Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to bring your attention to the upcoming
March Meeting of the American
Physical Society in Boston, MA (March 4-8, 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 October 26, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Abstracts can be submitted here: http://abstracts.aps.org/

focus session include:
02.01.04 Machine Learning in Nonlinear Physics and Mechanics (GSOFT, GSNP) [same as 03.01.30]
02.01.05 Fabrics, Knits, and Knots (GSOFT, GSNP) [same as 03.01.38]
02.01.07 Soft Interface Mechanics (GSOFT, DPOLY, GSNP, DBIO) [same as 01.01.28, 03.01.31, 04.01.34]
02.01.11 Actuation in soft matter (GSOFT)
02.01.14 Mechanics of Materials Processing (GSOFT, GSNP) [same as 03.01.05]
02.01.17 Fracture in soft materials (GSOFT)
03.01.03 The extreme mechanics of balloons (GSNP, DPOLY, GSOFT) [same as 01.01.36, 02.01.42]
03.01.04 Discrete structures: geometry, mechanics, graphics, and computation (GSNP)
03.01.07 Interactions of Elastic Structures with Fluids and Granular Matter (GSNP, DPOLY) [same as 01.01.37]
03.01.08 Shell Buckling (GSNP, GSOFT) [same as 02.01.43]
03.01.10 Mechanical metamaterials (GSNP)
04.01.16 Morphogenesis (DBIO, GSNP, GSOFT) [same as 02.01.09, 03.01.32]

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 Boston. Should you have questions or concerns about the sorting process, please feel free to contact us.

Best Regards,
P.-T. Brun & Corentin Coulais and the co-organizers of the above sessions

José Bico (PMMH-ESPCI-PSL, Sorbonne Université, jose.bico@espci.fr)
Frédérick Gosselin (Polytechnique Montreal, Canada, frederick.gosselin@polymtl.ca),
James Hanna (Virginia Tech, hannaj@vt.edu)
Douglas P. Holmes (Boston University, dpholmes@bu.edu)
Katharine E. Jensen (Williams College, kej2@williams.edu)
Sung Hoon Kang (Johns Hopkins University, shkang@jhu.edu),
Andrej Kosmrlj (Princeton, andrej@exchange.Princeton.EDU)
John Kolinski (EPFL, Switzerland, john.kolinski@epfl.ch)

Bas Overvelde (AMOLF, B.Overvelde@amolf.nl)
Pedro M. Reis (EPFL, Switzerland, pedro.reis@epfl.ch)
Shmuel Rubinstein (Harvard University, shmuel@seas.harvard.edu),
Chris H. Rycroft (Harvard University, chr@seas.harvard.edu),
Tobias M. Schneider (EPFL, tobias.schneider@epfl.ch)

02.01.04 Machine Learning in Nonlinear Physics and Mechanics (GSOFT, GSNP) [same as 03.01.30]
Machine learning has generated much recent excitement
within the physics community, and provides a powerful new tool to analyze and understand many physical systems. Usage of machine learning is still in its infancy, and many interesting challenges remain unexplored. What machine learning methods are most appropriate?
How do we best use the tools to obtain scientific insight? Should experimental procedures be redesigned to take advantage of machine learning?
Organizers: Chris H. Rycroft (Harvard University, chr@seas.harvard.edu), Shmuel Rubinstein (Harvard University, shmuel@seas.harvard.edu)

