Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to bring your attention to the upcoming March Meeting of the American Physical Society in Los Angeles, CA (March 5-9, 2018). Our mechanics community continues to have a strong presence at the March Meeting, and we are pleased to announce several focus and invited sessions sponsored by the APS Groups on Statistical and Nonlinear Physics (GSNP) and Soft Matter (GSOFT). Full descriptions are available at the end of this email.

The deadline for abstract submission is November 3, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Abstracts can be submitted here: http://abstracts.aps.org/

Focus sessions include:

• 01.1.22 Mechanics of Mechanical Networks (GSOFT, DPOLY, GSNP) [same as 02.1.5, 03.1.9, 04.1.23]
• 03.1.6 Morphable Structures (GSNP)
• 02.1.7 Morphogenesis (DBIO, GSOFT, GSNP) [same as 03.1.10, 04.1.16]
• 02.1.4 Origami and Kirigami Metamaterials (GSOFT, GSNP)
• 02.1.3 Machine Learning in Nonlinear Physics and Mechanics (GSOFT, GSNP) [same as 03.1.14]
• 03.1.3 Mechanical Metamaterials (GSNP, DPOLY, GSOFT, DBIO)
• 01.1.23 Soft Interface Mechanics (GSOFT, DPOLY, DBIO) [same as 02.1.10, 04.1.28]
• 02.1.11 Fluid Mechanics for Soft Matter (GSOFT, DPOLY, GSNP) [same as 01.1.24, 03.1.15]
• 3.1.4 Extreme Mechanical Instabilities, Defects, and Large Deformations (GSNP, DBIO) [same as 04.1.30]

When submitting your abstract, please make sure to include the relevant sorting category to ensure that your submission is not overlooked or misplaced.

We look forward to seeing you in LA. Should you have questions or concerns about the sorting process, please feel free to contact us.

Best Regards,

P.-T. Brun

and the co-organizers of the above sessions

Zi Chen (zi.chen@dartmouth.edu, Dartmouth)
Corentin Coulais (coulais@uva.nl, Amsterdam University)
James Hanna (hannaj@vt.edu, Virginia Tech)
Katharine E. Jensen (kej2@williams.edu, Williams College)
Francisco Jimenez (Francisco.LopezJimenez@colorado.edu, Boulder University)
Sung Hoon Kang (shkang@jhu.edu, Johns Hopkins University)
Eleni Katifori (katifori@sas.upenn.edu, U Penn)
John M. Kolinski (john.kolinski@epfl.ch, EPFL)
Andrej Kosmrlj (andrej@princeton.edu, Princeton)
Joel Marthelot (jgam@princeton.edu, Princeton)
Johannes Overvelde (overvelde@amolf.nl, AMOLF)
Pedro M. Reis (pedro.reis@epfl.ch, EPFL)
Zeb Rocklin (dzr3@cornell.edu, Cornell and Georgia Tech)
Shmuel M. Rubinstein (shmuel@seas.harvard.edu, Harvard)
Chris Rycroft (chr@seas.harvard.edu, Harvard)
Christian Santangelo (csantang@physics.umass.edu, U Mass Amherst)

01.1.22 Mechanics of Mechanical Networks (GSOFT, DPOLY, GSNP) [same as 02.1.5, 03.1.9, 04.1.23]
Physical networks are foundational to the physics of polymers and biological tissues, and trussed systems have long been ubiquitous in engineering. Over the past few years, the study of mechanical networks has spread across length scales to encompass actin networks, venation networks in leaves, spider webs, stretchable electronics, mechanical metamaterials (including topological materials), textiles, and architectural gridshells. This focus session will provide a timely unified perspective to these networked systems, under the umbrella of the nonlinear physics of their underlying mechanics.
Organizers: Pedro M. Reis (preis@mit.edu, MIT) and Eleni Katifori (katifori@sas.upenn.edu, U Penn)

03.1.6 Morphable Structures (GSNP)
Structures which operate through significant geometric reconfiguration are ubiquitous in nature and engineering, including tree leaves, insect wings, ultralight spacecrafts, stents in angioplasty or pneumatically actuated soft robots. While there has been recent efforts in the study of the mechanics, the stability and the structural performance of these structures in the physics community, e.g. origami and kirigami, a unified approach to the design of structures able to achieve complex yet repeatable and programmable geometric reconfiguration remains elusive. A key challenge in the design of morphable structures is the non-trivial relationship between the actuation mechanism and the geometry and dynamics of the reconfiguration process. Controlled differential growth, pneumatic actuation, swelling, stored strain energy, osmotic or capillary effects can all be used as basic actuation mechanisms, driving single or multiple points of the structure. Recent advances in the field have focused in understanding how to embed the blueprint of the final configuration in the initial shape, and how the mechanics at the local scale (such as folds, hinges and kinks) affect the global reconfiguration process.
Organizers: Joel Marthelot (jmarthel@mit.edu, MIT), Pierre-Thomas Brun (Princeton), Francisco Jimenez (Boulder University)

