ICTS

Form begets function and function constrains form. This duality, pioneered in classical work by D’Arcy Thompson, has been reinvigorated in the last two decades by the study of complex engineered, natural, and living materials to uncover its governing principles and harness its utility for design. Geometry and growth lie at the core of this project, providing both quantitative tools for analysis and a platform to test physical theories that capture the behaviour of these materials. This endeavour has been remarkably successful on numerous fronts, ranging from understanding biophysical phenomena in living systems (e.g., biomolecular structures, tissue morphogenesis) to designing materials with novel capabilities in engineering (e.g., shape-morphing sheets, auxetic metamaterials). The combination of advanced imaging capabilities, additive manufacturing and computer graphics advances have enabled  high-throughput quantitative experiments and low-cost fabrication of architectured materials across scales. These abilities are revolutionizing research in biological physics, soft matter and engineering and require the indispensable tools of geometry, growth, and mechanics. The school aims to equip students with the necessary skills to address these interdisciplinary challenges. Lectures and hands-on tutorials will cover wide ranging topics at the intersection of continuum mechanics, inverse problems, soft matter physics, biophysics, applied mathematics, and advanced numerical methods, with more introductory topics covered in the first week and more advanced topics covered in the second. The lectures will emphasize unifying physical concepts, growth and morphing in living systems and recent advances in the mechanics of slender structures, highlighting applications to engineering and material design as well.

Accommodation will be provided for outstation participants at our on campus guest house.

Eligibility Criteria:
Early and late graduate students from Engineering, Physics and Applied Mathematics.
Post-docs & early career faculty from Engineering, Physics and Applied Mathematics.

IMPORTANT: Please note that the program is for 2 weeks with pedagogical lectures on fundamental topics in geometry and mechanics in the 1st week and advanced topics in applied geometry, growth in physical and biological systems in the 2nd week. Graduate student registrations will be considered for both the weeks while postdoc & early career faculty registrations will be considered for the second week alone. Early career faculty interested in attending both the weeks can get in touch with us at geomech@icts.res.in.

ICTS is committed to building an environment that is inclusive, non discriminatory and welcoming of diverse individuals. We especially encourage the participation of women and other under-represented groups.

Partially supported by IIT Madras, India