02.01.05 Fabrics, Knits, and Knots (GSOFT, GSNP) [same as 03.01.38]
Fabric, knitted and knotted structures are ubiquitous
in our every-day life. Each morning, we get dressed in clothes that serve a multitude of functions, from keeping us warm and dry, to just style. Beyond weaved textiles, knitted scarfs, gloves, hats, and seaters, are part of everyone’s wardrobe. Furthermore,
our shoes often contain laces, which, after decades of trying, most of us still tie in the wrong (i.e., not in the most mechanical performant) way. Knots are also instrumental to many other activities including sailing, climbing, and surgery, where their mechanical
failure can lead to drastic consequences. These technologies have been an integral part of society for millennia, even if their design, manufacturing, and usage tends to rely primarily on empirical principles. Recently, at the interface of the physics andmechanics communities, there has been an upsurge in interest to develop a predictive understanding for these class of soft/flexible structures based on fundamental principles that rely on the nonlinear mechanics of slender structures and statistical mechanics.
The necessary ingredients for modeling include the geometry and topology of the filaments, (self)contact and friction, and the extent of intrinsic disorder. Part of the motivation to revisit these systems is a drive to more thoroughly rationalize their mechanical performance. Perhaps an even more significant motivation for the recent developments has been the recognition that revisiting the study of fabrics, knits, and knots can lead to novel ideas for the design of metamaterials with novel features, functions, and properties. With this focus session, we seek to bring together representatives from the various groups studying fabrics, knits, and knots to cross-pollinate research methodologies, identify previously unrecognized connections in modeling strategies, and explore new research directions. The proposed venue will provide a modern unified perspective to these systems, under the umbrella of the mechanics, geometry, and topology of the underlying structures.
Organizer: Pedro M. Reis (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, pedro.reis@epfl.ch)

02.01.07 Soft Interface Mechanics (GSOFT, DPOLY, GSNP, DBIO) [same as 01.01.28, 03.01.31, 04.01.34]
The last few years have seen a fast-growing interest
in the physics of soft interfaces, from understanding the fundamental mechanics of compliant solid surfaces to applications in biology, tribology, and soft robotics. Work in this area spans the intersection of GSOFT, DPOLY, GSNP, and DBIO. Last year, I co-organized
a GSOFT/DPOLY focus session in this area with John Kolinski, and it was extremely well-attended; we ended up having a three-part session with an additional invited speaker, and had a full house in the smaller conference rooms in LA. The goal of this year’s
session is to continue that momentum, again highlighting the many novel works that span the scope of mechanics in its entirety, from fluids to solids and especially in between.
Organizer: Katharine E. Jensen (Williams College, kej2@williams.edu)

02.01.11 Actuation in soft matter (GSOFT)
It has recently been shown that
elastic materials may be architected to display remarkable functionality when harnessing mechanical instabilities. These so called mechanical-metamaterials are however often passive elastic structures, which undergo deformations when prompted by external loading.
Different modes of actuation have been proposed, such as pressure controlled grabbing fingers in soft-robotics, swelling in shape-morphing gels, electrostatics in dielectric elastomers or temperature in liquid cristal polymers or shape memory alloys. How can
these different solution be integrated in future manufactured devices? We are seeking contributions studying the fundamental and practical aspects of the integration of actuation in the design of soft materials. Particularly, we are interested in the (1) the
mechanisms of amplification of an input via the architecture of the materials and (2) the programability of a complex response using a simple mode of actuation.
Organizer: José Bico (PMMH-ESPCI-PSL, Sorbonne Université, jose.bico@espci.fr)

02.01.14 Mechanics of Materials Processing (GSOFT, GSNP) [same as 03.01.05]

Materials processing is the
series of operations that transform rawmaterials into parts or finished products. These processes ofteninclude mechanical instabilities and geometrical nonlinearitiesarising from the coupling of elasticity with other phenomena such asplastic deformation, chemical
reactions, fracture, and adhesion,topics that have attracted much recent interest in the physicscommunity. This session seeks to view materials processing techniquesthrough the lens of such geometrically nonlinear (sometimesaffectionately known as “extreme”)
mechanics. Topics of interestinclude casting, forming, machining, web handling, surface coatings,welding and joining, laser processing, and 3D printing, as applied tometals, soft materials, functional materials, advanced composites, andmore. These applied
processes can be looked at from a fundamentalpoint of view in terms of instabilities, wave propagation,nonlinearities, inverse problem formulation, active materials, andelasticity of slender structures. This session aims to bring togetherresearchers from diverse
backgrounds in materials processing,structural mechanics, applied mathematics, materials science, and softmatter physics, to open new areas of interdisciplinary research.
Organizer: Frédérick Gosselin
(Polytechnique Montreal, Canada, frederick.gosselin@polymtl.ca), James Hanna (Virginia Tech,  hannaj@vt.edu)

