Applied Mechanics podcasts

Laura Leay interviews MIT’s Carlos Portela about a computational design framework for deformable woven metamaterials. Graphs describe the periodic architecture and how struts interweave at nodes; user-defined helix geometry controls the woven beams. The framework produces files for finite-element analysis and 3D printing, enabling predictions of large-deformation behavior and fabrication of previously inaccessible architectures. The freely available approach connects textile-inspired design with tunable elastic response.

Hosted by Laura Leay

L. Mahadevan investigates how geometry, mechanics and randomness connect form with function. With Steven Strogatz, he considers Möbius strips, brain folds, termite colonies and morphogenesis, showing how experiments with simple materials can illuminate biological organization and the role of noisy processes in geometric intuition.

Hosted by Steven Strogatz, Janna Levin