Virtual participation: Zoom details available here
Speaker: Professor Michel Destrade, University of Galway
Title: "Biomechanics of soft tissue: Experiments, Models and Simulations"
Abstract: The talk will cover some theoretical, numerical and experimental aspects of Biomechanics, the study of the mechanical laws governing the motion of living objects. It will show how we can model, describe and predict the mechanical behaviour of very soft materials such as rubbers, gels and biological soft tissues. Here the modelling is guided by experimental data coming from mechanical tests or acoustic measurements. Eventually, once the models “work”, they can be implemented into advanced codes to produce meaningful computer simulations of what happens when the skin is cut in surgery or when the brain deforms in an impact event, for example. Moreover, some of the acoustic techniques developed have far-reaching applications and have been used to measure stresses and strains in brain matter, the human skin in situ, and thin membranes such as cling film (~10 μm thick) and the animal skin of a bodhrán.
The talk will touch upon these aspects without getting too bogged down in theoretical and technical details, and will aim to remain entertaining throughout by including anecdotes and interactive games.
Biography: Michel Destrade is Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Galway, Adjunct Professor of Solid Mechanics at Zhejiang University, Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University College Dublin, and a member of the International Brain Mechanics and Trauma Lab. He is the Reviews Editor of Proceedings of the Royal Society A, and Associate Editor of several international journals. His research interests are in nonlinear elasticity, the mechanics of elastomers, soft dielectrics and biological soft tissues, and waves and wrinkles in soft matter. In those fields, he has authored more than 160 publications in refereed international journals.