02.01.17 Fracture in soft materials (GSOFT)

Fracture mechanics are at the
foundation of understanding material integrity. In light of the many applications for soft materials that have developed recently, having an understanding of the failure modalities of these materials is important. This session will be distinctive in its focus
on fracture and failure mechanisms in soft materials as opposed to more traditional brittle solids. In contrast to many construction materials such as glass and concrete, fracture in soft materials is likelier to occur at large deformations, and soft materials
have a plethora of dissipative mechanisms available to them to prevent stress localization; thus the nature of the material is important.
Organizer: John Kolinski (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland,  john.kolinski@epfl.ch)

02.01.25 Rheology of Gels (GSOFT)

Gels, nonfluid networks of particles
or polymers that are pervaded by fluid, appear ubiquitously within soft matter in practical applications as well as in living biological systems. The mechanical properties of gels are intermediate between those of fluids and solids, and depend sensitively
on the structure of the gel constituents across multiple length scales. This focus session invites experimental, theoretical, and computational studies of the rheological properties of gels, including chemical and physical gels, hydrogels, colloidal gels,
and biological gels, with particular interest and emphasis on connecting structural properties to flow properties. Contributions examining the effect of non-equilibrium activity (driven by molecular motors or by active particles) on gel mechanics are encouraged.
Organizers: Emanuela del Gado (Georgetown University,
ed610@georgetown.edu), Jacinta Conrad (University of Houston, jcconrad@uh.edu)

03.01.03 The extreme mechanics of balloons (GSNP, DPOLY, GSOFT) [same as 01.01.36, 02.01.42]
From foil balloons to parade floats, inflatable furniture
to beach balls and party balloons, inflatable structures are ubiquitous and often mundane objects with surprisingly rich mechanical behavior that challenges our understanding of the nonlinear coupling between geometry and mechanics of low dimensional objects.
Balloons adopt complex shapes when inflated, fold and crease when pocked and may burst in multiple pieces. As such, balloons are used as model systems for studies on fracture, fragmentation, wrinkling, and even phase transitions. These structures find applications
in engineering e.g. airbags, weather balloons and even soft-robots, for they are lightweight, easily deployable and often inexpensive. Similarly, encapsulating membranes are ubiquitous in biology, where their mechanics in large deformation often plays a functional
role (e.g. pollen desiccation). We are seeking submissions that focus on the theoretical and experimental investigation of the behavior of membranes and balloons. We are particularly interested in exploring the role of geometry, frustration and nonlinearities
in these systems.
Organizer: P.T. Brun (Princeton University, pbrun@princeton.edu)

03.01.04 Discrete structures: geometry, mechanics, graphics, and computation (GSNP)
Many structures in nature and engineering are assembled
from discrete building blocks, thereby exhibiting new or enhanced functionalities as compared to their continuum counterparts. Examples include bridge trusses, fold patterns in fans and coffee filters, fish scales, and nacre. More broadly, discreteness also
arises naturally in the study of elasticity and deformation, whether in computational models, experimental structures, or architectural designs. In mathematics, significant fundamental leaps have occurred in the past few decades in translating concepts from
differential geometry into the discrete setting. These advances in discrete differential geometry (DDG) have both contributed to, and benefited from, a burgeoning activity in computer graphics aimed at geometrically exact descriptions in physics-based algorithms.
The simulation of slender structures is particularly well-suited to this framework given the primary role of the underlying geometry. These developments in DDG and computational geometry have been slow to permeate into the physics and mechanics communities,
but recent successful cases have highlighted the tremendous potential for predictive modeling tools. Conversely, ongoing activity in the soft matter community (metamaterials, slender elastic rods, kirigami, shells) is providing new challenges that may push
DDG and computer graphics into new areas. This session seeks to, for the first time, bring together the triangle of communities: nonlinear physics/mechanics, computational graphics/geometry, and DDG. This effort will be the first of its kind at the APS March
meeting. We particularly wish to highlight the application to real physical systems of techniques originally developed for computer graphics, but also welcome contributions in all areas of discrete mechanics and geometry, broadly interpreted. Topics of interest
include discrete representations of surfaces and geometric quantities, variational integrators, geometric flows, splines and isogeometric analysis, tension field theory, pseudo-rigid bodies, and other reduced models of thin structures, as well as the mechanics
of gridshells, truss networks, fabrics, nets, frames, folds, and linkages. The session will stimulate discussions and collaborations between kindred communities of applied geometers in physics and computer graphics.
Organizers: James Hanna (Virginia Tech, hannaj@vt.edu), Pedro Reis (EPFL,  pedro.reis@epfl.ch)

