strategy to turn flat arrangements of structural elements into pop-up domes, investigating their load-bearing capacity and comparing them to existing structures such as gridshells. Then, we will illustrate how to create morphing structures that can retain their shape via localized snap-through buckling and without the need for external anchoring; we will also illustrate how these structures can be inverse-designed to achieve desired shapes and to display mechanical memory.
Biography: Paolo Celli is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Stony Brook University. His research involves experimental and computational aspects of solid and structural mechanics, structural dynamics, and wave mechanics. His current interests are in the areas of i) shape-morphing and deployable structures, ii) dynamic structures with time-varying properties, iii) structures for energy and iv) robotics applications. Prior to joining SBU in January 2020, he was a postdoc at Caltech and obtained his PhD in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Host: AME Department
More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 252
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Tessa Yao
Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor. -
AME Seminar
Wed, Apr 30, 2025 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Kathryn Matlack, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Talk Title: Manipulating Mechanical Wave Propagation with Phononic Materials
Abstract: One grand challenge for materials and structures design is to satisfy multiple conflicting requirements. For example, energy infrastructure, especially those in remote and extreme environments such as offshore wind turbines and nuclear reactors, requires components to operate effectively over long time periods and avoid catastrophic failures. Structural materials in aviation must be lightweight but high in strength, stiff while dampening out harmful vibrations, survive damaging impact events, and interact with complex flows in non-detrimental ways. On smaller length scales, acoustic and ultrasonic sensors require specific frequency and dissipative responses, and need to detect wavelengths that are much smaller than their physical size. This talk focuses on a common theme to these critical engineering problems: understanding how mechanical waves interact with engineered materials across different length and time scales. In particular, the field of phononic materials studies how engineering micro- and meso-scale features in materials and structures can prescribe the frequency and spatial properties of acoustic waves. Features such as spatial periodicity of the material or geometry, resonant inclusions, and nonlinearities can lead to wave propagation and modal properties not found in natural materials. New wave propagation phenomena have been discovered in these material platforms, which has been a direct result of an interdisciplinary research approach, integrating additive manufacturing, acoustics, mechanics, materials science, and design. This presentation will discuss our group’s recent research in phononic materials, focusing on (1) effects nonlinearity on wave propagation in phononic materials, and (2) applications of phononic materials to passive flow control, using reduced order models, finite element simulations, and experiments.
Biography: Kathryn (Katie) Matlack is an Associate Professor and Richard W. Kritzer Faculty Scholar in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she leads the Wave Propagation and Metamaterials laboratory. Prior, she received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, her PhD from Georgia Tech, and was an ETH Postdoctoral Fellow at ETH Zurich. She is a recipient of Young Investigator Awards from both the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Army Research Office, the NSF CAREER award, the ASME CD Mote Early Career Award, and the UIUC Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research. She currently serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Vibration and Acoustics and Wave Motion.
Host: AME Department
More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 252
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Tessa Yao
Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/
This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.
