Events Calendar

AME Seminar

Speaker: Shreyas Mandre, University of Warwick, UK

Talk Title: Functional interpretation for transverse arches of human foot

Abstract: Fossil record indicates that the emergence of arches in human ancestral feet coincided with a transition from an arboreal to a terrestrial lifestyle. Propulsive forces exerted during walking and running load the foot under bending, which is distinct from those experienced during arboreal locomotion. I will present mathematical models with varying levels of detail to illustrate a simple function of the transverse arch. Just as we curve a dollar bill in the transverse direction to stiffen it while inserting it in a vending machine, the transverse arch of the human foot stiffens it for bending deformations. A fundamental interplay of geometry and mechanics underlies this stiffening -- curvature couples the soft out-of-plane bending mode to the stiff in-plane stretching deformation. In addition to presenting a functional interpretation of the transverse arch of the foot, this study also indicates a classification of flat feet based on the skeletal geometry and mechanics.

Biography: Mandre is an applied mathematician, an engineer, and a scientist. Before moving to Warwick, he served as an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering at Brown University from 2010 to 2019. He was also a Lecturer in Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. He received my Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of British Columbia in 2006. His undergraduate education was in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay followed by an M.S. from Northwestern University in the same subject. His research spans continuum mechanics, biomechanics, and applied mathematics, with applications to biology and engineering.



Host: AME Department

More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93987337017?pwd=MWd2dXBSL1FaR1RPaHNscjJ1NW80UT09

Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93987337017?pwd=MWd2dXBSL1FaR1RPaHNscjJ1NW80UT09

Location: James H. Zumberge Hall Of Science (ZHS) - 252

WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93987337017?pwd=MWd2dXBSL1FaR1RPaHNscjJ1NW80UT09

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Tessa Yao

Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93987337017?pwd=MWd2dXBSL1FaR1RPaHNscjJ1NW80UT09