03.01.07 Interactions of Elastic Structures with Fluids and Granular Matter (GSNP, DPOLY) [same as 01.01.37]

Fluid-structure and granular-structure
interactions occur across many length scales within synthetic and biological systems. Fundamental problems that couple fluids within and around deformable bodies have direct relevance to pattern formation, the growth of soft tissues, the emergence of geometric
nonlinearities, morphable structures, and fluid transport. Similarly, the physics of elastic structures within granular and fragile matter have important biomechanical connections to plant root growth, ectoparasite feeding, and burrowing animals. Recent research
in this area has explored extremely deformable solids interacting with granular materials, the interactions of nontrivial fluids with flexible membranes, and the behavior of a fluid within a swollen elastomer. These research trends have highlighted the importance
of understanding the roles of the elastic material and the slender structure in these coupled interactions with fluids and granular matter. This session aims to bring together researchers from diverse backgrounds in structural mechanics, granular physics,
fluid mechanics, materials science, soft matter physics, and biomechanics, to open new areas of interdisciplinary research.
Organizer: Douglas P. Holmes (Boston University, dpholmes@bu.edu)

03.01.08 Shell Buckling (GSNP, GSOFT) [same as 02.01.43]

“Everyone Loves a Buckling Problem”
(Budiansky & Hutchinson, 1979), nevertheless, following excitement in 50s to 80s the problem of understanding when structures formed from thin elastic shells loose stability, buckle and collapse remained quite dormant for 30 years. Today, exploiting breakthroughs
in computation and experiment together with the unprecedented understanding of fully nonlinear dynamical systems we are equipped better than ever to address the subtle issues surrounding the loss of stability in thin elastic systems and buckling. As a result,
the problem is experiencing a renaissance where new material and methods are leverage to develop contemporary approaches to tackle the classical problem of predicting when and how thin shell structures buckle and collapse.
Organizers: Shmuel M. Rubenstein
(Harvard University, Shmuel@seas.harvard.edu), Tobias M. Schneider (EPFL, tobias.schneider@epfl.ch)

03.01.10 Mechanical metamaterials (GSNP)

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 nonlinearities 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: Sung Hoon Kang (Johns Hopkins University, shkang@jhu.edu), Bas Overvelde (AMOLF,
B.Overvelde@amolf.nl)

04.01.16 Morphogenesis(DBIO, GSNP, GSOFT) [same as 02.01.09, 03.01.32]

The field of Morphogenesis lies
at the intersection between physics, biology and engineering. Morphological shapes of biological tissues and structures have inspired a plethora of scientists throughout the history, especially since the D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson’s influential book titled
“On Growth and Form” was published a century ago. Many recent activities have focused on understanding how biology has devised elaborated strategies for regulating pattern formation and mechanical forces in both space and time. Morphogenesis has also inspired
scientists to design shape-programmable stimuli-responsive matter. This session aims at bringing together researchers from diverse backgrounds to forge new interdisciplinary connections. Organizer: Andrej Kosmrlj (Princeton)