Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for October
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AME Seminar
Wed, Oct 06, 2010 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. L. Mahadevan, Professor of Applied Mathematics and Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
Talk Title: On Growth and Form
Abstract: The growth and form of a soft solid pose a range of problems that combine aspects of mathematics, physics and biology. I will discuss some examples of growth and form in the plant and animal world motivated by qualitative and quantitative biological observations at the molecular, cellular and tissue level. In each case, we will see how a combination of physical experiments, mathematical models and simple computations allow us to unravel the basis for the diversity and complexity of biological form, while suggesting a rich new lode of problems in geometry and analysis.
Host: Dr. G. Spedding
More Info: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/index.shtml#upcomingLocation: Charlotte S. & Davre R. Davidson Continuing Education Conference Center (DCC) - Boardroom
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: April Mundy
Event Link: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/index.shtml#upcoming
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AME Seminar
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Juergen Biener , Scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Talk Title: Nanoscale Materials for Energy Applications
Abstract: Enrico Fermi reputedly said, "God made the solid state. He left the surface to the devil" to describe the fact that surfaces and interfaces are difficult to treat theoretically due to their complex nature. In this talk I will show that one can exploit this complexity to design tunable interface-controlled high-surface-area materials for energy applications. Although the influence of surfaces on the bulk of the material is generally considered to be small, the presence of surfaces and interfaces can start to dominate the overall material behavior. This allows one to create new, tunable materials with mechanical, physical and chemical properties that are no longer determined by the bulk material, but by their nanoscale architectures. In this talk, I will focus on monolithic nanoporous materials to demonstrate the tuneability of nanoporous solids for sustainable energy applications.
Host: Dr. A. Hodge
More Info: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/index.shtml#upcomingLocation: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - 100
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: April Mundy
Event Link: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/index.shtml#upcoming
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AME Seminar
Wed, Oct 20, 2010 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Harry Dankowicz , Associate Professor, Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Talk Title: Friction-Induced Reverse Chatter in Rigid-Body Mechanisms with Impacts
Abstract: This talk reviews recent work on the possibility of formulating a consistent and unambiguous forward-simulation model of rigid-body mechanical systems with isolated points of intermittent or sustained frictional contact. The analysis considers paradoxical ambiguities associated with the coexistence of sustained contact and one or several alternative forward trajectories that include phases of free-flight motion. The presentation documents the original discovery of an apparently irresolvable, infinitely degenerate ambiguity known as reverse chatterâa transition to free flight through an infinite sequence of impacts with impact times accumulating from the right on a limit point and with impact velocities diverging exponentially away from the limit point, even where the contact-independent normal acceleration supports sustained contact. The conclusions of the theoretical analysis are illustrated through everyday examples of chattering contact.
Biography: Harry Dankowicz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has held faculty positions in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and in the Department of Mechanics at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden. He received his M.S. degree (1991) in Engineering Physics from KTH; and his Ph.D. degree (1995) in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics with minors in Mathematics and Astronomy from Cornell University. Prof. Dankowicz is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including a Junior Individual Grant from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from NSF. As director of the Applied Dynamics Laboratory at UIUC, he conducts dynamical systems research at the intersection of engineering, math and physics. This work involves studying a wide range of complex systems that are governed by differential equations and learning the behavior of those systems through theory and experiments. His research efforts further seek to make original and substantial contributions to the development and design of existing or novel devices that capitalize on system nonlinearities for improved system performance.
Host: Dr. E. Kanso
More Info: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/index.shtml#upcomingLocation: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - , Room 100
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: April Mundy
Event Link: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/index.shtml#upcoming
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AME Department Seminar
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 @ 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Anita Penkova , Postdoctoral Research Associate
Talk Title: Fluid Dynamics and Transport in the Posterior Segment of the Eye
Abstract: The fluid and solute transport in the posterior segment of the eye (vitreous humor and retina) takes place by complex transport mechanisms and processes which have not been fully examined and quantitatively explained in either healthy or diseased eyes. Among the goals of the ongoing research is to develop mathematical models based on experimental data for ocular fluid flow with twofold objectives: (1) to understand the fluid dynamics and transport in healthy and diseased eyes; and (2) to effectively deliver drug-based treatment for the latter. To effectively transport drugs to the retinal area, the transport mechanisms need to be understood and the relevant transport parameters (such as permeabilities and diffusion constants) in the various components of this highly complex structure need to be measured and quantified. To fully model the transport processes, the permeability of the RPE (retinal pigment epithelium) under various circumstances needs to be measured. While a healthy eye maintains a steady and well-regulated flow of fluids throughout the system, diseases can cause disruption to this process. Diseases such as diabetic retinopathy (DR) can cause partial blockage of the RPE and subsequent swelling due to fluid accumulation in the affected regions accompanied by vision impairment. The ongoing research includes the creation of DR conditions by exposing a bovine eye to 25 mM glucose for 24 hours, and measuring the permeability of the RPE together with an eye treated in 5.5 mM glucose as a control. With current experiments, it has been observed that exposure to glucose increases the transepithelial resistance, indicating some suppression of ionic pumping. These procedures are also being conducted for based experimentally grown fetal RPE cells (in-vitro).
Other interesting areas, particularly for drug delivery, include the transport in an aged human eye for which the vitreous humor has a heterogeneous character (gel and liquid) that complicates the mathematical modeling. While the gel may be treated as a porous medium described by Darcy flow, the remaining portion has to be modeled as Stokes flow. The current research on ocular drug delivery includes the modeling of transport through this complex structure and an experimentally-based development of the boundary conditions where the vitreous humor contacts the retina, the lens and the hyaloid, together with continuity conditions at the gel-liquid interfac
Host: Professor Satwindar Sadhal
More Info: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/10-27-10-penkova.shtmlLocation: John Stauffer Science Lecture Hall (SLH) - Room 100
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: April Mundy
Event Link: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/10-27-10-penkova.shtml