02.1.7 Morphogenesis (DBIO, GSOFT, GSNP) [same as 03.1.10, 04.1.16]
The morphology of biological tissues and structures has long inspired scientific advances. Recent developments have focused on understanding the elaborate strategies developed by biological systems for regulating pattern formation and mechanical forces in both space and time. Morphogenesis is also a source of inspiration for designing shape-programmable, stimuli-responsive matter. This focus session will bring together researchers working on morphogenesis from diverse backgrounds to forge new interdisciplinary connections.
Organizers: Andrej Kosmrlj (andrej@princeton.edu, Princeton), Zi Chen (zi.chen@dartmouth.edu, Dartmouth)

02.1.4 Origami and Kirigami Metamaterials (GSOFT, GSNP)
Thin sheets possess mechanical properties programmed via patterns of folds (origami) and cuts (kirigami). From initially flat sheets, intricate three-dimensional structures are formed from the tabletop to the atomic scale and from outer space to the human heart. This focus session brings together researchers with diverse approaches to explore the varied mechanical properties of origami and kirigami metamaterials.
Organizers: Zeb Rocklin (dzr3@cornell.edu, Cornell and Georgia Tech), Christian Santangelo (csantang@physics.umass.edu, U Mass Amherst)

02.1.3 Machine Learning in Nonlinear Physics and Mechanics (GSOFT, GSNP) [same as 03.1.14]
Interest in machine learning applications to a variety of nonlinear and mechanical systems has been growing. The tool is now even affecting experimental design and data collection. This focus session aims to trigger discussions about machine learning in the context of bridging analysis and experiments.
Organizers: Chris Rycroft (chr@seas.harvard.edu, Harvard), Shmuel M. Rubinstein (shmuel@seas.harvard.edu, Harvard)

03.1.3 Mechanical Metamaterials (GSNP, DPOLY, GSOFT, DBIO)
The field of mechanical metamaterials aims at the development and understanding of materials that get their mechanical properties from their geometries, rather than solely from their chemistry. Thanks to the advent of advanced fabrication and computational techniques, the field has seen an explosion of activities. Particularly exciting directions include the creation of materials with novel and extreme mechanical properties (i.e. very light and very stiff), programmable, shape changing and advanced signaling materials, where often non-linearities play a crucial role. Lying at the cusp between physics, engineering, and mathematics, this session aims at bringing together researchers from diverse backgrounds to forge new interdisciplinary connections.
Organizers: Johannes Overvelde (overvelde@amolf.nl, AMOLF) and Sung Hoon Kang (shkang@jhu.edu, Johns Hopkins University), Corentin Coulais (coulais@uva.nl, Amsterdam University)

01.1.23 Soft Interface Mechanics (GSOFT, DPOLY, DBIO) [same as 02.1.10, 04.1.28]
The response of soft materials to stresses is often strongly influenced by boundary conditions. Given the many length scales that define the mechanical response of soft materials and the complexity that this response can have, even defining the experimental or theoretical questions that illuminate soft interface mechanics is a great challenge. This focus session highlights the latest advances in this area, covering systems ranging from fluids to solids, and showcases the new experimental and theoretical approaches that are pushing beyond the classical theories of interface mechanics.
Organizers: Katharine E. Jensen (kej2@williams.edu, Williams College), John M. Kolinski (john.kolinski@epfl.ch, EPFL)

02.1.11 Fluid Mechanics for Soft Matter (GSOFT, DPOLY, GSNP) [same as 01.1.24, 03.1.15]
Fluid mechanics plays a central role in soft matter physics, whether through capillary stresses at boundaries, establishing the bulk rheology for a porous medium, or in governing stresses acting on living materials. The many length scales of fluid flow in soft matter lead to the emergence of a variety of physical responses. This focus session will explore the central role played by fluid mechanics in determining the physics of soft and living matter.
Organizers: John M. Kolinski (john.kolinski@epfl.ch, EPFL), Pierre-Thomas Brun (Princeton, pbrun@princeton.edu, Princeton)

3.1.4 Extreme Mechanical Instabilities, Defects, and Large Deformations (GSNP, DBIO) [same as 04.1.30]
Linear stability analysis consistently overestimate the critical loads required for the collapse of loaded thin elastic structures when compared to observed values obtained though experiments. This discrepancy pertains to a plethora of mechanical systems ranging from friction, fracture and shell stability to turbulence in a pipe, and is primarily due to defects. Properly accounting for the role of defects requires understanding the non-linear failure mode in the presence of field focusing mechanism. Today, with unprecedented understanding in non-linear mechanical response we are better equipped than ever to address the subtle issues surrounding the loss of stability in such elastic systems and to lead to significant breakthroughs in their understanding exploiting both theory and experiment.
Organizers: Efi Efrati (efi.efrati@weizmann.ac.il, Weizmann) and Shmuel Rubinstein (shmuel@seas.harvard.edu, Harvard)